If your ideal Friday night consists of cancelling plans in favour of a face mask and a glass of wine, you’re not alone.

Think With Google recently reported that searches for clay masks – especially the bubble and carbonated kind (because we’re forever thinking about Instagram opportunities, obviously) – have grown significantly since 2017, as it seems more and more of us are on the hunt for simple yet effective ways to practise self-care and, of course, to achieve much better skin.

“In general, clay masks are brilliant for deep cleansing skin and drawing out impurities,” says expert facialist, Kate Kerr, and with toxic air having been at illegal levels in the capital and most urban areas in the UK since 2010, it looks like we need all the help we can get to banish the nasties that threaten to wreak havoc on our complexions.

“Applying a clay mask is also a great way to tackle excess oil production which can lead to congested and acne prone skin,” Kate continues.

Sarah Hamilton, co-founder of Instagram-famous, Australian skincare brand, Sand & Sky, explains the trend further: “Detoxing is so huge in skincare. Most of us have blackheads and there’s always something we want to combat, whether that’s enlarged pores or spots. Clay masks act like an intense cleanse and really pull out grime, make-up and oil.”

“They are also really, really satisfying,” Hamilton continues. “Everyone loves the ‘oil pool’ that tends to collect on the surface of the skin because you can see it working and you get instant results and want to do it again and again.”

But with heaps of different kinds of clay masks out there right now, many promising to banish oil slicks, erase blemishes and impart a supermodel-esque radiance, which type is really right for your skin type?

Stylist got the experts involved to find out…

This is what clay masks actually do to your skin