Definition
Facial mask is one of the important cosmetics for skin cleaning, nursing, and nourishing the face. It is a kind of modern cosmetics with film-forming materials, plants, and organic solvents as the base, supplemented with nutrients and drugs, applied to the face, and forms a film or non-film-forming covering on the skin, so as to achieve the purpose of skincare and beauty.
The origin of the facial mask
The facial mask originated from Cleopatra in the world. Cleopatra often smeared egg white on her face at night. When the egg white dries, it forms a tight film on the face. Wash it off with water in the morning, which can refresh the skin on the face Silky, and delicate and maintains a youthful radiance. It is said that this is the origin of the modern popular mask.
In China, the legend of facial masks began with Concubine Yang in the Tang Dynasty. The reason why Concubine Yang is beautiful and moving is that, in addition to her superior living conditions such as her diet daily life, she also benefits from her specially prepared facial mask. Concubine Yang’s facial mask is not difficult to make, use the appropriate amount of pearl, white jade, and ginseng, grind it into a fine powder, mix it with high-quality lotus root powder, blend it into a paste, apply it on the face, wait for a while, and then wash it off. It is said to be able to remove spots, whiten, remove wrinkles, and brighten the skin.
After the 19th century, Smudge-on facial masks appeared. Smudge-on masks are mainly concentrated in the European and American markets. At the beginning of the 20th century, professional beauty salons appeared, and the booming beauty salon industry developed a wide range of beauty products, including the prototype of modern facial masks. The first modern sheet mask was born in 1993. At that time, SK-II, which had become a sub-brand of Procter & Gamble, applied non-woven fabrics to facial masks for the first time, which promoted a revolution in the way facial masks were used and was recognized as the ancestor of modern sheet masks.
What is a facial sheet mask?
The patch-type facial mask is cut the non-woven fiber fabric into the shape of the face of an adult, put into the package, and then pour the mask liquid or essence in, then to seal the package. When using it, take it out from the package and stick it on the face. Wait 15 to 20 minutes, then peel it.
The development process of facial sheet mask
If I ask, who created the modern facial sheet mask? Maybe you don’t know, but if I ask, what is a silk mask? You must be nodding your head, so how did the silk mask come about? What are the advantages of the silk mask?
In 2008, the first generation of invisible silk masks changed the era of traditional non-woven masks. Because of its subversive product characteristics of “light, thin and transparent”, it quickly replaced the thick and heavy non-woven masks that originally dominated the market. However, due to the limitations of the manufacturing process, the sheet mask material is too soft and has poor stretchability, and it will be broken easily when it is slightly pulled during use. Therefore, the facial masks at that time were generally divided into three layers, namely pearl film, mask sheet, and blue film.
In 2011, the second-generation DuPont invisible silk mask met the standards for use on infant skin. With the upgrade of the second-generation silk mask product, the stretchability of the sheet mask material has become better, but it is still too soft and sticky. It is not easy to unfold during use, and it still needs a medium (pearl film) to support and shape it.
In 2012, a copper ammonia mask developed by Meanlove company was very popular in the market at that time, and it was once out of stock. The inspiration for the research and development of the cupro ammonia mask base fabric is actually the Bemliese from Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corporation. The raw material of the cupro ammonia mask cloth is cotton linter, which is made by spinning cupro ammonia solution. Transparent and soft, it is even better than the popular Tencel mask sheet. However, it is more sensitive to the cellulose in the essence. It is generally recommended that the cellulose content should not exceed 0.1%. If the cellulose content is too high, it will cause deformation of mask sheet.
In 2014, Microfiber mask sheets became popular around the world. This type of mask sheet has extremely fine fibers, high strength, and softness. It has the functions of high water absorption, softness, and deep cleaning. Since this year, the sheet mask has entered a fast track of development, and Meanlove’s pre-cutting mask sheets have also opened up the entire international mask market.
In 2016, with the development of the fiber industry, the facial mask sheet entered a new field, and a series of plant fiber non-woven fabrics appeared on the market. It is mainly a non-woven fabric made of non-wood-derived plants such as camellias, bananas, and aloe through solvent extraction. This kind of film cloth has an effect on plants themselves, it is soft and skin-friendly, and is environmentally friendly and biodegradable, which also meets the current international environmental protection requirements. The patented camellia mask sheet and banana mask sheet developed by Meanlove company quickly became popular in the market, giving new empowerment to the patch masks on the market.
What are the components of a sheet mask?
Generally, a finished sheet mask is mainly composed of four parts, facial mask sheet, essence, packaging bag, and color box.
The facial mask sheet of facial mask is the carrier of the essence. According to the functional indicators of the mask sheet, such as air permeability, softness, liquid retention rate, permeability, water retention performance, stretchability, skin affinity, etc., the mask sheets supplied in the market are mainly non-woven fabrics. , including traditional non-woven fabrics, fruit fiber, silk, cotton fiber, Tencel, Binchotan, biofiber, viscose fiber, chitosan mask sheet, etc.
With the development of the industry, the situation of new bearings also includes gel-containing non-woven fabric patches and impregnated non-woven fabric patch masks.
- The impregnated non-woven fabric patch mask set is composed of two parts, a non-woven fabric mask liner and a bottle of gel-like matrix preparation; spray a small amount of water when using it to soften the non-woven fabric, and then Stick it on, and then apply a layer of gel matrix preparation on the non-woven fabric. Such as our sheet and essence liquid separation mask sheets.
- The gel-containing non-woven fabric patch mask is to apply a layer of gel-type preparation on the non-woven fabric, cut it into the shape of the face, and then seal it in the packaging bag. Take it out of the package when using it, add water and stick it on the face directly. Such as the freeze-dried series of facial mask sheets that are very popular in the current market.
Mask fluid (essence) contains water-soluble polymers as excipients and is somewhat viscous; it also often contains moisturizers, emollients, and some functional ingredients, as well as some preservatives and flavors. The more commonly used polymer excipients are acrylic polymers, polyvinyl alcohol, and gums from natural sources.
What packing bags to choose for the facial mask
Plastic packaging bags are the first choice for facial mask packaging bags because the facial mask contains more moisture, and packaging bags made of other materials are not conducive to retaining moisture. However, there are also many types of materials for plastic packaging bags. Here are the following types of plastic packaging bags suitable for mask packaging bags.
Aluminum foil material bags
Aluminum foil packaging bag is a kind of plastic packaging bag material with high barrier performance, and the facial mask has the characteristics of high water content, some facial masks have a certain amount of oil and fragrance at the same time, so, because the aluminum foil packaging bag does not absorb light, it has good It is not only light-shielding but also has strong insulation, oil resistance, and softness. Therefore, aluminum foil is the best choice for mask packaging bags.
At the same time, since aluminum foil packaging bags are generally composite plastic packaging bags, it means that other materials can be compounded on the basis of aluminum foil materials, such as kraft paper, etc., which will make the mask packaging bags look more beautiful.
Aluminum-plated or pure aluminum material bags
Since this material contains “aluminum”, as far as the sheet mask packaging bag is concerned, it is similar in characteristics to the aluminum foil material. These two materials are slightly cheaper than aluminum foil, and they are more economical and affordable mask packaging bags.
Aluminum plating or pure aluminum, through the composite production process of plastic packaging bags, can also have a variety of options, depending on your requirements for product packaging.
Easy-to-tear film bags
The easy-tear film has the characteristics of the above several materials. On this basis, it is also easy to tear and easy to use. If your product is positioned as a high-end mask, you can consider using the easy-tear film as the material of the mask packaging bag.
There are other materials that can also be used as materials for mask packaging bags. Specifically, you can select plastic packaging bags that suit you according to your product positioning and have a lower cost.
Benefits of facial masks
Facial mask belongs to a kind of skin care product, is a kind of carrier of some beauty care products, and mainly plays a certain beauty effect by applying it on the face. The moisture of the facial mask and the moisture of the covered skin keeps the stratum corneum of the skin soft. After the skin is hydrated, the skin is transparent, elastic, and shiny. Common functions include hydrating, moisturizing, whitening, anti-aging, repairing, and oil balance. Its main principle is to apply a facial mask containing active ingredients on the face to isolate air pollution, tighten the skin, increase the temperature of the skin, accelerate local blood circulation, and expand the pores to facilitate the penetration of nutrients in the mask into the skin. absorbed by the skin, plays the role of moisturizing and nourishing the skin. When the patch mask is removed, it removes dirt from the pores and cleanses the skin. Therefore, the use of facial masks can achieve a variety of beauty effects. The effects are mainly related to the therapeutic ingredients contained in the facial masks. Some focus on moisturizing and repairing, while others focus on whitening and anti-aging. The effect of repairing damaged skin and so on varies from person to person.
Precautions for sheet masks
The recommended use time of the patch mask is generally 15-20 minutes. Some skin care salons claim that face masks detoxify, or permanently shrink pores, etc., but these claims lack scientific evidence. In addition, facial masks have certain moisturizing and skin care effects, but they are unlikely to have quick-acting whitening and beautifying effects. Be cautious about some products that claim to have quick-acting effects, as there may be a risk of illegally adding prohibited ingredients.
Up to now, people have given more hope to mask cloth, which is environmentally friendly and skin-friendly at the same time. Looking at the development history of Chinese mask fabric, can be summarized with the word “humanization”, from ordinary non-woven cloth to silk Membrane cloth, every upgrade is for a better experience.
Analysis of China’s Facial Mask Market Scale
Driven by market demand, the Chinese facial mask market has expanded rapidly. According to data, in 2017, the total retail sales of China’s facial mask market reached RMB19.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 10%, and facial mask products accounted for 10.0% of the market share of skin care products. The year-by-year increase in the market share of facial masks in the skin care products market is sufficient to prove that facial masks have become an increasingly active category in the skin care products market, and the Chinese facial mask market has relatively entered a mature stage. In the next few years, my country’s facial mask market will show a rapid growth trend. It is estimated that in 2022, the scale of China’s facial mask retail market will exceed RMB30 billion.
Patch mask is the most popular
The facial mask market such as e-commerce platforms is dominated by sheet masks, and its share is maintained at about 70% annually. Consumers’ demand for facial masks focuses on hydrating and moisturizing. Against the background of brand re-layout and consumption upgrade of beauty makeup users, sheet masks are widely welcomed by consumers due to their ease of use, accounting for about 70% of the online market. At present, consumers’ demand for facial masks is still mainly focused on hydrating and moisturizing, accounting for more than half of them. In the future, consumers’ demands for cosmetics will become more and more subdivided and diverse. In addition to traditional moisturizing and whitening, consumers expect more targeted functions. Masks to solve their specific skin problems, such as fine pores, after-sun repair, etc.
The development trend of facial masks in the future
In order to meet the needs of consumers in the market, facial masks have entered the era of the ultra-thin facial mask revolution. The non-woven pure cotton material that was popular in the past is now becoming more and more sluggish in the market. Consumers have higher and higher requirements for the use of facial masks. In the pursuit of lightness, transparency, environmental protection, and biodegradability, so silk masks, plant fibers, biological fibers, Tencel masks, etc. have become the most powerful main products of the current sheet masks.
More and more new raw materials for mask sheets will be developed to give a higher performance to the sheet masks in the future.
