
For the past four weeks I have used the Juice Beauty Pore Refining mask. The suggested use is two times a week so I decided Monday and Wednesday would be the days that I used the mask. It has been a very interesting experience. Before we get into how it performed and all the details, let’s take a look at the product page on the brand site.
NEW Clear and hydrate skin at the same time with our NEW Bamboo Pore Refining Mask. Help protect against ‘maskne’ with bamboo charcoal & kaolin clay to help detox; Aspen bark to help smooth & hydrate, and exfoliating polyhydroxy acids for a softer, smoother complexion.
Eco-values: With Certified Organic Ingredients to protect humans, animals and the planet.
Sustainable Packaging: Sustainable & recyclable glass jar. FSC Paper.
Full Ingredients: organic aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, organic glycerin*, cetearyl alcohol+, pyrus malus (organic apple) fruit juice*, helianthus annuus (organic sunflower) seed oil*, charcoal powder (bamboo)+, kaolin (clay), butyrospermum parkii (organic shea) butter*, sodium stearoyl lactylate+, phytic acid +, bentonite (clay) , tocopherol (Vitamin E)+, panthenol (Vitamin B5), copernicia cerifera (organic carnauba) wax*, sorbitan stearate+, lactic acid+, caprylhydroxamic acid+, populus tremuloides (aspen) bark extract+, salix alba (willow) bark extract+, allantoin, zinc gluconate, citrus limon (lemon) fruit extract+, glycolic acid, vaccinium myrtillus fruit extract+, saccharum officinarum (sugarcane) extract+, citric acid, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) fruit extract+, citrus medica limonum (organic lemon) juice*, acer saccharum (sugar maple) extract+, tartaric acid (DL-), malic acid, salicylic acid, phenylethyl alcohol+, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil+, commiphora myrrha (myrrh) oil+, gluconolactone+, pelargonium graveolens (geranium) flower oil+, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil+, sodium hydroxide
Juice Beauty
* Certified organic ingredient
† Plant derived
This mask is $36 (and I believe Juice Beauty has free shipping on orders over $30, if you are looking to order from the site)Opening the mask, it looks like a black clay mask. And because it is me and you know I sniff everything, I took a sniff. I can definitely smell the aloe, sunflower oil, charcoal and clay. There is also a hint of peppermint to the scent. It is actually quite a pleasant scent. It is earthy and slightly herbal. I really enjoyed it.

One of the reasons I chose this mask for a weekday trial was that it is a two minute mask. That’s right, it only needs two minutes on the skin to be left to do it’s thing. I’ll admit, I was skeptical about what the mask could accomplish in two minutes or if it was going to be so harsh that in two minutes I would have issues. I did a test patch and had no adverse reaction. Which sort of made me think it wasn’t going to do anything.
I was wrong.
But we’ll get to that.
The mask applies smoothly. There are no particulates in it. Nothing in this mask is a physical exfoliant. And on the skin it feels just like cool clay. there is no tingling, or burning or anything. It simply feels like a cool clay mask.

What I found interesting is that unlike other clay masks, it doesn’t have the time to dry down. Two minutes doesn’t get it to the dried and hard to remove stage. This mask wiped off easily with a cloth (Although I would use a dedicated cloth as the charcoal has a tendency to stain the washcloth). After it was removed with a cloth I did have to rinse my face as my skin looked a little dirty from the left behind charcoal.
At first I didn’t think the mask did anything. A few hours later, I noticed that I had more raised bumps on my skin than I had that morning. I thought, well, maybe it is doing something. The next day I used an exfoliator (I actually used a couple different ones while using this mask, but I stuck to gentle exfoliators wince I was using them more than usual). Then Wednesday arrived and i used the mask for another two minute session. A few hours later a few more bumps appeared and then I used an exfoliator the following day.

It was a very interesting process. There were a couple of times where I used the mask and nothing came up and there were a few uses where clogged pores were brought to the surface as though someone called a mass evacuation of my skin. They never became full blown blemishes though in most cases, because I used exfoliators and a peel off mask (the Neo Gen Foaming Peel off mask was fantastic during this process. The link will take you to my full review).
I did notice during this trial there tended to be about one day a week where I just didn’t want to bother with makeup. I generally used a day where i didn’t have to see anyone to take that Makeup free day, but with the clearing and exfoliation I think my skin just needed some extra time to breathe.
Most of this mask was used up in this month’s trial. There is still some left so I could probably do about two more weeks of the trial (so about seven-ish weeks of product in total in the jar if used twice a week every week). However I now know how this mask works with my skin. I think that i would not use it twice a week, unless I was doing a deep down pore cleanse. Mostly because I think it is a waste of product. While this mask did being up the clogged pores, it tend to bring them up in the areas where i generally have clogged pores.
There were a few extras here and there, but it was mostly in the areas i expect to get clogged pores. I think that using this as a full mask a week before a big event where you can draw out clogged pores and clear them away so you have fabulous skin for the event is a good idea (just give yourself time to clear away what the mask raises). I think a better use of this mask is to spot treat the areas where you know clogged pores tend to be. Personally I always get them along the lower curve of my orbital bone so a spot treatment makes me look like I am gearing up to play football, but its a too minute looks so I can take it. Especially if i can clear out the clogged pores.
For the skin that doesn’t tend to have clogged pores, it made the skin soft and feel very clean, but I have dozens of masks that do that equally well. This is a mask that brings clogs to the surface so they can be cleared away. That is it’s strength and I think a spot use is the way to go. In addition remember that as it brings clogs to the surface, you are going to have to clear them away, so in that sense it is a mask that temporarily makes your skin look bad. So plan accordingly. Use it a few days before a big event, not the day of. And definitely use a cloth that you don’t mind getting a little charcoal stained. It isn’t a major staining and part of mine might have been from so much concentrated use, but after the cloth came out of the wash there was some discoloration. Don’t use the good washcloths for this.
Would I purchase this mask again? Yes. I think it is a great mask to have in my skincare arsenal. It works well and it works quickly. And I think that if it is deployed in the areas most in need of pore clearing instead of all over the face, this jar will last for quite some time. In my book, this Juice Beauty Bamboo Pore Refining Mask was a winner.