With the development of the facial mask beauty industry, facial masks are the second most frequently used product among all skin care products by consumers, second only to cleansing. Among them, the sheet mask is the most popular because it can instantly moisturize, brighten the complexion and improve the skin texture.
When commenting on whether a facial mask is “good or not”, consumers can make a decision based on the ten minutes it takes to apply it on the face. Because applying the facial mask itself is to let the skin enjoy “instant” beauty, the effect of “hydrating and brightening the skin” is the most obvious and direct, and it is another matter to achieve other effects.
For a facial mask, if you want to achieve the ideal use effect, not only must you choose the raw materials carefully in the product development process, but also you must also pay attention to the compatibility and compatibility between the facial mask sheet and the facial mask essences.
The formula composition and core of facial mask essence
The formula of facial mask essence is generally not too complicated, that is, water, moisturizer, thickener, functional ingredients, skin conditioner, chelating agent, preservative and essence. The consistency of the mask liquid is mainly adjusted and determined by the synergistic adjustment of moisturizers, thickeners and skin conditioners. Thickeners such as xanthan gum, cellulose, and carbomer; moisturizers include polyols, betaine, and trehalose; Hyaluronic acid, beta-glucan, bioglucan-1, crinkle carrageen, and sclerotin. The ratio between the three needs to be constantly adjusted to obtain the balance point with the best skin feel (production requirements).
In addition, certain functional ingredients may have an impact on the overall facial mask essence, or different skin types may also affect the effect of different mask sheets and essence. Science, and more extensive research.
This article mainly discusses the effect of combining with facial mask essence on the effect of sheet mask from the perspective of different mask sheet fabric materials and properties, mainly from the perspective of hydration and moisturizing.
With the development of the industry and the innovation of technology, there are more and more types of mask sheet fabrics on the market for us to choose from. How should we choose? Meanlove company has summed up some methods for the selection of mask sheet fabrics based on the different consumer groups that have served brand owners in the market for many years.
How to choose a mask sheet fabric suitable for brand development and product positioning?
The first sheet mask was in 1993,brought by SK-II, which was already under the P&G brand at that time. Promoted a revolution in the way facial masks are used and is considered the originator of modern sheet masks. Subsequently, many brands and varieties of facial masks have sprung up to meet the various needs of human beings. With the development of the times, in recent years, sheet masks are not only satisfied with ordinary white non-woven fabrics, but various sheet masks with interesting patterns have set off a new trend of skin care and beauty. In 2012, the Japanese market began to rapidly develop sheet masks. At that time, the facial masks on the market were basically white and pure cotton mask sheet fabrics. In 2014, mask base fabrics began to develop rapidly. Black, colored, pink, yellow, green, etc. appeared on the market one after another. There were also some special printed masks that were very popular at that time, such as tiger face, panda face and so on.
So when faced with a wide range of film cloths to choose from, what brand owners may most want to see are the following aspects,
Selling point
The sheet masks with selling point have the highlight of publicity, the sheet masks with selling point has the idea of development, and the sheet masks with selling point has the value of choice.
Quality
Of course, selling points alone are not enough, we also need to have excellent quality, no matter how good the marketing is, no matter how good the market is, our product quality and safety will always come first.
Trend
Everyone must be well aware that the cosmetics market is changing rapidly, and the needs of end consumers are even more diversified. Therefore, we must keep up with trends in order to develop in the cosmetics industry.
Meanlove also always pays attention to the changing trends of the cosmetics market for new product development and promotion. Every year, Meanlove will develop more than 30+ new products to meet the new product promotion needs of brand owners.
Knowing the selling point of the mask is only the direction of choice. How to choose a good facial mask sheet from many raw materials? We also consider many other factors, especially from the factors that consumers care about. According to our Years of industry accumulation, summed up the selection of mask cloth from the following 5 aspects, weight, material, liquid absorption, skin feel, and price, combined with the brand’s market positioning, consumer groups to carry out specific mask sheet selection.
Price
When a product of ours is distributed in the market, we must consider the price. The cost of a finished facial mask includes mask sheet, essence, aluminum foil bag packaging and color box.Then let’s take a look at the price of the important mask sheet. According to the customers we have served for so many years and some brand owners and the market, the price of mask sheets can be divided into high, medium and low. (This is not aimed at the quality of the product, but an interval arrangement based on the market circulation.)
High-end mask sheet materials are mainly imported series, and some special treatment, such as printing, freeze-drying, etc. Mid-end mask sheet materials, such as plant series and functional series of mask base fabrics, and the other is popular, such as Tencel/Lyocell, pure cotton, viscose polyester series, etc. With the development of the cosmetics industry, the advancement of technology, and price competition, the cost is gradually decreasing. The circulation of the mass-moving series of membrane cloth is very good in the market, and the quality is also recognized by consumers, which meets the current consumer pursuit. Light and transparent, environmental protection and other requirements. Meanlove will also make corresponding mask sheets recommendations according to the price needs of brand owners.
Gram weight
The so-called gram weight, that is, the thickness of the mask cloth, is the weight of 1 square meter of mask sheet fabric. The weight of the mask sheet determines the thickness of the mask sheet, the total liquid absorption, the degree of fit and the feeling of use, etc. Normally, the higher the weight of the mask sheet, the thicker the mask sheet.
Higher grammage, generally above 35gsm, has a relatively higher thickness, and the total liquid absorption capacity is good, but the transparency and compliance will be reduced.
Low weight, generally below 35gsm, relatively low thickness, less total liquid absorption, of course, the transparency and fit will be much better.
For example, the thin and transparent series produced by Meanlove company are low-weight. For this type of product, we usually recommend that brand owners use a support interlining (mesh gauze, PP interlining, etc.) to prevent the facial mask sheet from deforming after the essence is soaked, etc. affect consumers’ sense of use when upfolding.
Of course, with the development of the fiber industry, the weight, thickness, and liquid absorption of the membrane cloth are all relative, not absolute. Consumers in the current market prefer low-weight mask sheet fabrics, which are more skin-friendly, light and thin, and has a stronger sense of transparency.
Skin feel
For skin feel, the most simple and direct way is to get started or test on the face. Add the essence or material body, and directly test it with your hands, and you can directly feel the degree of compliance, transparency, and skin feel. By testing on face, you can directly feel whether the face shape of the facial mask is suitable, how wrapping it is, how well the mask sheet grips the skin, and other aspects. Of course, before each facial mask product enters the market, it will pass various professional tests and issue reports by professional testing agencies, and carry out various product filings and so on. Various tests such as allergies and irritations ensure that the products circulating in the market are of quality and safety guarantee. The test here will go back to the compatibility and compatibility between the mask sheet fabric and the mask liquid mentioned in the beginning. We must hand this over to professional testing and certification agencies, such as SGS and other testing agencies.
Liquid absorption
Liquid absorption can be said to be a basic and important indicator of a mask sheet. Generally, brand owners hope to find a mask sheet with the best liquid absorption performance within a limited weight.
The amount of essence added to the general membrane cloth is 25-28ml, the light and transparent series can be 22-25ml, and the thicker membrane cloth, the recommended amount of essence added is 28-30ml, then the absorption amount of a piece of membrane cloth is about 20ml Sometimes it will make our consumers’ sense of use reach its peak, and it will be more popular with consumers.
Usually, professional suppliers can provide reference data for the liquid absorption volume of each membrane cloth, and Meanlove will test the liquid absorption volume of each membrane cloth several times and provide more accurate data reference.
Of course, we can also do a simple test to determine the approximate water absorption rate of a piece of membrane cloth. Steps as shown in the figure below:
The weight of the membrane cloth is 1-2gsm, fold it into 30gsm water, soak for 2 minutes, then pick up the membrane cloth with tweezers and let it dry for 2 minutes, and then check how much grammage of water is missing, you can get the water absorption rate of 1000%-1200%, etc. , which is what we usually call the water absorption ratio of 10-12.
Material
With the development of the industry and technological innovation, the common facial sheet mask materials currently on the market can be roughly divided into the following categories, Tencel, pure cotton, viscose, cupro, biological fiber, polyester fiber (chemical fiber) and special plant fiber. Let’s take a look at the specific raw materials and what process they are made of.
Tencel/Lyocell
Tencel is currently the most common and mainstream material on the market, and it is also a light and transparent series of products that consumers prefer. This type of product is very cost-effective. It can be said that if you don’t know the patch facial mask market yet, the risk of choosing Tencel series mask sheet is the smallest.
The raw material is wood-derived pulp such as conifer or broad-leaved tree pulp, which is made of NMMO (ammonium oxide solution spinning), that is, cloth made by Lyocell process. There are also many and very competitive products, and the weight can range from 22gsm-40gsm.
Such as our representative membrane cloth, HM02, XBK32, Nudseal, eucalyptus, etc.
Viscose
The feeling of viscose in the market is that it is cheap and has an average body feel, but viscose is a fiber with the most modification potential. Such as high water absorption Y-type viscose, ultra-fine viscose and other non-woven fabrics.
The raw material is plant wood pulp, which is made by spinning in alkaline solution. This type of mask sheet fabric is characterized by good printing and dyeing, and can be blended with many other materials, mostly blended with polyester, viscose polyester series products, polyester itself does not absorb water, and the material is hard. After blending with viscose, the finished spunlace non-woven fabric has certain water absorption, softness and so on.
Of course, the price of viscose polyester series products can also vary according to the ratio. The more viscose is added, the higher the price will be. Such as Meanlove’s representative facial mask sheet, JJ fabric, printed mask, activated carbon, graphene, RPT3-90, RPT-3-70, etc.
Pure cotton
In fact, it is cotton, which has a natural touch and is the first choice for sensitive skin. Most of the current use is pure white absorbent cotton. Generally absorbent. According to changes in the market, fewer and fewer people choose pure cotton as the facial mask sheet fabric of the mask, and the touch is not as soft and silky as Tencel/lyocell. On the contrary, with the change of people’s living habits, at present, more pure cotton materials are used to produce products such as face towels, cotton soft towels, and cosmetic cotton pad. The representative membrane cloth of pure cotton includes pure cotton, raw cotton, and a three-layer water bag imported from Japan, with cotton on both sides and wood pulp in the middle. And our own brand cotton soft towel series products.
Cupro fiber
This facial mask sheet fabric was first developed by Japan’s Asahi Kasei Bing Yuling, and later introduced to China, and it is a facial mask sheet fabric that enjoys the title of “silk mask”. Its raw materials are cotton linters and wood pulp, which are made by spinning cuproammonia solution. This mask sheet fabric will become transparent and soft when exposed to water, and it has a better skin feel than Tencel/Lyocell, but it is more sensitive to the raw materials containing “cellulose” in the essence. Cellulose is also a thickener commonly used in our facial mask essence, which has a softening effect, so if the cellulose content is too high, then the mask sheet will be deformed due to excessive softening. For general silk facial mask sheet, the cellulose content in the essence should not exceed 1 to 1.5 per thousand.
Representative facial mask sheet fabrics include Japanese Bemliese384, Bemliese385-3, cuproammonia Tencel, etc.
Cupro ammonium tencel is a blend of cupro ammonium and Tencel. Generally, it has a ratio of 2/8, 4/6, etc. The higher the ratio of cupro ammonium, the higher the price will be.
Biological fiber
This kind of material is a special material, which does not belong to non-woven fabric mask sheet. It changes the conventional thinking, and a fiber is made by using bacteria. The raw material comes from coconut bacterial fermented fiber, the mask sheet fabric developed through bacterial fermentation, with high biocompatibility, breathable and close to the skin, like jelly, known as the “second skin of the human”. The disadvantage is that it hardly absorbs essence. This type of mask sheet is mostly used in the medical and aesthetic industry, skin, and wound repair. Represents facial mask sheet, biological fiber facial mask sheet.
Polyester fiber
That is, chemical fiber, which is the most difficult product to develop in chemical fiber, the main raw material is PP, PE, acrylic, spandex, etc. through melt spinning or solution spinning. The advantage is that it has good elasticity, and the fibers can be extremely thin, but it lacks the natural skin feel. At present, this type of non-woven fabric is mainly used for various lining films, polyester, microfiber, cicada wing lifting, swelling masks, etc.
Special plant fiber
This category is currently loved and promoted by many brands, and it also meets the global environmental protection requirements. The main raw material is to use non-tree plants such as bamboo, banana, camellia, and aloe for solvent extraction. It is characterized by being natural, soft, and containing the special efficacy of the plant itself. Representative facial mask sheet include camellia, white camellia, banana, green tea, aloe, rose, mint, bamboo fiber, green fruit, seaweed, Semi gel, and red pomegranate mask, which is still under development.
As for the mask sheet fabric, in addition to the liquid absorption, weight, raw material and price, we also need to consider other physical or chemical performance factors.
Vertical and horizontal tension
It determines whether the mask sheet fabric will be deformed, whether it is elastic, etc. This feature requires corresponding process settings during the production of non-woven fabrics.
Color
Consumers who are used to seeing black and white may also pursue some other bright colors. For example, our color microfiber series products have products of different colors. There are also Meanlove’s plant series patent film fabrics, such as light pink camellia and light yellow banana film, which retain the color of the plant itself, which is environmentally friendly and beautiful.
Texture
The number and difference of texture will also affect the absorption of essence, skin adhesion, and transparency of the mask sheet fabric. The most common mask sheet textures are plain, S pattern, Dupont pattern, and mesh. There are also some special customized textures and so on. Meanlove has its own non-woven production line, which can meet the diversified choices of brand owners.
Special processing
That is to say, after some post-processing mask sheet fabric, there are pre-spinning and some after spinning, which can make our mask sheet add functions other than essence. There will also be some differences in skin feel from ordinary facial masks, such as our company’s semi gel, Supera mask sheet, etc.
The above is the selection of mask sheet fabrics summarized by Meanlove based on years of experience in brands service and industry accumulation. A good mask sheet fabric makes a good facial mask. Of course, the mask industry is constantly developing and innovating, and there may be more other actors need to be considered. New mask sheet fabric materials are constantly being developed, and more new mask sheet fabrics will appear in the future to meet the new needs of consumers.
