disclaimer: products sent for review purposes
I love Manyo Factory products ~ they seem to specialize in both fresh herb-centric and fermented skincare products, which are two ingredients that I love! I have tried and reviewed their
I am also currently using their Galactomyces Special Treatment Essence with Niacin and I just started adding this product into my wash off mask pack rotation ~ Active Refresh Herb Pack, thanks to the lovely Margaret at Melody Skincare & Cosmetics, who sent me this product to review. I love a good wash off mask pack and this is full of exciting ingredients!
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Green Powder Complex from Nature: This Active Refresh Herb Pack contains a variety of herbs and shows powerful effects to soothe skin, keeping skin elasticity and tighten pores after exfoliation. (yes, I cleaned it up a bit)
Ingredients of Note
This wash off mask pack has so many ingredients in it that I love and that are really well suited for oily and blemish prone skin.
Clay: Kaolin and Bentonite are both clay products ~ kaolin helps remove dirt, absorbs excess oil, while removing excess shine on your face, while bentonite smooths, exfoliates, cleanses your pores while improving overall skin tone.
Herbs & Plants: Centella Asiatica is a common herbal ingredient that is used medicinally to help speed up wound healing, such as blemishes and skin rashes. It also helps minimize the appearance of pores, and since it stimulates collagen production, it will make your skin more supple and firm. Artemisia Vulgaris (Mugwort) is full of anti-aging vitamins ~A, B1, B2 and C ~ as well as proteins. It helps with collagen production and is an anti-inflammatory. Houttuynia Cordata has powerful detox properties, an astringent and anti-inflammatory.
Melaleuca Alternifolia (tea tree) is an anti fungal, antibacterial and antiseptic ingredient and helps prevent and heal acne. Aloe Vera attracts and keep moisture and is also an anti-inflammatory. Camellia Sinensis (green tea) is an antioxidant to help combat free radicals and reverse skin damage as well as an anti-inflammatory. Artemisia Absinthium (wormwood) has been used in traditional European herbal medicine to help heal skin wounds and contains a rich source of antioxidants.
Pinus Densiflora (pine) is an interesting ingredient~ this resinous ingredient has antioxidant properties that help rebuild collagen and protect your skin against UV rays, while inhibiting the production of tyrosinase, which is an enzyme that helps produce melanin, that causes hyper-pigmentation. Leonurus Sibiricus (Siberian motherwort) is an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory herb.
Other Good Stuff: Propolis is a natural antibiotic that is produced by honey bees. This ingredient is wonderful for those with blemish prone skin or have other skin issues, as it really helps heal your skin. Arbutin is a natural skin lightening ingredient, helping to reduce PIH and sun damaged hyper-pigmentation. Glycerin helps with healing of wounds, is an humectant, sealing in moisture, maintains the skin’s water balance on an inter-cellular level, which makes the skin look healthy, moist (not dry and scaly), soft to touch, and is also an emollient, leaving your skin looking radiant and supple.
Stumper: 태움 용융소금 If google translate is working properly, then this is burning (bamboo) molten salt. Now this is actually a real thing I found out and I did verify it when I looked at Manyo Factory’s Korean site and they had bamboo salt in the photo. I figured out, with my absolute lack of knowledge with the Korean language, that this is a salt that has been purified by heating up in a bamboo tube. It contains “more than 70 kinds of minerals due to the leaching of minerals from the bamboo tree trunks, the pine tree resin, and the yellow clay” ~ minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, potassium, sulfur, phosphorus, zinc ~ and due to its high sulfur content, it has a pH level of 10.5, which makes it an anti-inflammatory and acts as an anti-aging ingredient. It is a natural exfoliator and contains antioxidants that combat free radicals, while helping remove toxins, preventing blemishes. (sources KSalt & Probacto Blog)
And tons of botanical plant extracts that are antioxidants and anti-aging ~ I could write a thesis on all of them ~ broccoli, lizard’s tail, licorice, dandelion, wintergreen, golden root, olive, wheat flour, Japanese pepper, lichen, Korean pasqueflower and rose ~ thankfully, the rose ingredient is well way, way down the list and I did patch test. I did not have a reaction to the rosa damascena extract.
This also has some oils in it ~ peppermint, orange and eucalyptus ~ which does add to the texture of the product.
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This green-gray mask has a medium weight texture ~ it is not runny, but it isn’t too thick. It has some texture with it ~ there are grainy bits in this mask. It has a fantastic herbal scent ~ it is strongly scented, but not as much as the Active Herb Refresh Oil. If you do not like herbal scents, you will not like this ~ however, if you swoon over deep, dark herbal tones like I do, you will love it! This mask is easy to apply, very smooth and even application ~ it is almost a bit slippery, which is due to the oils in it. It does dry down, but not uncomfortably so, just enough so you cannot smile without “cracking your face”. As it dries down, there is a nice cooling sensation on my skin ~ it isn’t freezing cold, but refreshing and cool.
Wash away your tensed day with this cooling wash-off pack. Kick off your evening feeling deeply cleansed, while tightening your pores, reducing inflammation with more nourished, moisturized, and healthy skin. Suffering from large pores. Want to help reduce bacteria that causes acne. Want to help restore skin suppleness (from melodycosme)
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I left the mask on for 15 minutes and then rinse off with warm water, massaging the mask pack into my face as the little gritty bits will help to exfoliate. It is easy to wash off, no stubborn mask bits left behind. The results? My face was refreshed, cool and smooth to touch. My face also felt softer and looked brighter, more mattified without feeling dry and my pores looked tighter and smaller. The oils in this mask helped keep my face moisturized but not so that it feels greasy. It also was very soothing, both in scent and in results ~ my face was not irritated with the addition of bamboo salt ~ sometimes salt products cause my skin to get reddened or flushed. Bonus for me? As I was wearing this mask, I felt like I was in an eco-friendly spa environment with that fragrant herbal bouquet
Ingredients: Purified water, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Kaolin, Centella Asiatica Extract, Propolis Extract, Camellia Japonica Flower Water, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Artemisia Vulgaris (Mugwort) Extract, Artemisia Absinthium (Wormwood) Extract, Pinus Densiflora (Pine) Leaf Powder, Leonurus Sibiricus (Siberian motherwort) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Dimethyl Sulfone, Bentonite, Arbutin, Saururus Chinensis (Lizard’s Tail) Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Leaf Extract, Gaultheria Procumbens (Wintergreen) Leaf Extract, Rhodiola Rosea Root (Golden Root) Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Burning (Bamboo) Molten Salt, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Kernel Flour, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Rosa Damascena Flower Extract, Mentha Pipertia (Peppermint) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil cosDNA analysis
Final Thoughts
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I have used this mask 3 times now and I love it! In fact, I have neglected my other masks that I want to try out as this one is a current favorite of mine ~ I love clay masks and when you add herbs to it, I get more excited. This might be a bit more expensive at $26.00 for a 80 mL jar, but you don’t need a lot of this mask as it is so smooth and easy to apply. Other clay masks might be less expensive, but they might be so thick that you waste a lot of product whereas with this mask, you won’t. I think if you have oily, blemish prone skin and love herbal ingredients, you will really enjoy this mask. Have you tried Manyo Factory Active Refresh Herb Pack? Or any of the Manyo Factory products? What did you think of them?
You can purchase this mask pack at Melody Skincare & Cosmetics for $26.00 (click here to purchase). They ship primarily in the USA with a flat rate shipping cost of $6.00 for orders under $50.00 and free shipping with orders over $50.00 ~ and you get free samples too with all orders. They do ship internationally, but contact them first at info@melodycosme.com to get the shipping rate. If you want to know more about Melody, check out my store blog post here
disclaimer: products sent for review purposes
Unboxing Beauty 
just checking but, “lizards tail” is the name of a plant right? like duckweed? also are the eesential oils overpowering or is it just a little? like does it have a strong minty smell?
great review btw – did you consider making a “holy grails” post? 🙂
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hi line broe – in the ingredients list, I list out the official name with the common name – it is a plant (Saururus Chinensis (Lizard’s Tail) Extract). The scent is not minty – it is very rich,pungent and earthy herbal.
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