What is MASKNE?
Mask related acne otherwise known as ‘MASKNE’ will typically appear in the way of pimples/blemishes, redness, or irritation around your mouth, cheeks, and jawline. Basically anywhere your mask touches.
Sweat, oil, and bacteria are essentially just building up underneath your face masks and blocking up your pores, not to mention the incessant rubbing of the material which can cause damage to your skins protective barrier.
How do I treat it?
First things first. Mask hygiene. If your using disposables then you need to understand that it is essential they are changed regularly. Especially if you are required to wear one for long periods of time (in your place of work etc, I’m sure everywhere has their own procedures that need to be followed so obviously best to seek guidance through the correct channels).
I tend to go with reusable masks but that’s my personal preference. They need to be washed after every use (to stop the spread of the virus but also to help get rid of any bacteria that lurks inside ready to pounce on your skin.
Skincare has taken on a whole new level of importance since we started wearing face masks. Now more than ever It’s really important to find a routine that works for you.
I’m oily and blemish prone so had already experimented a lot to find my perfect products and coincidentally they also really do the job with it comes to mask related acne too so I thought now would be a good time to share them with you.
My absolute ride or die is the Bye Bye Blemish Witch Hazel and Tea Tree Toner. It’s so incredibly calming and soothing and I honestly do credit this product with how clear my skin is on a day to day basis. You also can’t go wrong with their Skin Rescue Serum (which also dries down to a tacky finish and works well as a primer).
The Revolution Skincare Niacinamide Range has everything you could possibly need to tackle those pesky outbreaks as well as mattify the skin without dulling it down to nothing.
These products obviously won’t work for everyone but they are all really affordable so worth a go. Sometimes it really can be trial and error. If you’d like to try something different though look out for products that contain Salicylic Acid or Niacinamide. These are both great for acne control.
Can I cover it up?
Short answer? Yes you can.
Unfortunately makeup can also really aggravate the whole nasty situation. Obviously it’s totally up to you but personally I have found myself going bare faced more often than not at the moment I just don’t feel like putting all that effort in to go ahead and hide it anyway. It’s also given me the opportunity to really trial a ‘less is more approach’ which couldn’t be more different to how I usually do things.
Some brows, a bit of concealer and a slick of mascara and that’s about as glam as it gets right now.
Masks are obviously with us for the foreseeable so I hope this post has helped you in some way to coping with it, I’d also love to hear about what’s working for you! There really isn’t an exact science to all of this, it’s still very new to a lot of us. For now, just be kind to yourself.
