Beauty

Best skincare for “MASKNE”

By Gabriela Diaz

Masks have become part of our OOTD. Masks provide protection, but can also cause skin irritations, clog pores, & flare acne. To keep these unwanted skin concerns at bay, here are some tips, concerns you may have, and great products to treat your “Maskne” (mask-acne).

SKIN CONCERNS

(how to treat its causes)

Dryness: Masks can absorb moisture from our skin. It is Important to stay moisturized as skin rubs against our mask, which can cause irritation though friction & chafing. A nice moisturizer will add a barrier of protection. Youth To The People has awesome light weight breathable moisturizers that will keep your skin nice and supple. Summer Fridays jet lag mask is my holy grail when my skin is in need of a little H2O. It is super hydrating and gives you a radiant complexion.
Acne/breakouts: The combination of the summer air & our breath, traps moisture inside our masks. This environment causes bacteria and clogged pores, which leads to breakouts. It is very important to keep your face & mask clean. I love wearing Peace Out Acne Dots or Kate Sommerville drying lotion underneath my mask. No one would ever tell😉!
Exfoliate: Your skin naturally sheds dead skin cells to make room for new cells every 30 days. Exfoliating helps remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, as a result you will get less clogged pores and less breakouts. There are two type of exfoliants, a chemical and a physical one. Any exfoliating product or method that requires manual scrubbing or rubbing is known as a physical exfoliant. Most chemical exfoliants can be classified as two types: AHA (alpha-hydroxy acids) and BHA (beta-hydroxy acids). These acids help loosen away dead skin cells, while potentially normalizing skin cell turnover and stimulating the growth of normal, healthy skin. My favorite exfoliators are Fresh Beauty sugar strawberry exfoliating face wash and the Youth To The People Yerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial. A 2 minute miracle mask!
Stay clean: Remember to switch out your masks. Never reuse surgical masks (throw away after one use) & hand wash your cloth material masks. Avoid using fragranced detergents, those can cause unwanted breakouts too. Lastly sleep on a clean pillowcase, preferrably a silk pillowcase.
Skip the makeup: There is no reason to wear makeup underneath your mask, since half your face will be covered. Makeup can clog your pores and cause you to break out. Another healthy tip is to switch over to Non-comedogenic skincare.

Tips

Wear 100% cotton masks.
Wear a clean mask everyday (wash your reusable face mask or throw away the disposable ones).
Skip the makeup.
Wear a spot treatment under mask.
Look for Non-comedogenic products.
Sleep on a clean pillowcase (a silk pillowcase is preferred, try Slip silk pillowcase).
No sleeping with makeup.
Apply lip balms, lips can get dry from rubbing against our masks all day (Try the Summer Fridays Lip Butter balm).