Laneige’s Water Sleeping Mask_EX: An Overnight Sensation

A mainstay in every skincare enthusiast’s routine, the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask is a go-to for when you need that supple, nourished look of skin that’s gotten eight hours of sleep — even if you didn’t. The Sleeping Mask would usually go on last in one’s skin regimen, kept on overnight, and rinsed off in the morning to reveal a fresh and glowing face. This year though, their formula just got even better. 

Enter Laneige Water Sleeping Mask_EX. The product has gone through several reformulations since its initial launch, and this year’s improved formula includes an ingredient people have been including in their routines more and more: probiotics.

What they call the Sleeping Microbiome is a probiotics complex that helps strengthen the skin barrier, which is the protective layer of natural oils, acid, and healthy bacteria that keep your skin healthy and protect it from infection.

Probiotics have become more and more popular in skincare as it encourages the balance of said bacteria. Harsh products, fatigue, extended sun exposure, and stressors, in general, can compromise the skin barrier — you can feel this when the skin gets sensitive, inflamed, or products you apply feel like they sting. When the skin barrier is penetrated, your skin becomes extremely vulnerable, further triggering inflammations, or worse: allowing infections to set in. This can result in breakouts (such as fungal acne), flaking, redness, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which is when your skin recovers from sensitivity and the area darkens.

With your skin’s defense boosted, the Water Sleeping Mask is able to help improve brightness and clarity in tired skin. 

Another added benefit to Water Sleeping Mask is the ingredient squalane. Some fans of the mask love the moisture it delivers, but in some cases with really dry skin, it didn’t last the entire night. In the reformula, the deep hydrator squalane allows the moisture to last longer and be better absorbed by the skin.

Squalane is a well-loved emollient, which means it’s a type of hydrator or oil that mimics the way the skin’s own sebum prevents moisture loss. Human skin typically welcomes squalane as it is a modified version of squalene, a major component of human sebum, which is why our skin recognizes it as a friend and can also mean fewer chances for irritation when integrated into one’s routine for the first time. While squalane is an oil, it is non-comedogenic, it soothes irritations, and can even help fade dark marks. 

More than lightweight hydration, however, squalane also helps keep our skin’s surface healthy by supporting our natural oils in strengthening the barrier. Over time, with a healthy and stable barrier, the hydration and balance that Water Sleeping Mask_EX delivers help reduce signs of premature aging, smoothing the appearance of wrinkles, and bringing clarity into the skin.