Compromised skin barrier induced by prolonged face mask usage during the COVID-19 pandemic and its remedy with proper moisturization.
Skin Res Technol
; 2022 Nov 25.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2229936
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Prolonged face mask usage, a daily practice for the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creates high levels of humidity underneath the mask, which may cause unexpected skin concerns.OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the impact of repeated mask usage on the face by comparing skin properties inside and outside of the mask-covered areas.METHODS:
A double-blinded, randomized, split-face clinical study was conducted with 21 healthy female participants who wore face masks at least 6 h every day for 1 week, with one side of their face treated with a moisturizer three times daily. On day 8, after 5 h of wearing the mask, skin properties (sebum, hydration, and trans-epidermal water loss [TEWL]) were evaluated at 15, 60, and 120 min post-mask removal, followed by barrier disruption and recovery assessment.RESULTS:
Mask usage weakened stratum corneum (SC) on facial skin compared to uncovered areas, including reduced SC hydration (p < 0.02 at 15 min) and increased TEWL in response to tape stripping challenge (p < 0.03 after stripping). In addition, sebum production also increased after mask removal (p < 0.01 at 15 min). Notably, a daily moisturizer mitigated these effects by increasing SC hydration (p < 0.001) and improving SC resilience against barrier disruption.CONCLUSION:
Daily prolonged usage of a facial mask, essential due to the COVID-19 situation, generated a high-humidity microenvironment and led to compromised SC, which was revealed by a barrier challenge technique. Moreover, proper facial moisturization may help to maintain skin homeostasis and prevent the barrier impairment caused by repeated mask usage.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Dermatology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Srt.13214
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