Anti-blemish

Ziaja Manuka Honey Anti-Acne Face Mask Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - September 14, 2024

Another one of these small Ziaja face masks, this time it’s the Ziaja Manuka Honey Anti-Acne Face Mask!
 
 
I personally don’t eat honey all that much; it is usually too sweet and sticky for me, but I am aware of how powerful it is in terms of skincare! And it’s been used for hundreds of years as folk medicine; it seems that even before the advent of biology and medicine people already knew how good honey was for all kinds of skin issues! Oh, and this isn’t just your regular old honey – it is manuka honey, which is derived from New Zealand, from manuka trees! This variety of honey is thought to be even more nourishing and better for oily, acne-prone skin. As soon as I figured out that this honey mask (there are a few different varieties of Ziaja honey masks) would be the best one for my skin type, I ordered it! I am crossing my fingers, hoping that this sweet honey mask will be able to help me with my acne and skin sensitivity! Please honey, please be good!
 
 
 
Packaging: a plastic sachet, like most masks. The design is very minimalistic, as is usual for Ziaja products. There’s some text in the front, but the majority of it is located in the back. The text is black, quite basic, honestly. However, notice how ‘manuka honey’ is printed in a bright honey yellow! I really like this little detail! And it matches the colour of the honey that is pictured on the side; also, each honey mask has this part of the text be a slightly different colour, so that you can differentiate between all the variants easily. Can I just say: that honey looks really very delicious... I would like some of it ngl.
 
 
 

Ingredients: glycerine, zinc, honey/mel extract, niacinamide/vitamin B3, panthenol/provitamin B5, vitamin C (as sodium ascorbyl phosphate), vitamin E, Pyridoxine HCl/vitamin B6, manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) leaf extract for nourishment. No parabens. I like that there’s no alcohol! Now, this sounds very promising! Not only is it a vitamin bomb, it also has real honey extract and manuka leaf extract! Honey is known for its powerful regenerative and soothing properties, and manuka has anti-inflammatory properties. This, together, has potential to be quite powerful! The scent is... omg... what the?? It smells exactly like honey! It is quite intense, but I really don’t mind it when it smells this delicious! It is aromatic, and smells like real honey, not at all synthetic or plasticy. I love it! Although, it may be too yummy for use before bed... As for how long it should be left on, just 10-15 min, which isn’t bad at all. Enough time for the honey to work its magic, but not so long that it is annoying. Then, the instructions say that you should wash it off with lukewarm water. It doesn’t say whether to apply a moisturiser afterwards, but I do, just in case.
 
 
This mask is light honey yellow coloured and transparent. It really looks like real honey! Hah, I look like I slathered a bunch of honey on my face!
 
 
But it doesn’t just look like honey, the serum feels like honey, as well! It is thick and gooey and sticky – just like honey! It feels more gelly than creamy, but it is actually quite syrup-like. Makes sense, one the main ingredients is sucrose, after all. This formula is quite a bit occlusive and heavy on the skin, but it sure feels rich and nourishing! It’s not at all greasy, no, it literally feels like a mix of sugar syrup and honey. However, it is still very easy to spread across the face, it is gelly enough. 
 
 
While this is certainly much too heavy for my oily, acne-prone skin, it actually feels amazing in winter, when the air is dry and cold. 
 
 
 
Okay! This feels extremely nourishing from the get-go! It feels thick, for sure, but it also feels like it is regenerating my skin deeply and calming all the irritations that I might have! It’s so soothing and relaxing and just wonderful! Especially in wintertime, when the heavy formula feels even more nourishing and regenerative. It feels gentle on my skin, and very balancing. There is a bit of a warming sensation, but it doesn’t feel like an irritation; rather, it feels like it is purifying the skin deeply. I can literally feel it drying out pimples from within! How amazing is this?? Oh yeah, this is for sure going to have amazing results, when it already feels this nice!
 
 
I knew I could count on the incredible manuka honey to have such incredible results! It visibly improves the condition of my skin, as my skin looks nourished and happy. While it may look like there’s more pimples, I believe that this is the same thing that happens when you use retinoids; these pimples were going to surface anyways, it’s just that this face mask “pushed” them to the surface. In any case, they don’t feel inflamed or painful or anything. My skin feels deeply purified and clean, and it seems like it’s going to be more balanced in the next few days. 
 
This is exactly why I tend to use this mask mostly during the luteal phase, or during period, when my skin is at its angriest. This mask is able to calm it down, which also makes me calmer and happier, and lord knows I need that then!
 
 
 
The good results don’t stop; my face still looks really happy and calm and nourished the next morning, too! The pimples that popped up right after removing the mask are gone now, just further proving that these pimples needed to erupt sooner or later, and it’s better if that happens sooner, before they become cystic and painful. And they don’t reappear in the following days, so you can see how well this mask affects the skin long-term! 
 
 
 
 
 
All in all, this is a fantastic face mask – and it costs so very little! See, excellence does not always have to come with a high cost! I had very high expectations, seeing something made specifically for oily skin and containing real honey? Well, surely it would have good results, no? Indeed it does – and then some! The first thing I noticed is how incredibly realistic the scent is! It smells like real honey! So delicious! And boy, it feels like real honey as well; it’s thick and tacky, and is just the right colour honey should be. I don’t remember the last time a mask that has honey felt so much like slathering a bunch of honey all over my face and you know what? It’s glorious! It’s also making me a bit hungry... a bit of honey wouldn’t be that bad, with some nice rye bread. The mask feels a bit thick on my skin, and, while it may be slightly occlusive, it also feels so extremely nourishing and regenerating! It literally feels like it is pulling in moisture to my skin, making sure that it is well-fed from all that honey. And after I wash off the mask (it really cannot stay on overnight because it is way too sticky, it would make such a mess), my skin feels so happy and nourished and calm! And it looks balanced and nourished, as well. I did notice that there were a bit more pimples, but they were gone by the next day, so I suppose it is the same thing that happens with retinoids; that is, those pimples were meant to erupt anyways, but they were pushed to the surface by the mask so that they dry out sooner. And it seems to have been successful because I always have less acne following the use of this mask! Ah, I knew I could count on this yummy honey mask! My skin really loves it, so it is definitely suitable for oily, acne-prone skin. And it’s so affordable as well! So no reason not to try it if you like honey and want to give your skin a real vitamin shot to help it clear excess sebum and acne. I absolutely recommend this mask, I keep buying it again and again because I love in how good of a condition my skin is in after using it – plus, my skin smells yummy like honey afterwards!
 
 
 
Rating: 8.5/10
 
 
Would buy again? YES (I’ve been re-buying it for months now, in fact!)



 

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