The Best Face Masks for Acne in South Africa in 2025

best face masks for acne

Acne doesn’t just curse teenagers; many adults suffer too. It can be caused by a change in the weather, stress, diet, hormones or genetics.

Whether you’re experiencing an unexpected breakout or suffer from ongoing acne, a face mask can supercharge your skin treatment. It can draw out impurities and excess oil to inhibit an existing breakout and prevent breakouts in the future.

If you’re wondering how to choose a face mask for acne, see our Q&A. We answer your questions about the best face masks for acne in South Africa.

Here, we’ve chosen our favourites. From charcoal to green tea, there’s a blemish-fighting formula for you.

Overall best face mask for acne in South Africa

arcaya creates an excellent range of professional face masks and the detoxifying Gray Silver mask is especially effective for acne. The gentle gel mask cleanses and conditions the skin with powerful active ingredients.

Activated charcoal acts like a magnet for dirt particles. Bamboo, packed with antioxidants and repairing compounds, immediately soothes the skin. Silver is anti-fungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, which can prevent new impurities from forming.

This mask also contains sodium hyaluronate, a form of hyaluronic acid that enters the deep layers of your skin to attract moisture and reduce inflammation.

Acne is reduced, the complexion is soothed and matted, and the formation of new sebum is significantly slowed.

Best face mask for dry skin and acne

This rebalancing mask can be used daily on skin that needs dual-purpose ingredients to hydrate dry areas and reduce excess oil in the T-zone.

It’s a purifying, creamy mask that absorbs quickly into the skin to remove impurities and rebalance moisture levels.

Willow bark and witch hazel, nature’s natural astringents, boost skin tone, reduce the size of pores and moisturise the entire face. The complexion is left cleansed, soothed and radiant.

Best clay face mask for acne

This kaolin clay face mask from South African brand Hannon is formulated with natural ingredients to deeply cleanse congested, acne-prone skin.

Use it once a week to extract oil impurities, replace minerals and improve overall skin tone. The fragrance-free mask purifies and resets the skin without stripping or drying.

Best tea tree oil face mask for acne

The Anti-Acne Peel Off Masque in this professional range contains tea tree oil to treat blemishes, deeply cleanse the skin, tighten pores and absorb excess oil.

Tea tree oil is anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antimicrobial, so it calms redness, swelling and inflammation, leaving acne calmer and less noticeable.

Best face mask for acne scars

Make your own masks with this professional facial powder mask kit – definitely rated among the best face masks for acne in South Africa. It allows you to try each mask variant and to experience the power of powder face masks at home.

The kit includes magnesium carbonate powder, fuller’s earth powder, kaolin powder, calamine powder, rose water, witch hazel, mask brush, sponges and a mixing bowl. The powders can be mixed with water for a more gentle mask.

All the ingredients work to cleanse and calm acne-prone skin. Fuller’s earth and calamine powders are known to reduce the appearance of scars. It’s well worth the investment.

Best aloe vera face mask for acne

If you have active, angry acne, a face mask with aloe vera can help soothe the skin. Aloe vera contains antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins A and C, and is highly anti-inflammatory, all of which work to calm and condition skin.

Beauty Topic’s Aloe Vera face mask also contains rosemary, tea tree and sage leaf extract. These extracts have powerful astringent, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce redness, puffiness and swelling.

Another good choice is a cucumber mask for acne. It’s cooling and refreshing on inflamed skin, and the hydration it adds can help promote skin healing.

Best mud face mask for acne

Dead Sea mud is used in this mask to purify your skin by removing excess oil, reducing blemishes and equalising skin tone.

Other natural active ingredients include ginger extract to balance the skin’s oil production and orange blossom to target blemishes and heal delicate skin.

The Skintruth Equalising range is formulated for oily and combination skin types, using natural ingredients to balance moisture, equalise oil levels and restore a healthy, smooth complexion.

Best green tea face mask for acne

Green tea’s anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce skin irritation, redness and swelling. In this face mask, green tea soothes and purifies, while the essential oils of rosemary and ginger stimulate, tone and repair the skin.

The natural goodness of seaweed nourishes the skin, leaving it exfoliated, clear and refined.

Best natural face mask for acne

This face mask is packed full of natural ingredients that cleanse and purify greasy, acne-prone skin.

Essential oils of lavender, vetiver and cinnamon soak up oil and impurities, leaving your face feeling cleansed, clear and refreshed.

Q&A

Acne is most common in teenagers undergoing hormonal changes during puberty, but acne can rear its ugly head at any age.

It’s an inflammatory skin condition caused by hair follicles that are clogged with dead skin cells and excess sebum (oil). Whiteheads, blackheads, pustules, papules and cysts form.

As teenagers get older, spots and pimples lessen as the hormones that cause excess sebum settle. Later in life, excess oil production can be caused by fluctuating hormones, infections, stress and even climate conditions.

Face masks can’t remove acne entirely but they certainly help. A good face mask for acne helps draw out excess sebum and impurities to fight current breakouts and prevent future ones from occurring.

It will depend on your skin type. Generally, if you’re suffering from pimples, you must use a face mask with ingredients that cleanse deeply, soothe and calm inflamed skin.

Tea tree oil, aloe vera, green tea, activated charcoal, kaolin clay, Dead Sea mud, benzoyl peroxide, niacinamide and colloidal sulphur all have antibacterial properties that can calm and minimise acne. Chemical exfoliants, such as salicylic or glycolic acids, are great at clearing out pores.

Generally, use a face mask for acne once or twice a week, but always follow the directions on the product. If used too often, some face masks can be harsh and drying. They may deplete the skin’s natural ability to fight acne.

You need to find a mask that works for your skin. Generally, wash-off and peel-off masks are preferable for acne-prone skin. Some sheet masks can clog pores.

It’s worth experimenting to see what works best for you. However, do invest in a mask of reasonable quality, to ensure it doesn’t contain chemicals that could further dry out or damage the skin. Any of the options rated among the best face masks for acne in South Africa is a good place to start.

At Hairhouse Warehouse, we stock some of the best professional face masks for acne in South Africa. Simply order online; we deliver to locations across the country.

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