A TikTok Esthetician Convinced Me to Buy This Mask—And It's a Hydrafacial in a Bottle

TikTok has been an incredible resource to see beauty products and treatments in action before purchasing. I love learning about lip oils, shaving my face, and how best to air dry my waves from creators on the app. Most recently, a video from esthetician @cristinaxflawless stopped me in my tracks. She gives hydrafacials for a living and said iS Clinical's Tri-Active Exfoliating Masque is the closest thing you can get to the facial's results at home—which, piqued my interest immediately.

What It Does

The iS Clinical Tri-Active Exfoliating Masque gently treats the face with a physical and chemical exfoliant, providing a one-two punch to help remove gunk from pores while brightening and softening skin. It’s made from eco-friendly microbeads that gently scrub and papaya enzymes to help with cell turnover. Other key ingredients include copper PCA (pyrrolidone carboxylic acid), which helps stimulate collagen production, salicylic acid to deeply cleanse pores, and Brazilian blood orange extract for an added dose of antioxidants.

Why I Tried It

I hadn’t tried iS Clinical before, so I dove into my research and was pleasantly surprised to learn that most of its pharmaceutical-grade, plant-derived products are safe for sensitive skin. Plus, celebs like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Jessica Alba, and Lea Michele are fans of the brand, too.

I’ve been struggling with whiteheads around my chin and mouth, and chemical exfoliants alone didn’t seem to be cutting it. I was intrigued by the combo of physical and chemical exfoliation in the iS Clinical Tri-Active Exfoliating Masque, but was worried the physical exfoliant would irritate my highly sensitive skin. (I’m still scarred by the physical exfoliants of my youth.) TikToker @cristinaxflawless said it’s also good for comedonal acne and sebaceous filaments.

My Review

This mask ended up being gentle enough for my highly reactive skin while doing a good job of cleaning my stubborn pores. I followed the directions and dampened my face, gently scrubbed, and left it on for five minutes. After rinsing it off, I did feel that my face was softer and well-exfoliated. As a result, I’m definitely going to incorporate this mask weekly as recommended to de-gunk my pores without having to get a pricey facial.

I’m not the only one who thinks the iS Clinical Tri-Active Exfoliating Masque is a winner. One Dermstore shopper said that it's their “favorite exfoliant mask” because it makes their skin “soft and glowing” and is “just as good as getting a facial.” Another loved that it works “for all skin types” and is a “great exfoliating treatment without the irritation.” A third said it was “great for sensitive skin” and that it “gets rid of those clogged pores and dead skin” for a “brighter and clearer” complexion.

If you have dull skin, clogged pores, or are just looking for brighter and softer skin without irritation, iS Clinical’s Tri-Active Exfoliating Masque is worth a try. Shop more top-rated products from the brand, below.

iS Clinical Active Serum

iS Clinical Warming Honey Cleanser

iS Clinical Lip Polish