All You Need to Know About Maskne and How to Beat It The Natural Way
The pandemic brought in some rough waves of uncertainty that none of us were quite prepared to dive into. Amidst all of the safety precautions that we’re all doing our best to follow, we’ve also got to make sure to keep self-care in the mix. If we stop taking care of ourselves, everything else can start to get a little bit overwhelming.
One of the things that you may have noticed has started to suffer, especially with a lack of self-care, is the health of your complexion. Because conditions have changed, your daily skincare routine may need to too so that you can avoid the dreaded and often painful maskne.
What is Maskne?
You may have heard the term ‘maskne’ pop up in conversation or on social media recently, but what is it? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like: acne that comes from mask-wearing.
Unfortunately, maskne is an issue anyone can struggle with—not only the acne-prone. Maskne is the breakouts and irritation that come from wearing a mask constantly. The more you wear your mask, the more likely you are to be creating an environment that is making your skin unhappy.
But, have no fear! We’re sailing in with some helpful facts and solutions right here, right now!
Causes
There are two main factors that contribute to the development of maskne: the physical contact of your actual mask with your skin and the environment that your mask creates.
Physical Contact
Unlike regular face acne, maskne isn’t just about what’s getting in your skin, but also about what is rubbing up against it. When you wear a mask, the material of the mask can brush up against the skin around your nose and mouth and cause little tears in the surface layer. This isn’t just irritating; it can also make it easier for dirt and bacteria to get into your skin!
The Environment Your Mask Creates
When you wear a mask, it’s kind of like creating a greenhouse over your mouth, nose, and skin. When you breathe, talk, cough, etc., respiratory droplets and bacteria get caught in your mask. This is a good thing when it comes to stopping the spread of the Coronavirus to those around you; however, the respiratory droplets and bacteria can then spread to your skin and get caught in your pores causing acne breakouts.
On top of this, wearing occlusives that create an extra barrier over your skin like heavy, oily lotions or makeup can contribute to this humid environment and make things worse.
The Solution
Since we all know that we can’t just stop wearing masks (which would be the easy way out of maskne, but also an easy invitation for COVID 19 to run rampant) because we need to protect each other from getting sick, we’ve got to find other ways to combat irritation and breakouts. Luckily, the solution is not difficult or out of reach.
In order to minimize maskne, you need to treat your skin with gentle, natural, lightweight skincare gems to help it heal and to decrease humidity and bacteria build-up in and around your pores. In the meantime, as your skin heals, you can keep your skin glowing above your mask to bring attention to your eyes. Here are some of our favorite tips:
Bring Out Your Eyes
To help bring out your eyes, try Aqua Aura Reparative Eye Cream which is made with Seaweed Collagen, Blue Tansy, potent antioxidants, replenishing plant oils and soothing actives. She not only brightens and hydrates the area around your eyes, but also firms and strengthens your skin to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness, and sun damage. So, she can help you look healthy, youthful and well-rested even behind your mask!
For an extra glow, mix her with Nebula Adaptogen Clarity Ampoule which is a leave-on elixir that soothes flare-ups, clears congested pores, and restores vibrancy with hyper-concentrated Sea Lavender and Ginseng adaptogens.
Use Lightweight Barrier Protection to Prevent Flareups
To prevent flareups before they happen, use a skincare gem that provides a more lightweight barrier protection like Mermaid Milk Nutrient Glow Moisturizer, Nebula Adaptogen Clarity Ampoule (like we just mentioned—it’s her time to shine as she’s got a lot of healing to offer), and Tidal Rose Crystal Hydration Toner.
Mermaid Milk’s Superfoods Spirulina and Matcha, concentrated Phytonutrients, Antioxidants, and Vegan Hyaluronic Acid make her into the perfect lightweight moisturizer that won’t contribute to oil and bacteria build-up from mask-wearing.
Tidal Rose is a toner and hydration mist who locks in moisture and restores pH balance with high-vibration Rose Quartz Rosewater, antioxidant-rich White Tea Extract, and Persian Lilac Extract. Her energy-balancing power is exactly what you need after your face has been subjected to the uncertain bacteria-building humidity that gets trapped inside your mask.
Each of these gems’ natural ingredients (like nutrient-dense seaweed and other superfoods) keep the dirt and bacteria from clogging pores and nourish your complexion while being gentle enough to calm inflamed skin. This is exactly what your complexion needs to be able to breathe freely—and your pores need all the breathing space they can get while you’re wearing a mask consistently.
Clear Chaotic Skin
The pandemic brings in enough chaos and stress. You don’t need to deal with it on your skin, too. To help clear chaotic breakouts that seem out of control, use Coconut Charcoal Purifying Facial Soap, Cacao Cove Detoxifying Indulgence Mask, and Glow Juice Refining Enzyme Mask.
Coconut Charcoal is a cleanser who gives you a deep detoxifying cleanse with her gentle foaming formula to clear out build-up and blocked pores that result from your mask’s greenhouse effect. She helps your skin start with a clean slate each day.
Cacao Cove is a detoxifying mask who also contains Activated Coconut Charcoal to extract impurities and toxins that seep into your skin underneath your mask each day. Raw Cacao antioxidants, Ocean Mineral healing, Coconut Milk hydration, Citrus Cream luminosity, and Blue-Green Algae phytonutrients then fight dullness by replenishing and rejuvenating your skin for a healthy, vibrant glow.
Maskne can start to suck the vibrance from your skin, but Glow Juice Mask can help you get it back as her main focus is to help restore your overall skin health by balancing it and working at a cellular level to renew skin. She can be used as a phyto-chemical exfoliator 2-3 times a week or a leave-on treatment as often as needed. And, you guessed it, she helps rid your skin of excess oils, free radicals, impurities, and bacteria while making way for much-needed lightweight moisture. Just like her name promises, she restores that pretty glow that maskne can quickly get you to start missing.
Our Go-To Maskne Skincare Ritual
With so many options, where should you get started? To keep it simple for you, we’ve made our very own merbabe-approved maskne skincare ritual to help you get rid of that pesky maskne:
- Cleanse: Start with Coconut Charcoal Purifying Facial Soap. With tepid water, lather between palms. Apply generously to a moistened face. Rinse 3-5 times. (If you’re wearing makeup, try double-cleansing by starting with Sunshine Dew Cleansing Oil.)
- Tone: Shake Tidal Rose Crystal Hydration Toner to activate and listen to her crystals dance around. Spritz your face 3-5 times and rub her in. (Don’t forget to spritz throughout the day to rehydrate and rebalance your skin’s pH.)
- Mask: One to two times a week, do a multi-mask with Glow Juice Refining Enzyme Mask and use Cacao Cove Detoxifying Indulgence Mask afterwards on the most problematic areas. Apply Glow Juice to clean skin. Leave on for 3 or more minutes. Rinse with warm water. Then, mix ½ - 1 tsp of Cacao Cove with a few drops of water until a nice paste is formed. Scoop a small amount into your fingertips, then massage into damp skin in upward and outward circular motions. Leave the mask on for 5-15 minutes. Then remove with warm water just before the mask is completely dry to avoid your skin being stripped of moisture. Follow with a cool water splash.
- Spot Treat: Cleanse skin thoroughly, then apply a thin layer of Glow Juice to trouble spots 1-3 times daily or as needed.
- Treat: Apply two or more drops of Nebula Adaptogen Clarity Ampoule to your skin and massage until absorbed.
- Moisturize: For a proper lightweight barrier, massage a small amount of Mermaid Milk Nutrient Glow Moisturizer into skin in upward, circular motions. Allow Mermaid Milk to absorb.
- Eyes: With daily mask-wearing, all eyes are now on your eyes! Brighten, tighten, and glow with Aqua Aura Reparative Eye Creme. Gently dab a small pea-sized amount under eyes and brow bones until well absorbed.
- Bonus! Sanitize Hands: When you can’t make it to a sink with soap, or if you long to add some moisturize to your hands while purifying them at the same time, then bust out Hands On Deck No-Rinse Gel! This go-to hand moisturizer contains 64% Organic Alcohol to be extra effective at fighting impurities.
And there you go—the Earth Harbor Crew’s maskne solutions complete with our soothing skincare ritual!
Just so you know, you don’t need to have all of these products to help prevent and help reduce maskne. Any one or combination of a few will help make an impact! Just like everything else right now, it’s best to take things one day at a time. We’re sending good vibes your way!
One last thing before you go: To make it even easier for you, check out our Maskne Essentials Collection right here. We even have the perfect maskne essentials mini kit to help you get started!
Sources:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-mask-acne-prevent-treat_l_5f2036bbc5b69fd4731218b1
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