As with other skincare products, Korean face masks are innovative, effective and fun to use. I’ve talked about Korean masks before, making sure to cover sheet masks and sleeping masks. However, the Korean face mask options go beyond these basics, with a ton of excellent products coming in a variety of textures and application methods.
Korean face masks come in all shapes, formulas, and sizes. We’ve selected the best ones from every mask category. Check out the 19 best Korean face masks that are readily available outside Korea to suit every skin type and need.
1. Glow Recipe Watermelon + AHA Glow Sleeping Mask
Overnight face masks are one of the coolest things to come out of Korea recently. This Korean mask can be left on overnight to bring water into the skin while also lightly resurfacing it. It contains hyaluronic acid, my favorite super-hydrator, as well as a bit glycolic acid, which is a chemical exfoliant that helps to get rid of dead skin build-up.
Watermelon extract as well as other plant extracts offer anti-inflammatory and antioxidant protection. This Korean mask can work for all skin types and is especially great at targeting dehydration and dullness. You can buy it at Sephora.
2. I Dew Care Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask
If you like a bit of skincaretainment then this is one of the best Korean face masks to try. This mask combines mattifying kaolin clay with moisturizing glycerin, squalane, and olive oil, which makes for a balanced mask that’d be ideal for those with combination skin. It clarifies the pores while loading the skin up with moisture. The cool thing about it is little sprinkles that melt into the skin to infuse it with fresh ingredients. It even comes in a tub that looks like it’s full of ice-cream! Get it from Ulta!
3. Tonymoly I’m 7 Days Sheet Mask Set
When you can’t decide between Korean masks, it is very nice to just buy a set. This sheet mask set consists of 7 different masks. They are all extremely hydrating, but they have different secondary purposes: the charcoal mask is mattifying, the green tea mask is soothing, and the red wine mask is anti-aging. They’re all fairly light, so they should work for most skin types. This is also the best Korean face mask option, if you’d like to get a friend hooked! This set is available online through Revolve.
4. Amorepacific Treatment Enzyme Peeling Masque
Even when you have sensitive skin, it can be useful to exfoliate sometimes. This ultra-moisturizing Korean face mask is made with nourishing green tea water as well as a ton of humectants. It contains just a bit of glycolic acid as well as papaya enzymes to very lightly exfoliate the skin without irritating it. After five minutes the skin is left moisturized and soft to the touch. Despite the name, this is not a peel-off mask but a rinse-off mask. Find it at Nordstrom!
5. Dr. Jart+ Shake & Shot Rubber Brightening Mask
This is another really fun Korean face mask that is also very effective. Just as the name implies, using this mask requires a bit of elbow grease. In the milkshake-like container you mix a pouch of powder and a pouch of liquid, which become a paste that you then have to quickly apply to your face.
That paste dries down to a rubbery texture, and while it sits on your skin it infuses it with brightening and anti-aging skincare ingredients like vitamin C, niacinamide, and sea buckthorn extract. When it’s time to take it off, you just peel it away. There are other options that are more hydrating, soothing, or purifying. Pick one up from Sephora!
6. CosRx Hydrogel Very Simple Pack
If you deal with chronic dry patches, then this is the best Korean face mask to try. It is actually a set of 60 hydrogel patches – hydrogel being one of the most soothing delivery systems for skin care. They are infused with centella asiatica, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid, which all work together to soothe, strengthen, and hydrate the skin. A single patch will cover an area similar to the back of your hand since they really are meant to target specific skin locations. You can apply them while having a different Korean mask on over the rest of your face, for example. They are sold at Revolve.
7. Skinfood Egg White Pore Mask
This skin-softening wash-off Korean face mask is a great choice for those with normal and combination skin. It provides hydration benefits with butylene glycol and glycerin, but it also has titanium dioxide to soothe the skin while giving it a tightening effect. It contains albumen taken from egg whites, which loads the skin up with fortifying protein and has a skin-firming effect. It’s a Korean mask that tightens pores and helps reduce acne breakouts without drying out the skin. Purchase it at Ulta!
8. Laneige Lavender Water Sleeping Mask
Lavender essential oil is known for its calming effect not just on the skin but also on the mood. This sleeping mask will help you get to sleep thanks to the fragrance, but then while you sleep it will transform your skin. This hydrating Korean face mask will pull moisture from the surroundings into your skin throughout the night, while silicones and polymers will lock it in. You will wake up with very soft, nourished skin. It’s ideal for targeting dehydration no matter the skin type. Order it from Sephora!
9. Sulwhasoo Radiance Energy Mask
If your skin has been feeling a little bit dull and tired, then this is the best Korean face mask to try. It is a sleeping mask that rejuvenates the skin throughout the night, ensuring that you wake up radiant and glowing. It has a moisturizing formula infused with antioxidant-rich plant extracts as well as honey and squalane. It’d work for all skin types, but would be ideal for dry to normal skin. You can get it at Nordstrom.
10. Tonymoly The Vital Vita 12 Ampoule and Mask Set
This is another mask set from Tonymoly that really allows you to get creative with your masking routine. This set includes 5 sheet masks and 5 ampoules. You apply the ampoule first and then layer your sheet mask over it. You can match ampoules to masks or play around, applying a brightening ampoule first and following it up with a synergy mask, for example. Decide based on whatever your skin needs on any given day. Purchase it from Revolve!
11. Dr. Jart + Bright Lover Rubber Mask
This unique Korean face mask is also rubberized, but it doesn’t require any mixing or meddling. Instead, the rubber layer comes pre-made and preloaded with all kinds of skin-brightening ingredients. Before putting it on, you layer the complementary ampoule over your skin, and then the mask helps to seal it in completely.
The ampoule layer includes vitamin C and A to renew the skin, while the rubber layer is made with a nourishing brown seaweed extract. Note that this Korean mask is actually made of a rubbery type of algin rather than actual rubber. Find it at Sephora!
12. Peach & Lily Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask
This incredible face mask combines Korean mask principles along with some more Western elements. It’s almost a peel, since it includes 10% glycolic acid and 0.5% salicylic acid, which work to resurface the skin from the outside and from within the pore. However, these powerful ingredients are sitting in a soothing, hydrating formula that helps ensure they won’t be too harsh.
Other ingredients in this blend include soothing centella, hydrating hyaluronic acid, and antioxidant agave extract. It’s a great choice for all skin types except the very sensitive, as it can prevent premature aging, treat congestion, and truly rejuvenate the skin. Buy it from Ulta!
13. CosRx One Step Pimple Clear Kit
This little kit was put together when an acne emergency strikes, and we gotta say that this is as good as pimple care gets. It includes a small pouch of the Low pH Good Morning cleanser, which is one of my personal obsessions, an acne-minimizing pad with betaine salicylate and willow bark extract, and the star of the show, a mask infused with ginseng and snail mucin to soothe and repair skin besieged by breakouts. Order it from Revolve!
14. 3Lab Perfect Mask
With a name like the Perfect Mask, how could it not be amazing? This sheet mask is infused with a natural essence that includes loads of hyaluronic acid to hydrate, green tea extract to soothe and protect from premature aging, and a variety of peptides meant to reduce visible signs of fatigue and age. It’s an anti-aging Korean face mask that will work for all skin types, but is best for those who are already starting to see fine lines and wrinkles. Pick it up in a set of 5 at Nordstrom!
15. Too Cool For School Pumpkin Sleeping Pack
This is a creamier sleeping mask for those of you with truly dry skin or dry environment. This occlusive formula is especially great layered over light, hydrating layers because it locks them in beautifully. It contains pumpkin extract to renew the skin and licorice root extract to brighten. It is sold at Revolve.
16. Dear, Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask
It’s so exciting to see this brand at Ulta, so don’t hesitate to snatch up one of their Korean masks. This sleeping mask offers an antioxidant boost to the skin with a high quantity of vitamin E and niacinamide, which protect the skin from oxidative damage. The formula is hydrating and moisturizing with loads of humectants as well as ceramide NP. It would work for all skin types, but is ideal for dry and normal skin. It has a fresh scent that you will surely enjoy. Order it from Ulta!
17. SK-II Treatment Mask 10 Pack
We’d be remiss not to include the best Korean face mask for those who like probiotic ferments. It is made with a ton of SK-II signature Pitera, a ferment extract from the sake making process that is able to repair, soften, and rejuvenate the skin beautifully. It’s a great choice for dull, stressed, or sensitive skin. The formula is simple and fragrance-free, but incredibly reviving. Get the 10 pack from Revolve!
18. Mamonde Pore Clean Clay Mask
There are also Korean face masks that will work well for oily skin. This kaolin clay mask is gentle yet very purifying, helping to pull all kinds of gunk from the pores. Despite being a deep-cleansing Korean mask it still helps to hydrate and soothe the skin, especially if you have active acne. Once you remove it your pores will look tighter, inflammation will be minimized, but your skin will still feel soft. You can buy it at Ulta.
19. Tonymoly Cat’s Purrfect Night Mask
It’s hard to resist such adorable packaging, we admit it, but that’s not the reason why we consider this one of the best Korean face masks. This mask gets that level of respect because of the ingredients in it, which include loads of skin-balancing, antioxidant niacinamide, hydrating glycerin, and moisturizing apricot oil. It’s an overnight mask that is very hydrating, but will work for all skin types. It is available at Ulta.
Photos via @mustheavy, Sephora, Nordstrom, Ulta