UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WJMN) – Whether you wear a cloth or disposable mask when you’re out and about, you may be a victim of ‘maskne’ or acne around your nose and chin from wearing a mask.
“A person who is wearing a mask will get the irritation from it,” said Andrew Tait, PA-C, Aspirus Ironwood Hospital. “Especially if you get warm and sweaty. Any skin that gets warm and sweaty and starts to rub will certainly develop a contact irritant and that’s just kind of a normal response of skin not being happy.”
Tait says the skin on our face is completely different than on the rest of our bodies. So when it comes to cleaning it, it’s important to do it right.
“Wash your face with a good facial cleanser twice a day,” said Tait. “Moisturize after that too after you get done washing. Don’t use body soap on your face because that’s mean for your body. Don’t use soap on your face because your face doesn’t tolerate very well but a good facial cleanser is wonderful stuff to use.”
Another tip from Tait is having a clean mask.
For people using a disposable one Tait says, “If your mask gets wet, if it get damaged, if it gets dirty, it should go in the trash. Especially the disposable ones like I wear here. If you’re mask is in good shape and it looks not dirty, damaged, wet, then you can keep on wearing it. There’s some guidelines that say that you can try to get at least a week out of your mask.”
If you’re wearing a cloth mask Tait adds, “I got several masks that I wear and they just run through the wash cycle. I toss them in the laundry and they get washed. I wear them for the day and they get washed. Just like my pair of socks.”