How to prevent maskne
You’ve probably heard of the term ‘Maskne’. It's that 2021 buzzword that’s been on everyone's lips. It’s that unwelcomed side effect of painful pimples from wearing a mask for long periods of time. Let’s face it, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 18 months (kinda wish we had tbh), we’re sure that you’ve all experienced this.
It can be really disheartening when you’ve sacrificed your life, your salary, and sometimes your relationships in order to find the perfect skincare routine. People don’t understand the battles that we go through in order to achieve this. Happy skin means happy you, right?
So, when those little bumps start to form around your jawline and mouth area from wearing a mask, you can’t help but feel really F'’d off after practically re-mortgaging your house to find the perfect skincare routine.
Want the good news? We’ve put together a list of ways you can keep the pimples at bay, whilst still doing your part in helping to protect yourself and those around you from the C word.
What is Maskne?
“Maskne, AKA acne caused by wearing a mask”
Some of you may be already be experiencing forms of acne, which is a common skin condition where the base of the hair follicles under the skin become blocked with oil and dead skin cells, causing inflammation. When the oils that are naturally secreted from your pores are becoming blocked, your skin becomes inflamed which then leads to our unwanted friend, the pimple. When you start adding masks into the mix, adding another layer to the skin (not the type of layering we like sadly), causes friction leading to irritation, blocking and clogging of the pores, whiteheads, bumps, rashes, the lot. Just a hot mess.
How do we prevent it?
It’s all in the prep baby.
- Switch up your masks daily!
Bacteria builds up due to sweat, and humidity from your breath, creating a moist breeding ground for pimples. Cute for us. Disclaimer: The only thing in this world that should be moist, is your banana bread and let's keep it that way.
You must make sure you change your masks daily or wash your reusable ones to avoid a build-up of bacteria. You wouldn’t wear the same pair of undies twice, would you? We'll leave it there.
In saying that, we’re now at a time of our lives where we’re more invested in the fabric of our masks than our undies, right? The Shhh Silk Reusable Silk Face Covering Mask AKA the secret to comfort, feels softer, more gentle and easier to breath. It’s a yes from us.
- Clean skin for the win
You guessed it. One of the easiest ways to prevent and treat maskne, is by cleansing your face twice a day unblocking those pores. Use a non-soapy, non-fragrant and gentle cleanser to maintain your skin’s barrier, with ingredients such as Salicylic Acid, or Niacinamide, as they will deeply cleanse your skin removing impurities, dirt, and the bacteria from your breath. Delightful.
The Saya Foaming Cleanser is a bit of a multi tasker, not only does key ingredient Salicylic Acid deeply cleanse the skin, the Chamomile, Aloe Vera, and Kakadu Plum keeps your skin balanced, hydrated and nourished. It’s like a big hug for the skin.
Top tip: Cleanse as soon as you’re home, to avoid a pimple party.
- Stay hydrated
Dry skin is a common problem in acne and maskne. Moisturising will look after your skin’s barrier and will provide you with a protective layer from the mask as well as reducing dryness. The Avene Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream supports healing and repair, limits the risk of bacterial spreading, soothes, hydrates and is basically a great moisturiser for mask wearing. You can’t go wrong.
- Break up with the makeup
Makeup under hot and sweaty mask? A disaster waiting to happen. You can still look cute for the hottie you fancy in the coffee shop by wearing makeup up from the nose upwards, however If makeup is a must for you, opt for mineral based, non-comedogenic products which will less likely to cause clogging and breakouts. The asap Loose Mineral Powder is not only lightweight and allows your skin to breathe, it camouflages the skin’s imperfections and provides anti-pollution protection (basically from your breath under that mask).
Quick fixes
If your skin is screaming for help, needing relief, or if you’re an essential worker and require wearing a mask for long periods of time, we suggest popping these bad boys into your bags/lockers for instant results.
- Dr.Jart+ Cicapair Calming Gel Cream is an ultra lightweight non-greasy (that’s important for breakouts) moisturiser that’ll provide instant soothing and hydration whilst repairing your skins barrier.
- Murad Blemish Control Rapid Relief Spot Treatment containing 2% Salicylic Acid, reduces blemish size and redness within a quick 4 hours. Yep, you better believe it. So you can treat your skin whilst you work and no one will ever know.
- Avene Thermal Spring Water is designed to comfort every day skin irritations (the clue is there). Tested by dermatologists this magic-in-a-bottle gives an instant cooling and soothing relief to any skin irritations. Great for a quick spritz n’ go.
The one to watch
And in case you didn’t already know, Vitamin A AKA the gold standard in skincare, not only produces anti-ageing results, it was originally formulated to assist in blemish-care, as it works to speed up skin cell turnover preventing pores from being clogged. What we’re trying to say is, regularly use this bad boy and you’ll get yourself a role in Benjamin Button.
Say farewell, bon-voyage, and adios to maskne today by shopping these skin saviours at Oz Hair & Beauty!
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