You've heard it on Instagram. Brands are talking about it. You've probably even heard one of your friends use the term.

Multi-masking.

It's a skincare trend that made waves a few years back, but now it's moved into the skincare mainstream. And it could just be the secret to the best skin of your life.

It's simple really. Rather than applying the one mask to the entirety of your complexion, multi-masking is the process of applying different face masks to distinct areas of your face.

The rationale here, most us of have different skincare requirements on different parts of our face. Some of us will have an oily T-zone. Some of us have dry patches under the nose. Some of us have signs ageing through the forehead. Some of us have pigmentation on our cheeks. Then some of us have a mix of it all. Multi-masking is about accomodating this mix of skin needs. It's about applying multiple masks in a targeted fashion, applying many at once but only using each in the specific area it's needed.

No matter how good any one product claims to be, it will be hard for on mask to treat all of the skin conditions you may experience. So, when you think about it, it doesn't really make sense to use one mask for your whole face.

How to multi-mask

Multi-masking is all to do understanding what areas of your skin need attention, and what kind of attention it needs. Then you can pick and choose the masks you apply in a targeted way to each area.

For example, if you're oily on your nose, you could apply an oil-pulling clay mask to the area or something with salicylic acid to clear congestion. And then you could apply a hydrating or repair formulation to the rest of your face. This way you'll clear excess oil without drying out the rest of your complexion.

You can use a similar process to target signs of ageing. Apply repair and rejuvenation products to areas with lines but use something brightening in other areas for perfectly refreshed skin.

To help you get started, there are actually a number of intelligently-designed mask sets help you. A personal favourite for its efficacy and accessible price point is Minenssey's Clay Exploration Set  - it has options to brighten, deep clean, rejuvenate and hydrate. Sand & Sky also has a multi-masking pack including the Pink Clay mask and the Emu Apple Bounce mask. Or Peter Thomas Roth has a wonderful mask set too, it includes all the brand's best-selling masks.

At the core, multi-masking is about understanding the different areas of your face and giving your skin exactly what it wants. Skincare is not one-size fits all, so don't be afraid to experiment.