• SumoMe

Kyoku Lava Masque

There are a few things that I never thought I’d do in life that I wound up doing. On that list is going full Mrs. Doubtfire and putting an exfoliating mask on my face. However, the other day I found myself doing just that–except it didn’t involve a pie, but the Kyoku Lava Masque. Since this was my first time to put an exfoliating mask (ok, is it masque or mask? I’m just going to use both) on, I really can’t compare it to other masks. However, I can attest to its effects.

The Kyoku Lava Masque is the real deal in pore cleansing. When I opened up this bad boy, it looked like really wet mud (and is in fact “mineral rich volcanic mud”). It smells fantastic, but I can’t really describe it even as I smell it right now. The closest I can get is: post-rain herb garden soil. Yeah, I don’t know what that really means either.

The first tip I can impart on you is to shake the jar up before you use it. I didn’t do that the first couple times I used it, and it was very clumpy and didn’t cover very well. In solid male fashion, I read the instructions after diving in, and it said “shake before use.” So I shook it, and the different was night and day. If you shake it, it will smooth out (as you see in the photo) and spread much more evenly.

Secondly, if you use this after you shave, you’re entering a world of pain. One night I thought, “Oh, I’m going to shave and then do that mask thing before jumping in the shower.” Bad idea. I shaved, and everything was fine, then I put the mask on and like 20 seconds after I was done applying it I started to feel some tingles. Tingles turned into pinches, and pinches turned into death. Fun fact about my teenage years: I had really bad acne (which got me interested in facial cleaning) and used to get acid peels. Using this after shaving was almost on the same level of pain–it was ridiculous.

However, I powered through it and left it on for the 10 minutes or so, as required, and then ran to the shower and washed it off. I expected to find second degree burns on my face, but it was quite the opposite. Yeah, it burned excessively, but my skin was in tip-top shape. It was fantastic. I can’t tell if the results were better because I shaved or not, though, because even if you don’t shave before using it, your skin will feel great. Therefore, I’d suggest not shaving before using this and skipping all that pain. It will still work just fine.

The Kyoku Lava Masque is really one of those things that you have to try to believe. It seems ridiculous when all those people at the spa are just hanging out with a mask and those cucumbers on their face, but it really does feel nice.

Have you ever used the Kyoku Lava Masque? Have you used anything like this before? Let’s talk about it in the comments.