Out of all the Kama Ayurveda products, I have road-tested over the past 30 days, this by far, has been the most difficult. The main problem is the smell. The turmeric and sandalwood smell is strong and overpowers everything. If you love those smells, great for you.
However, my feedback for saner mortals is this a hard product to use (unless you stop breathing for a few minutes).
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Obligatory after
There is without doubt skin brightening/lightening after even one use of the mask. And frankly, I only managed to use this product once a week. I make a very loose clay mask because I don’t want the mask to dry out my actual skin. I definitely do not follow the instructions, which asks you to wait till the mask completely dries out. This is in fact the opposite of what you should do, because as I mentioned earlier, there is a danger the clay starts to draw water from your skin as well. This damages your skin barrier, and increases the rate of Trans Epidermal Water Loss from your skin.
How does this compare it to other sandalwood face masks?
If I compare it to Uma Brightening face mask, there is definitely better skin brightening action and at a fraction of the cost. Uma’s face mask costs US$ 50 and this costs US$ 22. Kama is much cheaper because it uses principally multani mitthi and sandalwood oil. Uma is the far superior product because it uses actual sandalwood, a hideously expensive ingredient. However, in terms of outcome, Kama takes my vote.
Would I buy this product again?
No. Given its smell, I would rather live with dark, pigmented skin than use this again.
Also, I have an aversion to masks that I have to make-up at home. However, you should know that preservation of clay with water is notoriously difficult and therefore, it is completely acceptable for manufacturers to take the short cut and sell the dry powders.
Available for sale at Kama Ayurveda or Nykaa. Retail price is INR 1,595 for 40g
See also
Kama Ayurveda brightening face scrub