Maskne: How To Care For Blemishes & Irritation From Masks

Wearing a mask is a good thing, full stop: It will help slow the spread of coronavirus and the new variants. However, you might be noticing some skin irritation around the areas where you're wearing it, especially if you're wearing your face mask more frequently now. Yes, the cleverly dubbed "maskne" is back.

You may be breaking out right now due to a variety of reasons, including stress and changes in your diet. Add face masks to the list of culprits, says board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D.: "The occlusive nature of a protective mask creates a humid and warm environment under the mask, which can lead to increased sebum and sweat. And this can lead to irritation, inflammation, and breakouts."

And unfortunately, the area that a mask covers—nose, mouth, and chin—are areas that tend to break out more anyway. So if you are an acne-prone individual, take extra precautions to keep skin clear.

"I recommend washing the face before and after wearing a mask. A gentle cleanser is adequate, or if your skin is particularly oily or acne-prone, consider a cleanser with salicylic acid, which can penetrate into pores and gently exfoliate and remove sebum," says King. "And use a light moisturizer that's noncomedogenic, to support and bolster the skin barrier without clogging pores. Avoid heavy and potentially comedogenic products under the mask area."

As for irritation from friction, "any areas that are tight or rubbing can irritate the skin. Minimize this as much as possible by making sure the areas that contact your skin are smooth and not abrasive and not tighter than necessary to achieve a good seal," says King. "If you notice this kind of irritation after removing the mask, wash the area with water and a gentle cleanser, and apply an ointment."

And ultimately, some irritation may be unavoidable, unfortunately. This just happens when you wear a secure fabric on delicate skin or for long periods of time; because you can't necessarily stop it from happening, your best bet is to soothe it after the fact. It's comparable to hand-washing: Since you can't change the drying nature of hot water and soap, instead you treat dryness with a hand cream after the fact. Take the same approach with your face-mask-induced irritation.