Beautiful Skin Beyond the Mask
By Christine Cheng, R.PH. and Fred Cheng, R.Ph.
Working in a pharmacy, we have been wearing masks for the past few months to help protect our team members and our customers from the possible spread of COVID-19. However, breathing and talking into our “personal protective equipment” can be challenging and one undesirable side effect is the effect mask wearing has on our skin. You may have come across the term “maskne” given to acne and other minor skin irritations that arise from wearing masks all day. Here are a few tips to help minimize those problems and improve the health of your skin
As you may have heard us say before, healthy skin begins from within. Make sure you are eating a balanced diet full of fresh fruit and vegetables that will provide your body with antioxidants. Good lean protein is necessary to provide your skin with the building blocks for firmer skin. Hydrolyzed COLLAGEN supplements are clinically proven to be effective and are very easy to use (for example, Christine just mixes hers into her morning cup of coffee). OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID supplements are helpful to reduce inflammation associated with irritated skin and acne as well as to help improve the general health of the skin.
Increased presence of bacteria on the skin is the likely culprit behind the increased skin irritation experienced by mask wearers. Incorporate an effective skin cleanser into your routine and wash your face twice a day to help remove bacteria from the skin. DI MORELLI’s CLEANSER is a hypoallergenic formula that effectively removes make-up, dirt, and environmental impurities while being gentle on the skin.
If you find the pores in your facial skin are getting “clogged”, avoid rubbing the skin with a towel or other abrasive product as this can further aggravate the condition. Instead, choose a product that contains alpha- and/or beta-hydroxy acids (such as glycolic acid and salicylic acid, respectively) to help gently encourage the sloughing off of thickened skin cells. A favourite product amongst our staff include DI MORELLI’s CLEAR SKIN EXFOLIATING PADS for gentle exfoliation twice a week. Another favourite is VIVA’s AMAZE GEL, a truly amazing product that when applied to the skin using circular motions, seems to magically remove the upper layers of dead skin cells into little balls that are easily washed away to reveal incredibly smooth skin.
Adequately moisturizing the skin is important to maintain its integrity. In addition, make sure to protect your skin using sunscreen to avoid further irritation. Call us or come talk to one of our team members about the options we have in store to help you keep your skin healthy from the inside and out.
Christine and Fred Cheng are a passionate, charismatic sister-brother pharmacist team at their unique, family-operated Pharmasave stores in Cloverdale and Steveston, B.C. They specialize in natural remedies and compounding for both human and veterinarian use. Everything mentioned in their article is available InStore.
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