Maskne

Let’s get real, breakouts are already stressful enough but ‘Maskne’ (acne caused by wearing Masks)? You gotta be kidding me, sigh

Working from home, has been a blessing to us (or some). You don’t have to face the heavy traffic in the morning or evening, you don’t have to wear makeup, you don’t have to even face your boss (despite they giving you a tough time by giving more stuffs to do to the point you can’t even differentiate weekdays and weekend). Technically, you have more time to treat or pamper yourself. But, blending in with the new norm isn’t easy. You need to constantly wear a mask whenever you go out. And after wearing it for a whole day or week, you start to realise there are acne all around the mouth and nose region, which is basically the area covered when using mask.

Why?

This is probably triggered by pores being blocked by sweat, oil and makeup. When wearing masks for hours, it creates humidity to form a breeding ground for acne. Friction from the mask can also block and clog pores, leading to the formation of comedones or blackheads.

How to prevent and treat?

If you’re wearing a cloth mask, make sure to wash it daily. Avoid touching the mask frequently.

If you’re wearing a disposable mask, try to replace it as often as possible or allow it to air out and in between uses.

To treat it, go easy on your skincare for starters. Do not overdo it by putting on face masks and do scrubs. The skin is now sensitive and doing so might compromise the skin’s pretective barrier. Instead, use a gentle face cleanser and avoid products that are too drying. Use a face wash that contains salicylic acid to help unclog the pores. Re-hydrate the skin back by applying hyaluronic acid products. To help increase the skin barrier, apply moisturiser containing Ceramides, that can help calm the irritation caused by friction.

If needed, you can also try out topical products which can get over the the counter such as Adapalene (Differin Acne Treatment gel).

While wearing mask out in public (as it’s essential), take the mask off when you’re away from other people like in your vehicles or anywhere that is far from people.

#StayIndoors