Esthetician offers advice to beat mask-acne, or 'Maskne'

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Health officials say masks are good for a lot during the pandemic, but one thing they may not be good for is your skin.

Nondy Llewellyn, an esthetician who owns Bakersfield Acne Care, says many clients have been coming to her with a concentration of congestion and irritation from wearing masks.

“Anybody can suffer. You know if you have sensitive skin or extra dry skin to begin with, the mask doesn’t help," Llewellyn said. “I am having clients come in with additional irritation and acne along the jawline, around the mouth area where the mask would be.”

Those that are already prone to acne, unsurprisingly, are those also most at risk for maskne, she says. Also, those who wear makeup.

“If your face is covered by a mask and you have makeup on and moisturizer on, that's just going to melt that into your skin, cause irritation," Llewellyn said.

Llewellyn says an easy fix for that, is to simply not put makeup on the areas covered by a mask. Or to use a more simplistic water-based hydrater along with a light mineral powder makeup. No matter what though, for anyone prone to acne, Llewellyn says the key to healthy skin is to keep your face and mask clean.

She recommends wearing a disposable mask instead of cloth masks if possible.

“if you have to wear a cloth mask make sure that you’re washing it with hot soapy water every single night, every single day, and keep your hands off of that mask," she said.

If masks are giving your skin a tough time, Llewellyn also recommends putting a small amount of vaseline or Aquaphor around the affected areas to create a barrier before you put the mask on.