It’s 2020 and we are all wearing masks to prevent the spread of a virus, but with that prevention comes other problems. Irritated and aggravated skin is causing acne from masks creating maskne.
What is Maskne?
It’s a type of acne called Acne Mechanica which is a skin irritation that is formed by excess pressure, heat, and rubbing against the skin.
With wearing a tight fitting piece of cloth for multiple hours, sometimes wearing makeup, breathing, wearing in the heat, and rubbing back and forth around your mouth, you literally have a petri dish on for breakouts. And if you suffer from acne prone skin already, this is just another thing to keep on your radar.
Maskne is not only referring to acne, it also encompasses skin redness and irritation.
How to prevent acne caused by masks
1.What type of mask are you wearing?
Some say that 100% cotton works the best to allow the skin to breathe, but I would try to get a silk one. My Mom made me some and I have noticed a difference from wearing a cotton one and a silk one. You want to make sure it is 100% silk though.
There are some on Etsy, but I have heard amazing things about this one in particular. Or another option is here.
2.Wash your reusable mask or use a disposable one and throw away after 1 use!
How to wash your silk or cotton face mask
- Hand wash in cold water
- Use a gentle, liquid detergent (I recommend one without fragrance)
- Rinse it out well and wring out excess water
- Hang dry
**Tip: Best to do it after 1 use for best prevention of Maskne so have 2 masks on hand
You can get these inserts that help you breathe under a mask, but it will also keep the fabric away from touching your skin. And it won’t mess up your makeup.
3.Have a top notch skincare routine
If you don’t have one by now, this is your wake up call to get your skincare routine in check!
If you want to know what I recommend, feel free to take this quiz and it will outline products from North American’s #1 Premium Skincare Company.
But if you are just starting out, reference this blog post that recommends products and a routine to get you started (it says men skincare, but honestly, it’s for beginners of all age and genders)
The idea of it is to use a gentle cleanser. I recommend Simple Micellar Gel Wash and a fragrance-free moisturizer like the CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion. The fewer products the better and choose fragrance-free. Anything that smells good can irritate your skin more and we don’t need that.
4.Try to avoid wearing face makeup
Honestly, you don’t really need it if we are covering up half of our face anyways. Instead, focus on the eyes and brows. Now you have an excuse to do a smokey eye to the grocery store. You can check out my lash routine post here to see how I achieve long, thick lashes.
Smize, baby!
What do I do if I get Maskne?
If you get maskne, which you probably will, you have to treat it a little different than regular acne. Fun, I know.
First, identify if it’s acne or more like a rash.
If it’s a rash, try hydrocortisone cream and dab on the skin, don’t rub! This is occurring because some fabrics (in this case) can release formaldehyde when washed and irritates the skin. However, if it gets really bad where you just want to scratch your face off, get it checked by a dermatologist to confirm and they can help prescribe something.
Use calming products
If your skin is unusually red and irritated, you need to calm it down with products and ingredients targeting that issue. If you also have acne because of your mask, you might find you skin not only irritated from the mask but now the anti-acne products too.
Rodan and Fields Soothe Regimen will take care of that in no time. But look for products that include, calamine, glycerin, dimethicone, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and ceramides.
Use a treatment
If it is in fact maskne, use a benzoyl peroxide treatment (at 2.5% or 5% only) on the spots (I usually preach treating the whole face for acne, but this is different.) I haven’t personally tired Paula’s Choice 2.5%, but I have heard great things about the brand. If you want to try something a little stronger, here is a Tula 5% product that, once again, I haven’t tried but have heard great things.
I will always recommend Rodan and Fields Unblemish regimen, as it was the only thing that cleared my acne, read more about my acne journey here. If your acne is a little more intense then just maskne, try it out or reach out to me on Instagram and I can help get you a discount!
Skincare Face Masks
I love using face masks even when I don’t have maskne. I have so many different ones for different purposes but when it comes to this maskne, we need clarifying and detoxing ones. My personal fav is the Rodan and Fields Clarifying Mask (how fitting). It contains sulfur, oat bran extract, and tea tree oil. Also, the Peter Thomas Roth’s Sulfur Mask also contains 10% sulfur to
This is another good face mask by Origins that contains charcoal which is a great detoxifier to get the gunk out of your pores. It also contains Kaolin clay which helps draw out the impurities while not overly drying the skin.
I hope this explanation of the new common acne type breaks down how to treat and prevent acne caused by masks, why it happens, and what to do if you get it. Let me know if you try any of these tips!
