11 Best Sheet Masks for Brighter, Younger-Looking Skin

The best sheet masks are among the most underrated products in skin care. For the casual consumer, navigating the world of serums can be tricky, if not downright frustrating. For one, specialty skin products tend to be ingredient-forward in their packaging, marketing themselves primarily to those who already know what to look for. Sheet masks, on the other hand, generally lead with outcomes, like improving elasticity or evening skin tone. If anything, they provide a user-friendly introduction to the kinds of key ingredients that might eventually make their way into your daily regimen.

Of course, sheet masks are so much more than skin care training wheels. These serum-soaked, travel-friendly products often deliver potent formulations that provide instant results, in addition to long-term benefits with continued use. And they encourage you to take a step back from your busy schedule and relax for a moment (or four hours)—something we could probably all use a bit more of.

The Best Sheet Masks, According to GQ

• The Best Sheet Mask for Maximum Coverage: Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus+ Concentrated Treatment Sheet Mask, $22
• The Best Sheet Mask for Glowing Skin: SK-II Facial Treatment Mask, $30
• The Best Budget Sheet Mask: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating 100% Hydrogel Mask, $5.49
• The Best Sheet Mask for Dewy Skin: Round Lab Birch Moisturizing Sheet Mask, $4
• The Best Slugging Sheet Mask: LOOPS Dream Sleep, $35
• The Best Sheet Mask for Reducing Fine Lines: Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Mask, $60
• The Best Skin-Tightening Sheet Mask: Augustinus Bader The Hydrogel Face Mask, $32
• The Best Soothing Sheet Mask: Pixi Aftersun Sheet Mask, $10
• The Best Sheet Mask for Even Skin Tone: Biodance Radiant Vita Niacinamide Reel Deep Mask, $19
• The Best Collagen Sheet Mask: Mediheal Collagen Essential Mask, $8
• The Best Vegan Sheet Mask: Ma:nyo Our Vegan Heartleaf Cica Mask, $28

Best Sheet Mask for Maximum Coverage: Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus+ Concentrated Treatment Sheet Mask

We love a two-piece sheet mask. Being able to apply the upper and lower halves independently just makes sense, since faces come in all shapes and sizes and I personally find most masks to run a bit small. That’s not an issue here at all. This product provides the best coverage I’ve experienced from a sheet mask so far, spanning comfortably from hairline to below the chin and contouring nicely around the nose. All of this sets the stage for a combination of vitamin C ester, copper tripeptide, and phospholipids to work its magic, evening out skin texture and reducing dullness. After 20 minutes, this mask left my skin feeling plump and bouncy in a way that no hand-applied serum ever could.

Best Sheet Mask for Glowing Skin: SK-II Facial Treatment Mask

When a cult-favorite brand attributes its success to a single ingredient, you know there’s something there. For SK-II, that ingredient is galactomyces ferment filtrate—a naturally derived liquid from yeast fermentation. As the story goes, it was discovered when scientists noticed the youthful-looking hands of elderly Japanese sake brewers, who spent hours manually mashing fermented ingredients. Turns out, galactomyces ferment filtrate is in fact rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids—and it has since become the basis for SK-II’s entire product line, including this sheet mask, which comes absolutely drenched in the stuff.

Best Sheet Mask on a Budget: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating 100% Hydrogel Mask

In a world of $40 sheet masks, Neutrogena stands out with a high-value drugstore option that’ll run you about as much as a kombucha. Just as refreshing is the mask itself, which instantly hydrates using a straightforward hyaluronic acid serum to gently moisturize and soothe. The two-piece hydrogel construction, while a little slippery out of the packaging, does well to make even contact with the skin and provides satisfying coverage, even over light stubble. One of the best things about using a sheet mask is the ritual and the relaxation it encourages; and at this price, this is a mask you can use on the regular and rest assured that it won’t break the bank.

Best Sheet Mask for Dewy Skin: Round Lab Birch Moisturizing Sheet Mask

When it comes to testing products like these, I like to try them before diving too deep into the marketing materials. That way, I can avoid any kind of placebo effect that might sway me one way or the other. The first thing I noticed after applying this mask was a palpable cooling sensation. The second, once I’d removed the mask and massaged the residual serum into my face and neck, was how visibly dewy my skin looked. Sure enough, the Inje birch tree sap that serves as the hero ingredient in the mask’s juicy serum is known for its cooling effects, and the combination of vita hyaluronic acid, amino acids, and natural minerals was formulated specifically to leave skin glistening.

Best Slugging Sheet Mask: LOOPS Dream Sleep

For the uninitiated, slugging is simply the act of slathering your skin in an occlusive product—like a petroleum-based moisturizer—to seal in moisture and flood the skin with hydration, nutrients, and other ingredients. It’s best done at night, as the final step of your skin-care regimen right before bed, and it’s among the most effective ways to wake up with a dewy glow right out of the gate. A sheet mask is a simple, no-fuss way to get the job done, and this one from LOOPS is my hands-down favorite. The two-piece hydrogel mask creates a protective antioxidant barrier that incorporates bakuchiol to stimulate cell turnover, ceramides to boost firmness and elasticity, and niacinamide to bolster the skin barrier’s defenses against free radicals.

Best Sheet Mask for Reducing Fine Lines: Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Mask

This mask is made using fibers from the paper mulberry plant, which gives it the unique ability to hold up to 10 times its weight in moisture—hence how Sulwhasoo is able to drench each mask in three weeks’ worth of the key ingredients used in the brand’s best-selling First Care Activating Serum VI. To get the most out of the formulation’s star ingredient, Sulwhasoo treats its ginseng with a 500-hour process to supercharge its ability to support the skin barrier and reduce the appearance of fine lines. While I love each and every mask on this list, none feels more like it would be at home in a luxury spa than this one, from the divine scent—equal parts citrusy and floral—to the radiant afterglow.

Best Skin-Tightening Sheet Mask: Augustinus Bader The Hydrogel Face Mask

I love how lightweight this mask feels on my skin. It’s noticeably lighter on serum than the other masks on this list, which makes the visible results it leaves behind all the more impressive—a testament to the efficacy of the powerhouse formulation of amino acids, vitamins, and peptides. The main thing I notice after using this mask is how it leaves my skin visibly firmer and more supple, which can probably be attributed to the combination of copper peptide and acetylated hyaluronic acid, which support collagen and elastin production and promote moisture retention, respectively. It’s one of the pricier masks out there, but you certainly get what you pay for.

Best Soothing Sheet Mask: Pixi Aftersun Sheet Mask

Whether you’re looking to soothe sun-baked skin or, in my case, take a breather from yet another brutal New York City summer, make this mask your go-to choice. The serum—a combination of aloe vera, cucumber, and chamomile—is just as refreshing as it sounds (and even better when you throw the mask in the fridge for a couple of minutes beforehand). Within a moment or two after applying the mask, you can really feel the ingredients getting to work, cooling, soothing, and refreshing the skin. I also appreciate how the mask itself is on the thinner side, and it doesn’t totally smother your face in serum. It’s light and airy, and the perfect way to chill out and beat the heat.

Best Sheet Mask for Even Skin Tone: Biodance Radiant Vita Niacinamide Reel Deep Mask

If uneven skin tone—dark spots, blotchiness, patchy texture—is an issue for you, and you’re ready to roll out the big guns, consider this mask your secret weapon of mass correction. You’ll need to set aside three to four hours (yes, you read that correctly) for the ingredients to fully absorb. Fortunately, the mask’s clingy adhesion means you can actually just leave it on overnight. Personally, I like to use this one during the day, so I can watch the mask gradually turn from opaque to clear as it works its magic. The formulation relies on three active ingredients—niacinamide, glutathione, and pineapple water—to fade hyperpigmentation, reduce the appearance of dark spots, and gently exfoliate to optimize clarity. The result is an instant boost to brightness, and a visibly more balanced complexion with continued use.

Best Collagen Sheet Mask: Mediheal Collagen Essential Mask

Really, this mask could also take the title of best budget option, since it works out to about $2 per mask, which is ludicrously affordable, but that would overshadow what an incredible collagen mask this is. That said, I think it’s important to call attention to something that’s lost in translation here—which is not uncommon with Korean skin-care brands, although that’s no reason to love them any less! The mask is not made with three types of collagen (carrots, for example, do not contain collagen); rather, these powerful active ingredients stimulate collagen production in the body. Ultimately, you still get the result you’re looking for, which, in this case, is firmer, bouncier, more youthful-looking skin.

Best Vegan Sheet Mask: Ma:nyo Our Vegan Heartleaf Cica Mask

Not only is this mask 100% vegan, it’s also an excellent option for sensitive skin, made with natural ingredients that are as hard-working as they are gentle. The mask itself is made from the centella asiatica plant, also known as cica, which is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This powerful, skin-friendly ingredient is also used in the mask’s serum, along with bamboo stem water, which provides a cooling effect and moisture retention, as well as white birch extract for additional hydration.

What to Look for in a Sheet Mask

A sheet mask is essentially a mask soaked in a serum. So, shopping for sheet masks is really just like shopping for any other kind of skin-care product, just with the added consideration of the mask itself. That said, there are one or two nuances worth keeping in mind. Here, Samantha Susca, lead esthetician at Casa Cipriani in New York City, shares some factors to consider before adding anything to your cart.

• Material: Sheet masks can be made from different materials, and the most popular products tend to fall into one of three categories: cloth, hydrogel, or biocellulose. According to Susca, it’s almost always simply a matter of preference—with one exception. “After any type of exfoliation, or if you’ve had a professional treatment done, always go with a hydrogel or biocellulose mask,” she says. “For example, right after I microneedle someone, I am going to apply a hydrogel or biocellulose sheet mask, not a cloth-based one, because I know that that’s going to cool the skin down, calm the skin, deliver nutrients, and there’s no chance of any fibers or anything getting into the skin to irritate it.”
• Ingredients: Just like a serum you’d apply manually to your face, sheet masks can contain a whole range of ingredients. Unlike those products, however, sheet masks tend to contain lower concentrations of active ingredients, so you can’t go too far wrong, and the odds of picking a mask that will have an adverse effect are relatively low. “What’s great about them is they can be incorporated into any skin-care routine for any skin type, any skin concern, and you can’t really hurt your skin with them, because they’re definitely more gentle products,” she says. “They’re mostly just hydrating, calming, and soothing.” Mostly, you just want to avoid masks with unnecessarily long ingredient lists. “If I see an ingredients list that’s five miles long, and I see fragrance or dyes or colorants, I’m probably going to say skip that one and look for something that has fewer, more intentional ingredients,” Susca says.
• Size: To state the obvious, a sheet mask is only going to benefit the skin it makes contact with, so you’ll want to do your best to find masks that fit your face as well as possible. That can sometimes be easier said than done, especially with masks made from a single piece of material. “As estheticians we always laugh about this, because we always wonder, like, who is the face model for these masks?” says Susca. Personally, I often find one-piece masks to be too small. “I’ve actually always had the issue of masks being way too big,” says Susca. Fortunately, many brands now make two-piece masks that allow you to apply the top and bottom halves separately, effectively solving this problem. And if there’s a single-piece mask that you love but the sizing isn’t ideal, feel free to go DIY on it using a pair of scissors, says Susca—before you put it on your face, that is.