Today we are not talking about seaweed masks or apple & lemon masks or sour cherry masks or hyaluronic masks, or brightening masks or moisturizing masks, but the other masks…The masks we wear to reduce respiratory virus spread (because as it turns out, we are still masking for the time-being).

Wearing a mask regularly, especially for long stretches of time, creates friction of the mask material against our skin. Masks also can trap moisture, creating an easy place for bacteria to flourish. If your skin is sensitive to these conditions, breakouts (“maskne”), perioral dermatitis, rosacea or acne rosacea are a few of the inflammatory conditions that can result. (Ugh.)

If being masked out in public is starting to lose its seductive charm, don’t despair, Beauty! There is much that can be done to help calm and heal inflamed skin. Lets do a quick re-cap on what we can do, as masks in indoor spaces and group gatherings are not gone from our lives just yet.

If Your Skin Does Not Love Wearing a Mask, Try This:

1) Follow your best AM/PM skin care regimen. Always. Cleansing, hydrating and moisturizing well can be a life-saver for your skin in normal times- and this is triple true in mask-wearing-times.

2) Apply a layer of mineral sun protection before you put your mask on. This can create a slight barrier between your skin and your mask, giving your skin a little reprieve by helping to reduce friction. (This is especially true for rosacea-type inflammation.)

3) If you wear make-up regularly under your mask and are breaking out, try going light on the foundation, and make sure its non-comedogenic. (Certain foundations can be clogging, and this can be exacerbated by mask-wearing.)

4) If you wear cloth masks, wear the smoothest, softest fabric you can find (silky, satiny) that is also breathable. Washable silk and supremely soft cotton are usually good options. (You want the least amount of friction possible against your skin, and the least opportunity for moisture build up.)

5) Wash your mask after one use. If your skin gets oily or sweaty or damp, or you have to wear a mask for a long period of time, change out to a fresh mask. (General guidelines are to change to a fresh mask at least every four hours, and more often if needed. For me, to keep breakouts at bay I change to a fresh mask before every single client.)

6) Make sure the laundry soap you are washing your masks in does not irritate your skin.

7) If you wear disposable masks, never-re-wear them. Always put on a fresh mask. If your skin gets sweaty or oily or damp, change to a fresh mask.

8) Try a “face bracket” – a silicone frame that braces against your face under your mask, creating a slight area of distance between your mask and your skin around your mouth and nose. This can help to reduce the friction of the mask on your skin in those areas. The key is to keep the face bracket clean- wash it and dry it after every single use. (If your skin is sensitive to the silicone the bracket is made out of, this will not be a help to you.)

Covid-19 has brought a tsunami of upheaval into many of our lives. With all the craziness, and also with the endurance, grace, agility, flexibility, strength, calm, intelligence and compassion that is needed from all of us to carry on, life is just a little bit nicer when our skin is not acting up, too.

“When it's only you that you can rely on, you're surprised at the resilience you have.” ~Paul Dini

“One's doing well if age improves even slightly one's capacity to hold on to that vital truism: ‘This too shall pass.’” ~Alain de Botton

“We need to hear stories from older women. There's a wealth of wisdom and real resilience there…” ~Hannah Gadsby

Blog written by Marna Herrington with Rich Earth Organic Skin Care Studio

Blog copy editing and polishing provided by Karen-Eileen Gordon (MsGordonLovesWriting@gmail.com)

This blog is not intended to take the place of in-person consultations with qualified skin care and health care practitioners.
This blog is for the purpose of education and fun only. All images and text in this blog are under the legal ownership of Rich Earth Organic Skin Care Studio, or permission of use has been granted for this specific blog only, unless unambiguously in the public domain. Permission is not granted for this text or these images to be copied and used out of the context of this blog, or for commercial purposes. If any part of the text is quoted in an article or other blog for educational purposes, a hyperlink to this page must be included.

And We Are Still Masking (With the Other Kind of Mask)…