Wham asked Dr. Charmaine Apap about Maskne…
In my practice I am increasingly consulting a lot of patients (both female as well as male) who have started seeing acne due to prolonged mask use. This is occurring even in people who have never had acne before, as well as aggravating acne in people who were already prone to the problem.
Such is the frequent worldwide occurrence of this problem that a new term “Maskne” has been recently coined. It is primarily caused by the heat, friction and occlusion which develops under the mask (in fact it is a type of occlusive acne called “acne mechanica“). This is further aggravated by moisture (through sweating, breathing and talking) and oil which is produced by the sebaceous (oil) glands in our own skin.
Below are a few pointers to try to avoid or at least to help improve the condition:
– Gentle cleansing twice a day.
– Light non-greasy moisturiser (look for “oil-free” or “non-comedogenic”). For those with particularly oily skin a gel moisturiser might be more suitable than a cream or lotion.
– Try to keep the use of make-up on the lower face to a minimum and in particular avoid foundation. If the latter is very important for you, perhaps one could try to use a light tinted moisturiser or a tinted sunscreen instead. The latter would mean you have a 3-in-1 solution with moisturiser/sunscreen/make-up base all in one product to avoid layering of products.
– Keep your skin routine as simple as possible and avoid any products which contain irritating substances such as benzoyl peroxide, retinols (as found in anti-ageing/rejuvenating and anti-wrinkle creams) and salicylic acid (unless recommended by your doctor).
– The use of scrubs and peels is also not recommended in this circumstance.
– If you are using a cotton mask it must be washed every single day (treat it as you would your underwear). For this reason it is advisable to own at least a couple of masks to have a clean dry mask available every day.
– For those using surgical masks these are, by definition, disposable and should therefore not be used for more than a day.
Should your problem persist or get worse despite following all the above you might need prescription treatment for acne and therefore one should speak to their general practitioner or a dermatologist for further advice.
Notwithstanding these mask-associated problems, the use of a mask is still strongly recommended so that we can continue to protect each other from the further spread of COVID-19 and hopefully bring it again under control within our community.
Have you experienced Maskne? Share your experience with our followers…contact us or email us at [email protected]
Dr Charmaine Apap MD MRCP (UK) MRCP (Derm.) PG Cert. Pall. Care (Cardiff) CCST (Derm.) is a registered specialist in Dermatology. She qualified as a doctor from the University of Malta in 1997 and has trained both in Malta as well as the United Kingdom.
Dr Apap has been practicing Dermatology for the past thirteen years and has experience both in public as well as private practice. She treats both adults and children for a wide range of dermatology problems.
After receiving specific training in this area in the UK she also developed a special interest in vulval dermatology and together with colleagues in gynaecology she set up a specialised “Vulva Clinic” at Mater Dei Hospital dealing exclusively with this oft-neglected sub-specialty.
Dr Apap currently works exclusively in private practice.
