How I got on top of my "maskne"

Like many people this year, I got maskne as a result of constantly wearing masks when out and about. Here's how I got rid of mine.

What is maskne?

Maskne, a new friend to many of us, is acne, most commonly around the mouth, chin, cheeks and nose, caused by wearing face masks, hence the name mask-ne. Wearing a mask creates an unbreathable, humid environment which causes sweat, oil and bacteria to build up, get trapped on the skin, and clog pores, resulting in acne.

My experience with maskne

Despite not going out and therefore not wearing a mask every day, I still suffered badly with maskne. The only times I would go out after the end of the first UK lockdown was to get some food shopping once a week, and even then I would only wear the mask for about 20 minutes, and then for the occasional hospital appointment. I started to breakout quite badly around my nose and mouth. I very rarely get bad breakouts, especially around my mouth (they're normally on my forehead, and some near my nose), and I have skincare routine that I religiously stick to, so I knew my face masks were the cause of my breakouts. To try and combat my breakouts I tried three different spot treatments, two of which I know wok very well for me. The third treatment was a brand new release, and I knew I had to have it! It came out at just the right time.

Spot treatments

First I tried the good old Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. It's no secret that there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Mario Badescu brand in the past. Some people love it, and some people love to hate it. I've only ever tried the drying lotion, so I can't comment on what the other products are like. I have insanely sensitive skin, but the drying lotion works for me. It doesn't irritate or burn my skin, and I actually really like the product. The blend of calamine and salicylic acid usually helps to clear up any breakouts I have (pretty much with only a few uses), but it wasn't to be for my maskne. I used it every night for 4 days, and there wasn't much difference, which is unusual for me.

When the MB drying lotion didn't help clear up my maskne, I resorted to Acnecide. I used to use this on big spots and under-the-skin spots (you know, the really painful ones that you know are there but can't see the head). I hadn't used any in quite a while, so I had to go out and buy some. I'm glad I did, because it definitely worked better than the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion at clearing up some of my breakout. Acnecide gel contains 5% of the active ingredient benzoyl peroxide (medicine used to treat acne), and propylene glycol (which can cause skin irritation). I put a thin layer of it over my spots and leave it to dry, drying the spots with it. However, it does dry my skin out a lot, so if you're going to use it, I recommend moisturising before you put the gel on. Acnecide is usually good at clearing up any breakouts I have, but it really wasn't effective for my maskne.

The new spot treatment I tried was the Kylie Skin Clear Complexion Correction Stick. This launched on August 6th as part of the clarifying collection, and while I bought the whole collection, I was particularly interested in the correction stick, hoping it may help clear up my maskne. Its packed full of salicylic acid, glycolic acid, witch hazel and tea tree oil, and doesn't dry my skin out. It's a clear gel serum, so you can use it before leaving the house, and your skin looks normal. I liked this, because the MB drying lotion is pink and Acnecide is white, so you really can't use it before you go out. Because I used this as part of my skincare routine (one of the first steps), it meant I could wear a mask on top if I needed to, whereas I couldn't when I used MB and Acnecide. While it was great at reducing my normal breakout in a short amount of time, the correction stick didn't tackle my maskne as quickly as I thought and hoped it would.

Changing my type of face mask

Initially I was wearing surgical style face masks. Between food shopping once a week, and the occasional hospital appointment, I actually went through a whole box, and ordered another box, of surgical masks before I decided enough was enough. The spot treatments I was using were not helping that much, and fed up of maskne and wearing hot, clammy surgical face masks I decided to try another option. I had heard great things about silk face masks, so I decided to give one a try.

Changing from a surgical mask to a 100% Mulberry silk mask was definitely the biggest help in reducing and eventually getting rid of my maskne. I noticed a difference really quickly. Within about a week and a half, my maskne had virtually disappeared. Silk masks are so soft on the skin, don't irritate and are super breathable. Unlike with surgical masks, you really can't feel your hot breath filling the mask when you breathe, so you don't get super sweaty and oily when you wear them. I wish I had tried them sooner. I ordered one initially, but when I realised how well they worked, I ordered two more, so that while one is drying, I have another one to use if I have to go out.

How I clean my silk mask

It is recommended that you hand wash your silk mask at 30℃ (although you can machine wash on a cold and delicate cycle, with a washing bag, if you need it washed faster). A delicate friendly detergent is recommended. Line drying is also recommended rather than tumble drying.

I bought No. 4 Eco Wash for Silk by Clothes Doctor from Amazon. I fill a basin with warm-hot water, and add 1.5-2 caps of the detergent, and froth it up. I put the mask into the water (with the outside/"corona-catching" side of the mask facing down) give it a rub, and then l leave it for 15-30 minutes. I then rinse it with cool water and gently squeeze to get any remaining suds out. I then press it dry with a towel, and then leave on a towel to dry. It usually takes a day to dry, depending on what time I wash it. But if I wash it in the afternoon, it's normally dry by the next morning.

Where to get a silk mask

For my UK friends, head over to The Big Silk, where they have silk face masks in 4 different colours (this is where I got mine from). They're such great quality. They also ship worldwide.

For my American and Canadian friends, head over to Honeylux Silk, who have just released their own silk masks. I have bought scrunchies from them before, and the quality is amazing, so their masks will be too. They also ship worldwide.

Final thoughts

The silk masks definitely worked better than the spot treatments, because they allowed my skin to breathe. The spot treatments may have worked better if I wasn't then using surgical masks the next time I went out. Surgical masks really don't allow your skin to breathe, so wearing them was undoing any good the spot treatments had done. I started using the Kylie Skin correction stick under my silk face mask and noticed a huge improvement. Maybe if I had been wearing silk masks when I started using the spot lotion I would have seen improvements much sooner, but because I wore the unbreathable surgical masks for so long, I really didn't give the spot treatments a chance to work, and put my skin through hell.