Maskne: Mask Acne & Mask Irritation

Maskne is real! It has been an ongoing issue for professionals like Dental Hygienists for years. Now the rest of the world is feeling their pain...literally! I am not a dermatologist so I thought it best to let the experts at Cleveland Clinic explain what Maskne is and what you can do about it. 

Instead I am going to talk about my personal experience as a 55 year old peri-menopausal woman with rosacea.

In hind sight I feel fortunate that during the winter of 2018/19 I had a rough time with my skin. As soon as the weather cooled and the furnace and fireplace were on full time my skin started to have rosacea flareups on an almost daily basis. I would cautiously look in the mirror every morning wondering what my skin was going to look like today? What started as a clear morning could change within a few hours. Did my skin no longer like my products? I was at a loss as to what was going on! As soon as the weather warmed up and there was a touch of humidity in the air my skin troubles were over. It was an "Ah Ha" moment! My skin was craving even more moisture than I was giving it.

(The above shows typical mild rosacea. It’s not me however since my rosacea has since cleared up😉)

When the summer was over all too quickly I knew that I had to double down on moisturizing my face during the dry winter months. I was thrilled to see my clear complexion each morning even with the wood stove crackling 24 hours a day. 

Finally we get to the part about Maskne! When the first lockdown lifted I made a quick escape to Spa De Vie for a much needed mani/pedi. Three hours of wearing a mask and my face was flashing back to that dry dry winter. Red bumps were on my cheeks and my skin had that familiar irritation, but this time I wasn't at a loss as to what to do. I immediately moisturized soothing the irritation right away with the bumps disappearing within the hour. 

The moral of the story; when I had that rough dry winter I jumped to the conclusion that the breakout was a cleansing/pimple issue. Applying additional serum or moisturizer to my face was completely counter intuitive; but aging skin craves moisture and it will let you know if it's not getting enough. If you're over 40 and experiencing Maskne try a patch test and add extra moisturizer/serum. You might be surprised!