Review: Body Shop Tea Tree Clay Mask

At a Glance:

-Good value for money

-Creamy texture

-Intense smell

-Slightly drying

Body Shop have really been stepping it up recently. From their new skin care ranges to their old reliables, I’ve been very impressed with their products lately. And since my skin has been a little lack luster I thought now was the best time to give something I’ve been eyeing up for a while a try.

The tea tree line at Body Shop has been really popular ever since it was released a few years ago. Tea tree oil is extremely effective in killing bacteria and works particularly well as a spot and acne treatment. I always add it to DIY masks on those days when my face just wants to break out all over the place. The “skin clearing clay mask” that I’ve been putting to the test the past few weeks claims to cool and deeply cleanse for smoother, clearer skin. Quite a tall order from one face mask.

I bought this product, along with a few other goodies, on the Body Shop website. It set me back £11 for 100ml, which I think is a fair price for product ratio. Shipping was great and it arrived on time with no issues which was a big bonus. (My biggest pet peeve is slow delivery.)

The packaging isn’t as high quality as their Chinese Ginseng mask; however it was a little cheaper so that’s understandable. The jar has a lovely green hue, as do all the products in this range, and I was really impressed with the design overall. The biggest let down in the packaging was the lack of cap inside the product. Usually masks come with a protective top to stop bacteria and keep it fresh, but this one didn’t. Not a huge issue just a little disappointing.

The mask itself has a very buttery feel to it. Application was a doddle as it was smooth and soft and spread onto my face really easily. At first I focused on my problem areas but the past two times I’ve used it as an all over face mask. The dry down time is the standard 15-20 minutes but I chose to wash it off sooner rather than later as I didn’t want the clay to dry out my skin.

If you don’t like the smell of tea tree, you won’t like this mask. Obviously in a tea tree mask the scent is very strong. It has been toned down with the other ingredients, but being such a strong flavour the smell is still very apparent. If you’re sensitive to smells I’d give this a sniff in shop before buying it because it doesn’t go away once it’s on the skin.

After washing it off I was surprised that it hadn’t provoked my sensitivity in ways other masks usually do. This tells me that it’s quite gentle despite the intensity of the smell. My skin did feel cleaner and after using it once or twice I noticed a definite improvement in my blemishes. That being said, I couldn’t escape the mask drying out my skin a little. Nothing an intense moisturiser won’t fix though.

I will probably be repurchasing this once I’ve finished the jar, but i’m not in any rush. While it is good for treating spots and blemishes, as this isn’t my biggest skin complaint I think there are better suited masks out there for me. That being said, I think this would work amazing with spot prone or acne skin as it does get the job done. It works quick and it works well so what more can you ask for really?

What are some of your favourite face masks? Let me know in the comments.

-L