How to Prevent Skin Irritations from Wearing Face Masks?

Tips  to Prevent Skin Irritations from Wearing Face Masks

Gentle cleanser

While wearing a mask, your face accumulates a lot of dirt, sweat and other things. So, when you take it off you want to make sure to wash your face properly to clear up all the mask effect from your skin. Also, you don’t want to over-wash or use a harsh facial cleanser that might cause further damage or mess up with your skin barrier.

Therefore, choose a fragrance-free, non-foaming gentle cleanser, and never rinse with hot water always lukewarm, as hot water might also compromise the skin barrier.

Create a skin barrier by moisturizing

Friction between the skin and the mask leads the top layer of your skin to release water and as a result, your skin loses it’s natural moisture weakening your skin’s natural protective barrier against the mask, which eventually might cause cracked skin or red inflammations.

Applying moisturizer on your face throughout the day is the best way to prevent damage. It’s recommended to apply an oil-free moisturizer every 2 hours for oily skin and if you have sensitive skin you can try using diaper lotion as it reduces inflammation. If your skin is super dry and doesn’t respond to the moisturizer, use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to protect your skin’s natural moisture.

Tips to Help Prevent Dry Hands From Sanitizers and Handwashing

Choose a cotton cloth mask

The material of the mask you're wearing has the biggest affect on your skin, so choosing a soft, natural and breathable material like cotton and avoiding polyester, nylon and rayon would minimize the damage caused by the mask. You can even check YouTube videos on how to make one at home, but to save yourself the hassle, cloth masks can now be easily purchased from a variety of stores online. Just make sure it’s tight, with a secure fit and that the fabric is tightly woven.

Wash your reusable mask

If you settled on wearing reusable or cloth masks, then you have to be aware of how to clean. As wearing it multiple times without doing so is very dangerous, not only for your skin but also for the possibilities of catching the virus.

It’s generally better to hand-wash your reusable face mask with warm or hot water and whatever detergent, then air dry it or put it in the dryer. For the surgical reusable masks, such as the N95 mask, you should not clean it at home, but you can reuse it with proper care and place it in a breathable paper bag when you take it off.

Main Image Credits: Instagram @sophiet