Quality problems with facial masks

Six facial masks were found with poor moisturizing effects among 40 samples tested, the Shanghai Consumer Council revealed on Saturday.

It bought 40 popular facial masks at stores and from online shopping sites, covering domestic and international brands at prices ranging from 17.7 yuan (US$2.6) to 1,350 yuan.

It tested for glucocorticoid, a banned steroid hormone, checked labeling and gauged moisturizing effects after one hour, two hours and four hours. 

None of the masks contained glucocorticoid, the council said.

Tests on 200 volunteers to measure the moisture content of their skin revealed that three brands — SK-II, Nu Skin and Maining — measured between 0 and 1.04 after four hours, meaning that the former two only had two hours of moisturizing effect, with the latter one hour, according to the council.

P&G China, which owns SK-II, claimed its products provided a long-term moisturizing function, helping to improve both inner and outer layers of the skin rather than maintaining moisture content temporarily after its facial masks are removed, the council said.

Another three facial masks — from +WIS+, Borghese and Unifon — among 20 masks requiring washing off were found to have no moisturizing effect at all, the council said.

A survey found that 85.5 percent of consumers believed that the most important function of facial masks was their moisturizing effect.