It’s bad enough that we have to deal with Singapore’s hot and humid climate on a daily basis. But wearing face masks for an extended period of time, and you’ll have to face the brunt of mask acne, or as most of us like to call it, maskne.
A new term, coined for acne caused by wearing a mask, is steadily gaining popularity during the pandemic and most of us are frantically looking for solutions to get rid of these unsightly breakouts.
For the uninitiated, maskne is usually caused by heat, pressure, friction, irritation, and occlusion. Friction and irritation can cause micro-tears on your skin, pushing bacteria into the skin, leading to inflammation.
They form tiny bumps that look like whiteheads around the jawline, cheeks and chin area that don’t look like they’re ready to be popped anytime soon. These tiny breakouts can also get further irritated, turning into something that’s more heinous resulting in inflamed blemishes, or worse, cystic acne.
As someone who’s able to work from home, I count myself lucky that I never have to wear a face mask for an extended period of time unless I’m spending the day out. Still, I do experience maskne every now and then — and it’s been causing devastating effects on my skin.
Sure, putting on some makeup can cover my flaws but it might be doing more harm than good to my skin in the long run. More often than not, I also find myself treating my skin with my closetful of skincare products I have stocked at home.
Now for someone who hasn’t been doing facials that often, I had high hopes of clearing my maskne-related problems by trying out Spa Esprit’s latest Mask Avenger Facial, and if you’re wondering how it went, read on.
