When I worked from home I wore a mask only to take my dog on walks and to go to the grocery store so my skin was blemish free and thriving! I’m finally back in the office meaning that I’m wearing a mask for over 9 hours which has caused my skin to break out aka “maskne”! I did some digging and tried a few different products that I have at home and here’s what’s been helping prevent and treat my maskne:
1. Use a Benzoyl Peroxide Cleanser
I currently use CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser with Benzoyl Peroxide and it does the trick and it’s only $14.19 at Target. This cleanser is perfect for acne prone skin since it has Benzoyl Peroxide in it. It clears your skin and helps prevent new blemishes from coming. It has Niacinamide which helps calm your skin and helps keep you feeling comfortable. We all know masks aren’t the most comfortable so this can help reduce skin irritation.
2. Switch Out Your Masks and Wash Them
This might be a no brainer for some but make sure you’re washing your masks everyday if they’re the reusable kind! If they’re the disposable kind, research how long they’re good for and make sure you store them in a clean place! You’d be surprised at how unsanitary some people are, I’ve seen people set their masks down in the dirtiest of places- yikes!
3. Spot Treat the Areas
Make sure your skin can handle spot treatment, a lot of people are experiencing rashes rather than acne so spot treatments can irritate your skin even more! Mario Badescu’s spot treatment is one of my favorites. It has Salicylic Acid which exfoliates your skin and helps shed pore-clogging dead skin cells, Sulfur which purifies pores and absorbs excess oil and Calamine which delivers a cooling, soothing effect. This is perfect for Maskne because wearing a mask clogs your pores and this will really help, I’ve already noticed a major difference after using this! You can find is at Sephora for $17.
4. Avoid Makeup and Heavy Lotions
If you can, try to avoid wearing makeup and heavy creams, lotions and sunscreens under your mask. These can irritate your skin and cause breakouts. It’s already hard enough for your skin to breathe with a mask on, putting on these products then the mask on top easily clogs pores and suffocates your skin.
5. Utilize Acne Patches!
I looove acne patches so much! I usually apply them at night and wake up with flat blemishes since the patches take out all the yuckies. If you feel a blemish coming or if you already have a few blemished just apply a some patches to the problem areas and boom watch the magic happen! Sometimes I even put the patches on before work, put my mask on and head to work. The patches protect my skin from the mask and help heal my blemishes and no one will notice the patches since they’re hidden under your mask. Truly Beauty has some amazing acne patches, I’ve tried a ton of different patches and theirs are my favorite! I love their “Heart Your Imperfections Blemish Treatment Acne Patches”, get them for only $10 on Truly’s website.
5. Try Different Material Masks
When this outbreak first started, it was nearly impossible to find a mask, now you can find them literally EVERYWHERE! Try playing around with different material masks to see what your skin likes most. Be sure to do your research too and find a mask that protects you and others, our health is more important than preventing acne. I found that for me, cotton masks work best!
That’s all for today! Got any tips of your own? Share ’em below! 🙂
Bahareh Abolghasemi 