By Anastasiya Sytnyk
We are all suffering from our new skin enemy, Maskne!
Maskne is a new term that many experts and bloggers have been using to refer to the acne caused by prolonged wearing of face coverings. Maskne is not the only skin issue people have been suffering with since Covid-19.
Apart from Maskne many have experienced a flare up in conditions like eczema, rash and stress. all of which have had negative effects on our skin. Do not take this as a discouragement from wearing your mask, (even if you could you wouldn’t be able to go about your business without a mask after face coverings were made mandatory in most settings in late July) but instead interpret the information in a way to help yourself avoid problematic Maskne and protect your skin.
Eavanna Bree, one of the top Irish Skin Therapists, with 28 years of experience in the Industry and founder of Akina Beauty and Laser Clinic in Dublin, has spoken out and given a few tips and tricks to help treat this skin inconvenience,
“Since it became mandatory to wear masks in public, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of clients who come to the clinic or contact me about their concerns with Maskne. There is some frustration about this condition, with some clients saying they are wearing the masks, not touching their faces and therefore should see a reduction in acne but instead unfortunately we are presented with this new phenomenon”.
However, before we get into the tips for treating Maskne, here is a bit of info as to what it is
caused by. Wearing a mask for long periods of time creates a lot of moisture from sweating under the mask which surrounds your mouth every time you talk, breathe or touch your mask. The sweat and humidity in your mask causes bacteria to grow and promote the breakout of blackheads and pimples. This can be made worse if you have suffered with problematic skin before face covering.
In relation to Maskne Eavanna said: “The important thing to remember is that there are lots of different steps we can take in order to help with this new condition. The severity of the Maskne may differ between people but one important piece of advice would be that reusable masks are washed frequently, ideally after every use to minimise the spread and transfer of bacteria”.
Now that you know how Maskne happens, take a look at five steps you can take to treat and minimise these breakouts:
Step 1: Make sure to cleanse your skin with a gentle cleanser. Speak to a dermatologist or skin expert, to make sure you are using the best cleanser fitted for your skin to avoid further aggravating your skin.
Step 2: Clean/ change your masks regularly to avoid large build ups of bacteria.
Step 3: Do not change your skin routine or intensify it. Let your skin recover from the daily battle
of face mask wearing.
Step 4: If your skin is vulnerable to sunshine continue to wear sunscreen as the mask is not
made to protect you from sun rays.
Step 5: Do not pop or squeeze your skin! At a time when your skin is vulnerable squeezing and
irritating it can open the wounds to infection and further irritation and scarring.
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