- Wash Your Face with a non-soap, gentle foaming cleanser morning and night.
- Moisturize your skin daily with a mild, fragrance-free moisturizer. Use non-comedogenic (oil-free) products.
- Apply a zinc or titanium-based sunscreen each morning.
- Go Make-Up Free.
- No Make-Up? Seriously? Yes, you can still wear make-up. But apply it lightly so that your skin can “breathe” as much as possible. Consider using a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen as your daily make-up.
- Start Each Day with a Clean Face Mask: Use a hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free detergent to wash your mask. Rinse it twice and put it in the dryer.
- Reduce Stress: Every morning make a 12 point Gratitude List. Share it with friends.
- Eat a Healthy Diet: Eat plenty of vegetables, drink lots of water, and reduce sugar and carbohydrate intake.
- If You Have A Breakout: DON’T PANIC and DON’T PICK!
- Treatment for Acne Breakouts: After washing your face, use an over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide product. Start with a 2.5 or 5 percent concentration, not 10 percent. Apply it ONLY to the breakouts.
See below for more details*
Medical Treatments at Stellar Aesthetic Clinic for Maskne
IF you’ve tried all this and still have Maskne problems, let the skin care experts at Stellar Aesthetic Clinic help.
- Medical Grade Skin Care Products: The specialists at Stellar will recommend medical grade skin care products specifically for your skin type and concerns.
- Diamond Facial: Receiving a Diamond Facial once or twice a month is a wonderful way to keep your pores clean and your complexion clear and bright.
- Chemical Peel: Micro-exfoliates the skin and dries up Maskne breakouts.
Safety: Remember that wearing a mask helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wearing your mask protects you and others.
Call or text 012-9686443 to set up an appointment with our skin care specialists today.
*In Depth Information about the Prevention and Treatment of Maskne
What Causes Maskne? Maskne results from the friction between face masks and skin. The friction irritates, inflames, and thus comprises the skin. The compromised skin allows infecting bacteria to enter. This leads to infected pores, or acne, also known as Maskne.
Maskne also results from the moist, humid environment caused by covering your nose and mouth with the mask. The hot, sweaty, moist skin under the mask causes increased sebum (oil) production. It also increases the growth of bacteria and yeast on the skin. This environment creates clogged and infected pores, or Maskne.
Increased bacterial colonization and face mask friction can also cause rosacea flare-ups.
Every clogged pore has potential to become a pimple, especially when combined with the irritation inducing friction from face masks.
Fine pimples and pustules around the mouth and nose can result from face mask usage as well. This is known as perioral dermatitis.
What Can I Do to Prevent Maskne?
Wash Your Face: To prevent over-cleansing and drying out your face, stick to a morning and before-bed routine. Use a non-soap, gentle foaming cleanser.
If you are acne prone, use a face cleanser that contains salicylic acid, tea tree oil, or calendula extract. These ingredients remove excess oils and have properties that help prevent acne flare ups.
As needed throughout the day, gently wipe your face with a clean, warm washcloth. This will help remove built-up oil and dirt that can clog your pores.
If you sweat significantly under your mask, use a non-soap, gentle foaming cleanser right after removing it. Then, apply a light layer of moisturizer, or the product you use at night (if it’s late enough in the day).
Remember that over-washing your face dries your skin and tricks it into thinking it needs to produce more oil. This will worsen acne.
- For acne prone skin: Use a salicylic acid containing product several times a week to exfoliate the skin and help keep pores unclogged.
- Consider washing your face occasionally with a dandruff shampoo that has ketoconazole or selenium sulfide in it. This will calm the skin and help remove excess yeast build-up (especially around the mouth and nose).
- Looking for recommended cleaning products? Find oil-free and foaming acne cleansers. Glycolic acid pads are excellent (make sure not to use more than a 10% concentration).
- For spot treatment, use skincare products that contain benzoyl peroxide. Remember, that benzoyl peroxide may bleach or stain fabrics (including your mask).
Moisturize your skin daily: Use non-comedogenic (oil-free) products
Keeping your skin adequately hydrated and well-moisturized maintains the integrity of your skin. This helps protect against mask friction and decreases bacteria’s ability to penetrate the skin.
After cleaning your skin each morning, apply a mild, fragrance-free moisturizer, and allow it to dry for a few minutes before putting on your face mask.
Use a light layer of moisturizer if you are oily or acne prone and a thicker layer if you have sensitive or eczema-prone skin.
This is also an important step for those with oily or acne-prone skin.
Apply a Zinc or Titanium-Based Sunscreen Daily. These products serve as barriers against face mask friction. They provide a seal over your skin which reduces irritation due to the mask.
Go Make-Up Free: Give serious consideration to going Make-Up Free.
Avoiding foundations and concealers while wearing a face mask will let your skin breathe and help prevent clogged pores and breakouts. If you must use makeup, apply it just around your eyes.
Do I Seriously Need to Go Make-Up Free? You can still wear make-up. The key is to avoid applying too much. Heavily applied make-up products block or occlude pores. This promotes acne.
In general, allow your skin to “breathe” as much as possible. Consider using a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen for your daily make-up. Using oil-free products will help keep your pores open and clear.
Skin Care Products: The mask intensifies product delivery to the skin. This can be problematic with acid or retinol containing products. These products can be irritating to the skin, and the mask is likely to intensify this effect. Consider using products with these active ingredients only at night. If you’ve never used retinol, now is probably not the best time to start. If you’ve been using these products for a long time, and are experiencing skin irritation, reduce your usage.
Start Each Day with a Clean Face Mask: Wearing a clean or new face mask each day will help keep dirt and bacteria from accumulating on your skin. Change your mask if it becomes damp or dirty. There should be no need to change your mask more than once or twice a day.
Mask Washing Recommendations: Consider using a hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free detergent when washing your mask. Rinse it twice and put it in the dryer.
Reduce Stress: Create a Gratitude List every morning. Think of 12 things for which you are truly thankful. Record these in a note on your phone. Come up with 12 new items each day. Share these with your family and friends. This exercise helps decrease stress and makes us more positive!
Healthy Diet: Go easy on the comfort foods. Eat plenty of vegetables. Drink enough water. If you weigh 120 pounds, drink 120 ounces of water each day. In general, reduce sugar and carbohydrate intake. These foods contribute to inflammation and acne.
Facial Hair and Maskne: Follow the basic principles of washing your face as described above. Start each day with a clean face mask. Use a simple toner with alpha hydroxy acid or witch hazel to freshen your skin. Let your skin and beard dry completely before putting your mask on.
If You Have A Breakout: DON’T PANIC and DON’T PICK.
How Should I Treat Acne Breakouts: Start spot treatment immediately. After washing your face, use an over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide product. Start with a 2.5 or 5 percent concentration, not 10 percent. Apply it ONLY to the breakouts.
In general, safe, non-prescription acne spot treatments should include ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, Sulphur, or tea tree oil. These products will help kill bacteria and reduce redness and irritation. This will promote healing of your skin.
Proper acne treatment will help prevent acne scarring.
If you use retinol, alternate applying the retinol and the spot treatment with benzoyl peroxide every other night.
If you have black or brown skin and develop hyperpigmentation (darkening of your skin) from acne, consider using a topical with glycolic acid. This can treat both the blemishes and the skin darkening. Keep in close contact with your dermatologist.
If you have irritation, redness, or rosacea from face mask friction, you may have contact dermatitis, more so than acne. This can result from contact with metal, rubber, formaldehyde, and dyes used in the mask. In this case, hydrocortisone cream can help. Make sure to apply it ONLY to the areas of irritation because hydrocortisone cream can cause acne to worsen. This should be applied once or twice daily depending on the degree of redness and skin irritation.
Safety: Remember that wearing a mask helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wearing your mask protects you and others.
Call or text 012-9686443to set up an appointment with our skin care specialists today.