How to treat maskne

The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has made its mark on many areas of our lives… including even the clearness of our complexions! If you’ve been dealing with breakouts around your mouth, jaw and cheeks, you’re not alone.

Many of us have been experiencing maskne and facial skin problems lately, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

 In fact, we’d be willing to bet that “how to get rid of blemishes from mask-wearing” must be one of the most Googled search terms recently.

 What is maskne? Can face masks cause acne?

‘Maskne’ is a term that’s become popular for describing breakouts caused by wearing masks. Typically, it will cause pimples to pop up around the areas of your face that your mask covers. So yep, unfortunately, face masks can absolutely cause acne but we’ll be sharing all our tips for treating it below.

Maskne versus regular acne

Just like regular acne, maskne breakouts happen when your pores get blocked and become inflamed. In the case of maskne, it’s thought the friction from the mask combined with a bacterial imbalance could concoct the perfect storm causing these pesky breakouts. Breakouts caused by friction from clothing or accessories are nothing new and actually already have a fancy name – ‘acne mechanica.’

How to treat and prevent maskne

Think you could be dealing with maskne? Don’t stress, we’ve got some advice. While it’s pretty unlikely we’ll get to stop wearing masks completely anytime soon, there are some things we can do to minimise the effects of coverings on our complexions.

1. Keep it clean

Heading out somewhere knowing you’ll be wearing a mask? Pare back your beauty routine and keep cosmetics to the absolute minimum. In fact, we’d suggest avoiding foundation, concealer and any other makeup products completely on the areas your mask will cover.

2. Switch up your skincare routine

Finetune your skincare routine and choose products designed to keep the skin clear and spot-free. Acne treatments and skincare serums for blemished skin (more on those below) are about to become your new best friends, along with an excellent cleanser and moisturiser.

3. Choose a supercharged serum

In the world of skincare, serums have to be one of the most versatile products. No matter what skin concern you’re looking to address, there’ll be a serum for that… breakouts included!

If you’re looking for the best face serum in Australia to treat maskne, we can’t go past our Boost Lab® Vitamin B3 Blemish Rescue Serum. It’s packed with a potent vitamin B3 concentrate to rapidly clear breakouts, and it’s great as an acne scar treatment too. Plus, this skincare serum is fragrance-free, cruelty-free, sulphate-free, and paraben-free. Impressive.

Want to learn more about what blemishes are and how to nix them? Check out our blemish guide. If you're not too sure what your skin needs use our personalised Skin Advisor to give you the best recommendations!