Once regarded as a superfluous exercise of self-care favoured by Patrick Bateman types, the face mask can be one of the most transformative parts of the modern skincare routine. From membrane sheet masks that promise to plump out wrinkles to redness-soothing gel serums, pots of volcanic clay designed to minimise pores and even cyborg-esque LED masks built to zap scars and stimulate collagen production, whatever your skincare concerns, there’s likely a mask that can help. Plus, with the sorry state of our winter eyebags, some self-care tips from Bateman actually wouldn’t go amiss. Better to be a well-groomed psychopath than a disheveled one, after all.

As far as clean, sustainable and natural skincare brands go, Tata Harper is the name to know. The brand’s hydrating floral mask is a soothing, gel-based formula that is packed full of hyaluronic molecules designed to deliver a potent hit of moisture to the skin, smoothing out fine lines and calming irritation to give a brighter, healthier look.

A plug-in mask that uses blasts of light to brighten and rejuvenate your skin? Now we’re talking. Developed after growing demand from clients who had experienced the mask in-house, The Light Salon’s Boost Advanced Light Therapy Mask is one of the most futuristic skincare gadgets on the market. By using pulses of near-infrared light that penetrate the skin deeper than any topical product, the mask works to reduce inflammation, improve uneven tone and texture, and stimulates the skin to build collagen and elastin to make it look younger. It is crafted from silicone, which makes it great to travel with. A word of warning, though – tell people you’re using it if they’re likely to walk in on you. You don’t want to give anyone a heart attack.

Seed to Skin’s products are developed on their spa-slash-farm in Tuscany, and are every bit as impressive as their sleek glassy apothecary-style jars suggest. The brand’s Black Magic Mask is enriched with a bevy of ingredients to detoxify the skin and regulate sebum production as well as delivering oxygen to the cells – and it delivers truly transformative results. After painting the product over the skin with the brush, leave it to dry for 20 minutes before gently wiping it off to reveal smooth skin that gives you the whole “I’ve just spent three months at a wellness retreat” look, but without having to leave your bathroom.

The novelty of a cream-based mask that bubbles up into a fuzz of foam would perhaps wear off after the first couple of uses, but PETER THOMAS ROTH’s cleverly innovative formula of its Water Drench Micro-Bubbling Cloud Mask keeps us hooked. It’s stuffed with hydrating ingredients, plus a patented ingredient called Fiflow® that has been engineered to carry oxygen into the skin. Use it three times a week, or whenever your skin needs freshening up quickly.

If you’re the type of guy that wants to maximise every second of self-care for tangible results, calm down and talk to someone. But also, consider 111SKIN’s Bio-Cellulose treatment masks, which are some of the best sheet masks on the market. Infused with all manner of innovative skincare science (silk amino acids to moisturise; centella to boost collagen production; arbutin to brighten), this is how to make your skin look its absolute best, quicktime.