Many people are wearing facial masks with the current COVID-19 crisis, but if you are wearing a mask for a prolonged time, you are likely noticing irritation on the nose, cheeks, ears, chin, and other parts of the face where the material is rubbing. To ensure minimal risk, it’s important to wear the masks snuggly, however, this can increase skin irritation.
If you are noticing congestion and breakouts, dryness, itchiness, redness and broken skin this is because wearing a mask can significantly reduce the skin’s natural processes, such as absorption of water and beneficial skin ingredients, and removal of excess oil and skin toxins. The humid environment created by the mask is also a breeding ground for bad bacteria because sweat is not able to evaporate off the skin naturally.
To prevent these skin issues and minimize concerns as they do arise, here are some useful tips you can incorporate into your home care routine:
Take a break from wearing makeup
The mask is likely to remove your makeup anyway, so use this time to allow your skin to breathe as you will likely cause further occlusion to the oil glands and pores as well as irritate broken skin.
Set aside your strong cleansers and exfoliants
We know how tempting it is to attack your skin with powerful products to help keep it clear and deeply exfoliated! However, this will cause more disruption the outer layers on this skin and enhance your symptoms further… Instead, use a gentle cleanser and rinse with lukewarm (not hot OR cold) and pat dry (no rubbing!)
Cosmedix elite gentle cleanse, ISclinical cream cleanser and Synergie ultracleanse or some of our most popular gentle and soothing cleansers.
Rebalance with pro/prebiotic elixir
Synergie skin have a fantastic pre-serum elixir called Dermiotic that is suitable for all skin types! It boosts the skin’s resistance to physical and chemical aggressors by tackling the underlying causes of acne and sensitivity, rather than merely masking them. it assists in relieving symptoms of skin stress, irritation and redness.
The probiotic lysate, together with the prebiotic skin nutrition, restores skin balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria and prevents the triggers of skin inflammation.
Simply apply a few drops morning and night after you have cleansed your skin (and before your moisturiser).
Lock in moisture
Apply a thicker, cream or oil-based reparative moisturiser to help replenish skin cells and repair damage as you sleep taking special care in areas where the mask has been rubbing. Look for moisturizers that include ingredients like ceramides, peptides, squalene, and niacinamide.
Apply morning and night and approximately 30 mins before a mask is placed over the top.
Synergie Dermacalm, Synergie UberZinc, Cosmedix rescue balm, Aspect SMC, IS clinical reparative moisture emulsion are some great options.
In some cases, chronic skin conditions can form from prolonged wearing of masks such as seborrheic dermatitis, excessive redness, eczema, perioral dermatitis just to name a few. In this case, we recommend you seek assistance and a treatment plan from your skincare professional.