Face mask that left 13-year-old girl’s face “bright red” recalled

The skincare brand Yes To has voluntarily recalled its grapefruit Vitamin C Glow-Boosting Unicorn Paper Mask following reports of burning, redness and painful skin irritation. Users of the mask told CBS News that it burned, but they kept it on because the package says, “Tingling? Yes, it’s working.”

The mask left one 13-year-old girl’s face “bright red,” her mom Dami Newell Ownby said.

“Initially I was a little bit worried that it was something that was going to have lasting effects,” she said. Her daughter said her skin “stung” if it was touched.

Yes To said in a statement that it has taken the product off the shelves as it investigates. The company said the product is 95% natural ingredients and that they avoid using harmful chemicals.

But natural ingredients are not always a good thing, dermatologist Elizabeth Hale said on “CBS This Morning” Friday.

“Although natural products can be good and can have benefits, when they’re used in very high concentrations, like in this case here in a sheet mask, there are ingredients like citric acid, which can be very irritating to the skin,” she said. “Oftentimes these natural products contain essential oils, which can be very irritating especially under a mask because that increases penetration.”

Hale also said the message on the package about tingling is “a little misleading because tingling is not necessarily a good thing.”

If sheet mask users do experience tingling, the mask “should be taken off right away,” Hale said.

“Remove the product, and then, there are some soothing ingredients like castor bean oil and glycerin,” Hale said. “Another thing to mention is to keep this damaged skin out of the sun because sometimes these products induce a photoallergic reaction, which means your skin is irritated and very sun sensitive.”

Asked if face masks work, Hale said sheet masks can be very hydrating for your skin.

“In my practice, I use them when patients are recovering from procedures like laser procedures,” she said.