What Is Maskne And How To Prevent It

Photo by Griffin Wooldridge on Unsplash

With COVID-19 still on the rise, face coverings have become integral in this new reality as wearing face masks is vital to slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, along with maintaining a social distance of six feet and washing your hands frequently.  Face coverings are important for us to protect each other especially because some people who are infected are asymptomatic meaning they show no symptoms but can still transmit the virus. However with regular mask wearing, a new issue has arisen for some people. No it's not a reduction in oxygenation but a skin condition that has come to be termed as "maskne"

What Is Maskne and What Causes It
"Maskne" is a word that the beauty industry coined to describe breakouts that occur underneath the areas covered by a protective face mask particularly around the mouth and nose. Even if you don’t usually get breakouts, wearing a face mask over and over can cause inflammation and induce breakouts when the friction it causes combines with sweat and oil production on the surface of  the skin creating a hot bed for bacterial growth that can trigger an inflammatory response i.e. acne.

Ways To Prevent Maskne

Always Wear A Clean Mask
Use disposable masks or have a supply of cloth face masks handy so that you always have a clean one to wear.

Wash Your Masks
It is imperative to clean and disinfect your reusable cloth masks after you've worn them out in public.  Always use the hottest water temperature appropriate for the type of fabric and allow the mask to dry completely before wearing again.

Minimize or Don't Wear Makeup
Makeup and masks don't mix well because the friction of masks moving around can cause makeup to shift and rub off  The extra layers can also make it feel hotter which exacerbates sweat and oil production that not only breaks down your makeup faster but also leads to breakouts. If you must wear makeup, keep it minimal and maybe concentrate on your eyes rather than the lower half of your face as reducing the build up of sweat, sebum and makeup is key. Keep in mind that you may have do more frequent touchups if you choose to do a full face of makeup when wearing a mask and this also increases your chances of maskne.

Choose Your Moisturizer Carefully
Moisturizer is a crucial step to ensure a healthy skin barrier which reduces the risk of irritation and abrasion from your mask. Look for oil free options that don't contain any potentially acnegenic ingredients like added fragrance, dyes lanolin and mineral oil.

Clean Your Face
Cleansing your face thoroughly both morning and evenings is crucial for removing dirt and debris, keeping bacteria build up at bay and preventing breakouts. Double cleanse as needed especially if you wore makeup and use a purifying face wash as your second step.

Tone and Treat
Using a toner post wash can help to clear and tighten pores. If you do get them, treat your mask induced breakouts as you would your regular breakouts.

Easy With The Exfoliation
With your face being under a mask for an extended period of time, your skin barrier is under more stress than usual so exfoliation may cause increased trauma. Opt for gentle exfoliation through enzymes or acids while going easy with physical scrubs to prevent further irritation and sensitivity.

Whatever you choose to do, remember the importance of wearing a mask and that keeping bacteria at bay is the key to preventing mask related breakouts. Being gentle with your skin is also key. Personally I don't wear any makeup when I'm wearing a mask because it's way too much work and not worth wrecking my skin for. Also I'm not really interested in getting makeup stains on my cute reusable cloth masks. I've been fortunate that I've only had the occasional breakout from mask wearing but you can't really avoid sweating during the summer. To offset that, I've switched to using disposable 3 ply surgical masks which are more lightweight and KN95 masks which are structured to sit away from the face.

Photo: Harper's Bazaar