According to a study in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, researchers have developed a facial mask with a sheet of plant-based polylactic acid (PLA), which could repel water, and is coated it in a layer of gelatin mixed with hyaluronic acid and green tea extract. They deposited the top layer as either tiny fibers or microspheres, using electrospinning or electrospray, respectively, and tested how well the masks could transfer moisture. They found water droplets did not pass through the masks without skin contact, regardless of which side a water droplet was placed on; contact with skin initiated one-way water transport from PLA to gelatin to skin, but only for masks coated with gelatin-based microspheres and placing the mask on moistened, rather than dry, skin improved water delivery through the mask.
Finally, the team investigated how its mask’s ingredients impacted mouse cells as a proxy for reactions on skin. Fewer cells showed signals of aging when grown on the mask compared with cells grown in control conditions; the researchers attribute this to the antioxidant properties of the green tea extracts. The team says the beneficial properties of the natural ingredients and the one-way moisture-delivery design make this mask a promising alternative with a lesser environmental impact compared to traditional, wet-packed products.
The study was funding in part by the City University of Hong Kong, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macau Science & Technology Fund.