The Best Face Covering for Delicate Skin | Dealing with Maskne

During the past Summer, wearing a face covering was quite problematic for me. My skin got more oily and I dealt with frequent maskne (mask-triggered acne breakouts). I searched for the best fabric options to reduce my chances of breaking out and tried several types of masks. However, none of them were equally skin-friendly, breathing-friendly, and comfortable behind my ears.

Finally, By Wishtrend made this hemp/organic cotton blend face mask*, which was designed specifically to be skin-friendly. This is by far the nicest mask I have tried. It’s very breathable, soft, and gentle to the skin. It is slightly roomy in the nose/mouth/chin area, while still closing each side properly. I wore it for an entire, exhausting day at the museum, and not once did I feel like I needed a mask “break”, which is very unusual for me. I tend to aggressively pull all my other masks off my face as soon as I leave a building because I feel like I can’t breathe properly. With this mask, I almost forget that I am wearing it.

What makes this mask skin-friendly?

Hemp has antibacterial properties, so unlike other fabrics, it does not increase the chances of breaking out. The roominess that the fabric creates around the mouth area prevents friction from occurring so the skin is not irritated by repeated rubbing against the fabric. The loops are also soft and comfortable and don’t pull behind the ears. It is reusable and safe to wash (speaking of which, please, stop using disposable face masks if you can!).

A few tips on preventing maskne

These are a few changes I have implemented that have worked well for me:

  1. I wear  a clean face covering every day. I can only imagine how much dirt and microbes can get trapped into the fabric!
  2. I don’t wear much skincare underneath the mask. Typically, just a thin layer of moisturizer and spf.
  3. I don’t wear makeup in the face mask area. None. No foundation, no concealer, or lipstick–nada. It can be a recipe for disaster. I would have makeup rubbing against my skin and likely causing irritation. It can easily lead to clogged pores.
  4. I don’t wear lip balm. Although the AAD recommends wearing lip protection under the mask, I found it uncomfortable and noticed that I broke out every time I used lip balm. Maybe it’s the lip balms I used that were problematic, but I don’t need it right now anyway. I’ll re-evaluate when the weather cools down.
  5. If I have an emerging zit, I cover it with a pimple patch (the type I mentioned here), that way it is protected and does not get more irritated. I apply the pimple patch on clean skin (it won’t stick on top of a slippery product).

Where to find this mask

The Wishtrend Organic Hemp Face Mask is available at Wishtrend. They currently have a September discount code SEP10, but they also have a special promo on vegan products, with up to 40% off on several products, which you can check out here. The promotion ends on September 13th.

They stock some of the products I mentioned in my latest post about my K-Beauty favorites part I, and I would totally recommend picking up some Rovectin products as well. My skin has been better than ever since I started to incorporate their Treatment Lotion and Lotus Water Cream.

*This post is not sponsored, but many thanks to Wishtrend for sending me this mask! My skin loves it and so do I. I am definitely ordering a few more.

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