Skin Specialist Shares Expert 5-Step Guide For Avoiding Maskne This Autumn

 

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A post shared by Facialist/Aesthetician (@eavannabreen) on Sep 2, 2020 at 1:01pm PDT

We are all suffering from our new skin enemy, maskne.

Maskne is a new term that many experts and skin care specialists have been using to refer to the acne caused by prolonged wearing of face coverings.

However, and this is important, do not take this as a discouragement from wearing your mask, but instead follow expert guidelines on how you can help yourself protect, prevent and reduce any problematic maskne.

Eavanna Breen, one of the top Irish skin therapists and founder of Akina Beauty and Laser Clinic, Dublin 2, has shared some simple tips and tricks to help treat this skin inconvenience.

“Since it became mandatory to wear masks in public, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of clients who come to the clinic or contact me about their concerns with maskne. There is some frustration about this condition, with some clients saying they are wearing the masks, not touching their faces and therefore should see a reduction in acne, but instead, unfortunately, we are presented with this new phenomenon”.

The cause of maskne as the name suggest is from wearing a mask, which in turn, creates a lot of moisture from sweating every time you talk, breathe or touch your mask. The sweat and humidity then trapped in your mask can cause bacteria to grow and promote the breakout of blackheads and pimples.

 

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A post shared by Michelle Li (@himichelleli) on May 9, 2020 at 1:50pm PDT

“The important thing to remember is that there are lots of different steps we can take in order to help with this new condition. The severity of the maskne may differ between people but one important piece of advice would be that reusable masks are washed frequently, ideally after every use to minimise the spread and transfer of bacteria” continued Eavanna.

Thankfully, there are easy ways to prevent and treat maskne, and Eavanna has dished out some incredible tips to follow and minimise these breakouts:

Step 1: Make sure to cleanse your skin with a gentle cleanser. You will need to speak you a dermatologist or skin expert if possible, to make sure you are using the best cleanser fitted for your skin to avoid further aggravating your skin.

Step 2: Clean/ change your masks regularly to avoid large build ups of bacteria.

Step 3: Do not change your skin routine or intensify it. Let your skin recover from the daily battle of face mask wearing.

Step 4: If your skin is vulnerable to sunshine continue to wear sunscreen as the mask is not made to protect you from sun rays.

Step 5: Do not pop or squeeze your skin! At a time when your skin is vulnerable squeezing and irritating it can open the wounds to infection and further irritation and scarring.

Just recently, Amie Edmonds shared a whole host of incredible products to snap up if you’re currently suffering from maskne.

A little TLC can go a long way in caring for our skin right now and Amie shared her three top products, plus why they’re her faves over here.

Words by STELLAR intern Anastasiya Syntyk

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