Ugh. Just Ugh. So have you noticed how your skin under your mask is always congested and m-m-m-moist? (CRINGE). Yah me too. We’re all struggling with ways to fight the dreaded maskne that has crept up on our faces, and although we’re grateful nobody really sees it with the mask covering it, the consta-mask is making the sitch worse. It gets irritated, painful, and unsightly. Wanna know my top tips on reducing the impact? Read on.
Clean skin. Mask on Mask off! But seriously, clean skin is the first line of defence here. Get your hands on a good cleansing wipe, and make sure your skin is clean before you put your mask on. When you put your mask on, make sure your mask is clean. If you’re using a fabric mask, make sure it’s been freshly washed (or it’s like sleeping with your makeup on night after night on your dirty pillowcase). If you’re using a mask like my O2 and it has a silicone seal, take your mask apart, clean all your parts including your silicone seal with an alcohol swab or soap & water. If it’s disposable…. dispose of your old mask and use a new one. So: clean skin, clean mask. When you’re done with your mask, grab a cleansing wipe and wipe your skin where the mask was covering your face. The less you have of your “day” sitting on your face, the less congestion. Make sense?
Exfoliate daily! Especially since the constant contact will allow buildup on your skin — exfoliating will be important to get rid of dead skin, dirt buildup, and allow the products you’re using to penetrate fresh skin instead of sitting on top. Dead skin + mask = congestion = maskne. NO! You can use something like the Daily Concepts microscrubber (only $11!!) If you’re like me, you want something that can kill two birds with one stone and knock a few minutes off of your morning routine. Use your cleanser with the microscrubber, rough side for exfoliating and soft side for cleansing. Gentle motions, don’t scrub until you’re raw. You’re welcome.
Don’t forget to protect your skin. Just because you’re stuck inside, or half of your face is covered doesn’t mean you don’t need protection. Repeat after me: ESS. PEE. EFF. Always. You can use either a moisturizer that has spf in it, like the Salt + Stone that we have online, or a mineral powder spf, or even a foundation that has SPF. If you’re worried about sitting in front of the screen all day going from zoom meeting to zoom meeting, the Fitglow Day Essence spray also has blue light protection (not to mention other delicious goodies for your skin, like niacinamide for hyperpigmentation and agave stem cells that help lock in moisture). You can also mist the Day Essence throughout the day to freshen up, or continue protecting your skin from the m-m-m-askne monster.
Double cleanse in the PM. Before your head hits that pillow, make sure you wash the grime of your day off of your face. Double cleanse, meaning quite literally wash twice. First time to get the surface stuff off, makeup, dirt, bacteria, etc. Second time to actually clean your skin. I loooooove my massaging facial cleanser, my skin feels vibrant after i’m done using it, so i’ll often use it for my second cleanse and massage with a rolling motion from the centre of my face to the outer ends (think lymphatic drainage) to help blood circulation.
Mask it up! Hah. Gotcha. Sheet masks!!! I like masking once a week. Usually when i’m blogging i’ll put a matcha or pineapple maskeraide mask on… or if i’m chilling and watching netflix, i’ll throw a sheet mask on. So cleanse your skin at night, apply your mask, and then continue with your skincare (serum and moisturizer, from thinnest to thickest).
I know we’re all guilty of wearing a dirty mask because it’s just there. You forgot to wash it, or you forgot it at home. Or whatever. But before you go to grab that foundation-covered mask… Would you sleep with your makeup on? Ugh, don’t answer that.
If you’ve made it this far in my post, thanks for reading! I’ve linked quite a few of the products to my online store, and as a special treat, here’s a 15% discount code for you to use on anything listed above: MASKNE2020. The code will be valid for you to use until November 30, 2020! (Think Christmas gifts for your beauty enthusiast — they’ll thank you for it)