Maskne: What’s going on with my skin? This past month my skin seems to have more blemishes, redness, even seeing breakouts that I never have had before?
You are not alone. Now that the weather is heating up, and in some areas, increasing humidity wearing the facial masks is creating a skin condition now being labeled by Dermatologists as MASKNE.
After speaking with friends and clients of mine that are working on the front line in the medical field, as well as in other positions where daily mask wearing has been causing some serious skin issues, I have seen a great improvement in their skin conditions for facial redness, blemishes, raw skin (where applying anything on the skin stings and burns). What has happened by wearing the masks is that we have disrupting the acid mantle of the skin,and the skin barrier has become disrupted. Because this has happened the skin is in an inflamed state and the Merkel cells, have become hypersensitive to external stimuli.
We have a gentle organic facial cleanser that we recommend for those with these symptoms already as well as a cream to apply that helps to calm and soothe the skin while also protecting the skin from further inflammation. It’s very important to wash your face masks every day, if you are using disposable masks know that those mask fibers can be irritating to the skin, as they were not developed to leave on for such long periods of time. We recommend cotton masks where you can put a protective layer in them to change that often during the day when needed, otherwise, just wear the cotton mask.
The physical pressure from wearing the face masks is something the skin is not equipped to deal with over these extended periods of time. The combination of friction, occlusion, and emotional stress is a perfect environment for skin reaction in the form of blemishes, or acne. Acne is a chronic dermatological inflammatory condition that is exacerbated by stress, or any topical stress, such as frequent wearing of a face mask. We know that stress can exacerbate this condition as well as eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, and rosacea. Some people are confusing heat rash, or miliaria as acne, because it tends to look similar to acne. This heat rash occurs from occlusion of sweat/perspiration under the mask. Women are more prone to this, possibly from the lack of estrogen, or hormonal imbalance. This skin condition is a direct correlation from the immune system responding to trapped dead skin cells, bacteria and salts from the sweat that lay on the skin, congesting the pores.
Masks can also disrupt and alter the microbiome of the skin causing periorbital dermatitis, worsen or even trigger Rosacea, as well as seborrheic dermatitis. Many of the factors of Rosacea, such as the overactive immune response in the skin, and hypersensitive nerves around the blood vessels causing them to widen persistently which is why we see the facial redness, is what people are experiencing from wearing the facial masks most of the day.
We want to treat the skin by protecting and preserving moisture levels in the skin but not to occlude the skin or disrupt the delicate pH. Sea Active Skincare was formulated for weakened or aging skin caused by illness, stress or medications. It was after my battle with cancer that I realized how important skin care was, as it is the largest vital organ of our body, and the screen door to our immune system. What concerned me was the use of chemicals that are controversial to our health and the also to the well-being of our skin. I needed to formulate something truly superior that would make a difference in my skin, and for others like me that needed a product that addresses changes in the skin that occur from various factors. The change had to be significant, and the Sea Active Organic DermaSeatical skin care difference is very significant. The products are made with a specialized broth that starts with pure Spring water (an expense that has been challenging when it comes to pricing- but nonetheless, it is imperative to the formulas being advantageous to the skin), that is then infused with Seaweeds, teas, flowers and fruits. This is the Biogenic Seaweed Antioxidant Broth™, the trade secret difference in our line vs all others.
Proper cleansing is essential.
I recommend our Marine Guardian™ One Step Organic Facial Cleanser and our Sea Botanical Purifying™ Cleanser. I also recommend our BioGeniSea ™Fucoidan Serum as a non-comedogenic, balanced hydrating serum that is an effective treatment moisturizer with protective Fucoidan from seaweeds. The seaweed extracts in this moisturizer help prevent the congestion of the skin, offers anti-inflammatory properties and helps restore the skin barrier. At night use this over the Clarity™ Facial Gel Serum. Clarity™ Serum has both land and sea botanicals to reduce inflammation. Sea Lettuce, Sea Fennel, Sea Lavender, Sea Beet extracts, Wakame, Callophycus, Pacific and Atlantic Bull Kelp Bioferment with Chamomile, and Agarose™ our trade secret ingredient that is made from seaweeds and botanical Hyaluronic Acid. This serum also contains powerful anti-blemish properties from plant extracts along with probiotics from Barley and Mushroom extracts. The white tea extract high in ECGC help boost the skin’s resilience while Salicylic Acid from White Birch Extract decongests the skin to help reduce skin congestion that results in blemishes.
Written by Vincene Parrinello, CEO Sea Active™ Organic DermaSeatical™ Skincare.
