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Hi everyone! Lily here again 
I hope you’ve all been able to stay safe and healthy during these past few months! Quarantine has been affecting everyone in different ways, and many people have been experiencing what’s known as Acne Mechanica, aka Maskne!
I hope you’ve all been able to stay safe and healthy during these past few months! Quarantine has been affecting everyone in different ways, and many people have been experiencing what’s known as Acne Mechanica, aka Maskne!
We want to start today’s thread off by saying that NOT wearing masks isn’t the answer here. For your own health and safety, you need to wear a mask because we are in a pandemic and we’d never advise that you put your life at risk for the sake of your skin.
So what is acne mechanica? It’s acne that is caused by friction or physical trauma to the skin. That’s it. It isn’t always even caused by masks. Clothing can cause it. Bra straps. Anything that causes friction can cause acne mechanica.
What actually happens when you experience acne mechanica is that the friction causes heat + inflammation and then the inflammation affects your skin’s ability to desquamate (get rid of dead skin cells). This combination results in clogged comedones.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit difficult to treat because the most effective method of treatment is to minimize the friction. In cases of people who get acne mechanica from workout gear or headbands, it’s easy to fix by simply wearing absorbent cotton. With masks? Not so simple.
Because masks are nonnegotiable right now, it’s essentially impossible to fully and successfully eliminate the source of the acne mechanica (your mask). So instead, you have to target the factors that worsen it without removing the masks:
- Heat
- Inflammation
- Heat
- Inflammation
How can you reduce heat? Start by icing your face daily!
Icing the skin is a super easy and [mostly] free/affordable way of reducing inflammation. For example, when you sprain an ankle, doctors recommend icing it regularly because cold reduces inflammation within the body/skin.
Icing the skin is a super easy and [mostly] free/affordable way of reducing inflammation. For example, when you sprain an ankle, doctors recommend icing it regularly because cold reduces inflammation within the body/skin.
How to ice:
- Do NOT apply ice cube directly on face. There must be a barrier like a small ziplock. Has to glide easily on the skin and not cause friction
- Ice on WET skin immediately after cleansing
- 5 minutes MAX twice a day
- Never hold ice cube in place for >10 seconds.
- Do NOT apply ice cube directly on face. There must be a barrier like a small ziplock. Has to glide easily on the skin and not cause friction
- Ice on WET skin immediately after cleansing
- 5 minutes MAX twice a day
- Never hold ice cube in place for >10 seconds.
Now for reducing inflammation, icing will help significantly with that. But this is also where using the right products come in. We’ve been seeing advice that you need to start exfoliating more or using acne treatments. This is NOT the case with acne mechanica. At all.
Exfoliation can actually make it worse now, simply because you can’t eliminate the masks that are causing the friction. Using acne treatments right now while your face is still experiencing constant + severe friction is going to result in impaired barrier function and dryness.
So instead what you want to do is.....focus on maintaining and repairing your barrier!
If you’re experiencing acne mechanica, you likely already have impaired barrier function currently due to the constant heat + friction. So you first need to fix your barrier before anything!
If you’re experiencing acne mechanica, you likely already have impaired barrier function currently due to the constant heat + friction. So you first need to fix your barrier before anything!
Ingredients to focus on for barrier repair are:
- Panthenol
- Dimethicone
- Glycerin
- Licorice root
- Centella Asciatica
- Petroleum jelly
- Allantoin
- Green tea
- Curcumin
- Ceramides
- Cholesterol
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Aloe Vera
- Niacinamide
- Snail mucin
- Beta glucan
- Panthenol
- Dimethicone
- Glycerin
- Licorice root
- Centella Asciatica
- Petroleum jelly
- Allantoin
- Green tea
- Curcumin
- Ceramides
- Cholesterol
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Aloe Vera
- Niacinamide
- Snail mucin
- Beta glucan
Many of these will be included in our Like Butter which is launching in 3 weeks. But in the meantime, you want to protect your skin with each mask usage by applying a thin layer of an occlusive underneath your mask to act as a buffer and protectant for your skin.
Occlusives are going to prevent the mask from rubbing *directly* on your skin. This is going to reduce the friction, but not the heat. Which is why it’s still going to be important to ice during this time if you’re experiencing maskne in order to reduce the heat as well.
Exfoliating right now can make your skin feel tender and raw. As well as using treatments like benzoyl peroxide or retinoids/retinols. You may want to use a super gentle exfoliant just once a week such as Mandelic or lactic acid to still allow for desquamation.
A few other ingredients that are wonderful for repairing your barrier right now:
- Evening primrose oil
- Oat kernel
- Sodium PCA
- Pentylene Glycol
- Shea butter
All of these ingredients are either humectants or occlusives. And they all are anti inflammatory!
- Evening primrose oil
- Oat kernel
- Sodium PCA
- Pentylene Glycol
- Shea butter
All of these ingredients are either humectants or occlusives. And they all are anti inflammatory!
Lastly, if you are wearing cloth masks, you NEED to be cleaning them every single day and drying them overnight before you use them again. Use an antibacterial soap and you can also use a bit of isopropyl alcohol to kill bacteria if you have any on hand.
One more thing. Stop touching your face throughout the day! I know it may be itchy. You may want to feel how your maskne is doing. Avoid touching your face as much as possible. It’s only going to introduce potentially acne-causing bacteria and worsen the inflammation. 
