The effects of wearing a face mask and of subsequent moisturizer use on the characteristics of sensitive skin

Abstract

Background COVID‐19 is a serious respiratory disease, and wearing masks has become essential in daily life. Nevertheless, the number of people complaining of skin problems caused by wearing masks is increasing. Therefore, we investigated the characteristics of changes in sensitive skin caused by wearing a mask. Materials and methods Twenty healthy Korean women with sensitive skin participated in this study. To determine any skin‐related changes caused by mask‐wearing, we evaluated redness, hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and moisture at 2.5 mm below the surface before and 4 h after wearing a Korea Filter 94 mask. In addition, we tested whether applying a moisturizer for 30 min after mask removal could reverse any mask‐induced changes. Results Skin redness and TEWL were significantly increased at 4 h after wearing a mask ( p < 0.05), otherwise skin hydration and the 2.5 mm moisture were significantly decreased ( p < 0.05). After applying the moisturizer, skin redness and TEWL were significantly decreased compared to their values 4 h after wearing masks ( p < 0.05), whereas skin hydration and the 2.5 mm moisture were significantly increased ( p < 0.05). Moreover, after applying the moisturizer, skin redness and TEWL were significantly reduced compared to the pre‐masking baseline ( p < 0.05), whereas skin hydration was significantly increased ( p < 0.05); the 2.5 mm moisture showed no significant change. Conclusion We observed that wearing masks causes physiological changes in sensitive skin, whereas applying a moisturizer after removing the mask improved skin conditions.

Mask-Wearing Behaviors after Two Years of Wearing Masks Due to COVID-19 in Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Safety Assessment of Starch Nanoparticles as an Emulsifier in Human Skin Cells, 3D Cultured Artificial Skin, and Human Skin

“…Human irritation research was conducted in accordance with the integrated addendum to the ICH E6(R1) guideline for good clinical practice (E6(R2)) of the OATC Skin Clinical Trial Center, Inc. [ 54 ]. The skin irritation test was performed with the approval of the OATC institutional review board (OATC IRB) (2018071702-2108-HR-150-01).…”

N95 respirators alter facial skin physiological functions and lipidome composition in health care personnel

“…1 Previous studies have demonstrated mask-induced skin changes in both HCP and the general population. [2][3][4][5] However, changes in skin function and surface lipidome composition are yet to be determined.…”

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