I have had quite a few conversations of late about masks and maskne. Now… to be clear, I have not had maskne. I only have to wear a mask when I go to or socially distanced church services and the grocery store and the latter I try to make that as short and efficient as possible. I already have asthma and I get lightheaded, tired, dizzy and frankly don’t love breathing c02. With Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune disease) it is not good for me to restrict my oxygen… so there is that as well. And I don’t particularly need my immune system compromised by that lack of oxygen either… no thank you.
Last year I joined Beautycounter as an advocate and consultant; more on that here. Some of my lovely Beautycounter consultant friends have however, full time jobs where they have to wear masks and they have thrown some help my way when I have been asked about maskne. With the change of the seasons it is often helpful to change your skincare routine, so feel free to take a skincare quiz here to help with that. I use the Countertime Collection and several of the products below, but others have found switching to Countermatch to be helpful, or Countercontrol with the onset of maskne.
All that being said, I have tried a few masks and my favorite are my Norwex masks. They are proven to filter 81% of 0.1 micron-sized particles and the BacLock in the cloth (Norwex’s exclusive micro silver antibacterial agent) offers continuous protection against microbes and odors within the cloth. So in essence they stay cleaner for longer and are less likely to disrupt your skin biome. Yay! #stayclean
Beyond that there are several things that are beneficial if you are having to wear a mask all day every day for work or for whatever reason. Of utmost importance is clean skin care and good probiotics, as often acne can be combatted in the gut. Click here for more on the gut-acne connection. I would recommend washing with a clean charcoal bar like this one and wiping your face clean in upward strokes with a clean face cloth. A good clean charcoal mask a few times per week will help, and my favorite is of course Beautycounter’s Counter+ Charcoal Mask.
If you are really dealing with a flare up, it may be time to consider a regimen designed for dealing with acne to bring things under control. Beautycounter’s Countercontrol line is designed for just that and comes in a full collection, a smaller regimen and if you’re on a budget I would recommend the All Over Acne Treatment, which is the serum step in that line.
The other product I would recommend (because I use it every day) is the Counter+ All Bright C Serum with turmeric, vitamin C and camu camu. It is designed for skin brightening and healing but has had the added and unexpected benefit of being a great serum for reducing acne, possibly because it is like having a clear and light turmeric treatment on all day. It smells a bit earthy going on (like turmeric) but after about 30 seconds that fades and after three minutes you can go ahead and apply your moisturizer and makeup if you wear it.
I also use the Overnight Resurfacing Peel every other night and I have found that to be helpful as well when I have had a hormonal breakout. If you’re on a tighter budget but love clean skincare, consider the Band of Beauty Membership. It is $29 per year, has no autoship or auto renew but offers free shipping over $100 and 10% product credit back always. This month it includes two amazing products in travel sizes: the Overnight Resurfacing Peel and the Charcoal Mask. I don’t make a commission off of it but it makes clients very happy over the long haul so that brings me joy… and at the moment we have 10% off for new clients so it is a great time to switch to clean and reduce your toxic load. Because the last thing we all need right now is to head into winter with our immune systems compromised.
I also recommend taking a good probiotic! Q Sciences Q Biotics*, doTERRA’s PB Assist or Plexus Vitalbiome(AM) and ProBio5 (PM) are all good choices and I would urge you to pick up one as acne often can be dealt with in the gut! Message if you have any questions or aren’t sure which will be the best fit. x
So just a quick post! Love to you all! Please feel free to comment or message with questions! I love this company and love to share great skincare!
Brenna xo
*Apologies I don’t have a link for this. A preferred membership to Q Sciences is $10 per year and is much less expensive than purchasing retail. All the products are extremely effective and utilize nanoparticle technology for maximum absorption. They also offer water soluble hemp oil (for 85% absorption) and a plethora of health support supplements. Please message with questions!
* (Both Vitalbiome and ProBio5 contain S. Boulardii, but exercise caution with the latter as it actively kills off candida and other microbes so you can experience “die off“)
