｜Planning/Editing: Jina Editor-in-charge: Ya Yun & Fanny
Review: Li Yun
In the past few days, I often see a sentence on the Internet: “Youth is only a few years old, and the epidemic has taken up three years.”
Especially recently, with the outbreak of epidemics in various places, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have successively entered the drug circle and become resident guests of Weibo hot search!
In the past few years, the mask has been worn for several years, and looking at this trend, the mask cannot be taken off in a short time.
I’m getting used to wearing a mask, but I’m still not used to the skin problems it brings. Today, I will tell you about several common skin problems caused by masks and how to improve them.
Face getting oily
(Photo source Weibo)
It’s fine in winter, but once summer comes, every time I take off my mask, I feel that the oil on my face can be used for cooking! Just like a pig’s mane.
This happens for two main reasons:
One is that we wear a mask to form a closed space, exhaled gas and secreted sweat are difficult to volatilize, so we will feel covered by the mask The area is wet and uncomfortable. This humid environment stimulates the sebaceous glands to secrete more sebum, so your face will feel greasy after taking off the mask.
Second, The temperature inside the mask is generally higher than that outside the mask, especially in spring and summer, which will also increase the sebum secreted by the sebaceous glands. Studies have shown that every 1°C increase in temperature increases the sebum excretion rate by about 10%.
What should I do?
It’s really uncomfortable to have an oily face every day!
● Oil control first
You can use products containing azelaic acid, niacinamide, zinc, greentea and other ingredients to improve sebum production.
In addition, we can also go to a safe and unattended environment every 2-3 hours to take off the mask and rest for a while to let the skin breathe. (Be sure to wear a mask in public places, epidemic prevention is the first)
● Next is choosing the right cleaning product
For example, products containing amino acid surfactants, like sodium lauroyl glutamate, potassium cocoyl glycinate, twice a day . If the skin barrier is damaged, it is recommended to clean with water.
Some people may think that facial oil should be cleaned with some products with strong cleaning power. In fact, this will damage the skin barrier, and the more clean it is, the drier the skin will be.
● One more important point – moisturizing
You can opt for a relatively refreshing moisturizer after cleansing your skin. Like moisturizers and lotions, try to choose moisturizing products that primarily blockers are silicone derivatives, as these are usually lotions and tend to be lighter to use .
ps: If you are going out, you can use loose powder and oil-absorbing paper for a temporary emergency to get rid of the piggong mane advanced fairy~< /p>
Acne doesn’t go away
(Photo source Weibo)
Wearing a mask is the most beautiful boy in this street
Take off the mask and pimples can scare people to death
As mentioned above, the humid and hot environment inside the mask will lead to an increase in the secretion of sebaceous glands, and increased secretion of sebum will induce and aggravate acne, no wonder the acne is uninvited.
In addition, wearing a mask may press on the local skin (chin and cheeks), block the sebaceous ducts, prevent sebum from draining, and aggravate acne.
If you want to improve this situation, you need to cooperate with the above “solution to face oil”, maintain good living and eating habits, reduce the intake of high-sugar foods and dairy products, and if necessary,
strong>Topical antibiotics and/or retinoic acid drugs, etc. Severe cases can be treated with oral medication under the guidance of a doctor.
Skin crush
To be honest, after wearing a mask for a few years, I feel that the skin behind my ears is calloused! But this cocoon is too tender. Recently, because of the epidemic, I put on an N95 mask, and my ears hurt again.
This is a pressure injury caused by local pressure on the skin caused by wearing a mask for a long time, mainly behind the nose, cheekbones, and auricle strong>Bone prominence or weak skin.
In general, this type of pressure injury occurs most often in healthcare workers because they need to wear protective equipment for extended periods of time, and less often in ordinary people, usually with N95 wear for extended periods of time It only happens when the mask or the mask size is not suitable.
For most people, Prolonged wearing of a mask and rubbing against the skin is more susceptible to allergies and may be a more common problem than crushing.
If you are in a low-risk area, you only need to wear an ordinary medical mask, and you can choose a lace-up mask, which will have relatively less pressure. You can also put some dressings to relieve pressure on areas that are often stressed.
If mild indentation occurs, no special treatment is generally required, and it will recover after a few hours as the skin adapts;
If the skin is red, swollen, and damaged, apply a protective ointment on the vulnerable area, and then use a protective dressing to avoid direct contact with masks or other items. part.
Again, I will be paralyzed again, and I will look at the twisted shell and the sack, and I will be happy. Very limited UV blocking.
So everyone must do a good job of sun protection when going out. Apply sunscreen evenly on the part where you wear a mask and the part where you don’t wear a mask, otherwise the sun will become uneven due to uneven sun protection. “Black and white face” is not worth it.
In fact, whether it is skin crush, acne or facial oil, the medical staff who go to the front line all the year round are more serious than ordinary people. They are racing against the virus in the front, we can’t lose the chain in the back, and we must wear masks at all times! Looking forward to the day when I take off my mask~
[References]
[1] Endly, Dawnielle C., and Richard A. Miller. “Oily skin: a review of treatment options.” The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology 10.8 (2017): 49< /p>
[2] Wm BY, Choi JW, Park KC, Youn SW. Sebum, acne, skin elasticity, and gender difference- which is the major influencing factor for facial pores? SkinRes Technol. 2013 ;19:E45C53.
[3] Zheng Shuyu, Liu Guo, Chen Lan. Causes and prevention of skin pressure injury related to medical equipment in front-line medical staff in the fight against the epidemic [J]. PLA Medical Journal, 2020, 32( 12):13.
[4] Cunliffe WJ, Burton JL, Shuster S. The effect of local temperature variations on the sebum excretion rate[J]. Br J Dermatol, 1970; 83(6):650- 654.
[5] Chen Xiaopeng, Li Xuezhu. A review of the characteristics and maintenance of oily and acne-prone skin[J]. Guangdong Chemical Industry, 2020; 47(6): 122-123.