Maskne! The latest term for acne caused from wearing a mask all of the time! Do you have it? I do!
Whether we like it or not, it appears that wearing protective face masks are here to stay, at least for the time being. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard enough to breathe in a face mask, much less worry about breakouts and acne caused by wearing it. Add to that the stress of dealing with the past few months, and your skin is dealing with multiple factors that can set it up for inflammation, breakouts, and acne.
Friction, sweat, humidity, oil, and makeup are a few of the triggers of maskne that happen on your lower face. Yuck!
So hear are a few preventative measures and solutions to maskne! 1. Clean mask! Clean face!Make sure you’re wearing a clean mask every day and be sure you’re cleaning your face, especially before bed time!
2. Don’t over exfoliate or use “active ingredient” products! You actually need your skin barrier, the outermost layer of skin which protection against dirt, bacteria, and other pollutants. Wearing a face mask can irritate and disrupt your skin’s barrier causing it to become dehydrated, flaky, and red. As a result, your skin overcompensates by producing more oil which can clog pores even further. Less exfoliating is best right now. Simply spot treat your blemishes.
3. Makeup free & chapstick if you can! I know it’s tough, but if you have to wear a mask all day, just skip makeup from the nose down and remember to keep a moisturizer on your lips. Avoiding the makeup on your mask, the friction and goop trap the mask causes, is really your best bet. If you can’t go makeup free, consider switching to a tinted moisturizer until this all blows over.
We can do this!
XO~A
