👩⚕️ Being a dentist, I’ve been wearing a face mask for the majority of my work life
😷 Now that masks have become the norm, what do we do about “Maskne” or “mask acne”
♻️ When we wear masks especially home made fabric masks which we are re-using. we are recycling the air localised around our mouth and nose
⏰ We are wearing the masks for a significant period of time which serves to provide the perfect breeding ground for bacteria
🦠 Normally, helpful bacteria will live on the surface of the skin to break down oil or sebum to fatty acids which will form a protective barrier for the skin
🤢 However unobstructed skin is not the perfect environment for the bacteria to thrive and breed
💦 Bacteria love moist, damp, warm, dark environments where there is a reduction in oxygen allowing them to multiply – which is supplied by the environment you create when you wear a mask
🤐 When there is congestion and when breathing takes place in a confined area, the skin cannot breathe effectively
🧐 When this happens the sebum or oil will not come to the surface, so the bacteria will go searching for it
☠️ It will pass down inside the sebaceous gland allowing an overgrowth of bacteria in the skin
👎 It’s actually doing the right job, but in completely in the wrong place
🤔 So how do we reduce this effect
🧘♀️ Our general health and our skin health is a matter of balance
⚖️ The better we look after our skin and our health the more the scales will tip in our favour
⛔️ The more wrong things we do for our skin, especially re-using masks, increasing the amount we touch our faces – which we are most certainly doing when we are wearing and adjusting the fit of our masks; our inability to keep the air surrounding our faces moving and circulating
🥵 Was the harder we need to work to tip the scales back into our favour
😤 So what do we do?
✅ Double cleansing rather than single cleansing – I know you all cleanse everyday anyway, because you are all superstars, however if you do commute to work using public transport, if you cycle in, live in urban or highly polluted areas, then double cleansing is hugely beneficial, to remove all that dirt, grime and pollution from the face, and now even more important if you are wearing a mask, and experiencing break outs.
✅ Feeding our body and skin with even more of the correct nutrients so it can maintain it’s function and withstand the negatives we are exposing our skin to
✅ Drinking even more water to keep the skin hydrated, but also to efficiently eliminate the toxins which build up
✅ Helping to manage our stress and cortisol levels even more
✅ Wear the mask as little as you can and try and invest in disposable masks as much as possible and change them as often as possible
♻️ Not the most environmentally friendly advice, but we are not used to having so many chemicals covering our skin, both from disposable masks and from the detergents we use to wash reusable masks
🙌 If you can keep your distance from people, watch where you sneeze and cough, wash your hands before touching your face or eating, be smart about your own health, you will be helping yourself and everyone around you
