Your beauty routine should include at least one facial mask treatment a week. With so many types of face masks available to address various skin concerns, you may be overwhelmed by your choices.

Here's a tip: If you have more than one skin concern, it's better to treat sensitive skin or dehydrated skin first, before tackling other problems, such as aging, acne or whitening.

It's also important to read the ingredient list to find out what your mask contains, so you can make a better choice.

Here are more tips, provided by Terri Tay, Consulting Skincare Specialist at Skinvitals, to help you with your DIY beauty routine.

1.  First, identify your own skin type/condition/problem/concern.

2. Set your priorities - what is your top skin which you want to fix first? If you have sensitive skin or dehydration concerns, tackle these first before targeting other skin issues.

3. A good mask must not only be filled with good ingredients, they also should not have harmful ingredients that are more detrimental to skin than beneficial. These ingredients include:
        - Mineral oil, which can create a ‘oil layer’ on skin and can be difficult to   
          remove
        - Isopropyl myristate, which can clog pores
        - Lanolin oil, which can cause skin sensitivity and trigger ailments like
          acne and asthma
        - Artificial colouring, which can cause skin pigmentation
        -. Artificial fragrance, a photosensitive ingredient that can cause
          pigmentation
       - Formaldehyde, a form of preservative that can irritate skin membranes
       - Specially denatured alcohol, which can strip and dry skin’s natural oil and
        hydration levels

4. Keep a lookout for key ingredients in a mask to make sure that they match what the product claims it can do. For example, Vitamin C in a brightening mask is an ideal match, but you would not find the same ingredient in a mask for acne-prone skin.
 
5. For skin that requires hydration, look out for moisture-boosting ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid.

6. For mature skin, ingredients to look out for include:
        - Argireline, which has a botox-like effect
        - Coenzyme Q10, which is a super antioxidant, and
        - Ginkgo, Biloba, which has a blood circulation boosting effect.

7. While peel masks have a better deep cleansing and purifying effect, cloth masks are able to hold a higher concentration of ingredients, does not dry up easily and can give better results. Paper masks are the least effective as they dry up faster than the skin can absorb the goodness from them.

8. The quality of the cloth mask is also important because some materials may cause skin irritation.

Rayon has been known to be good to the skin and used at the right thickness (80gsm) can hold a good amount of ingredients to maximize skin benefits.

9. Use masks twice a week, about 20 minutes each time for good results. Hydrating masks can be used on a daily basis as the skin loses moisture every day.

10. Make a simple comparison between all the mask brands. Did these brands start with a skincare range first, or a mask?