A few weeks ago, I had to go visit my folks in Wa in the Upper West Region. The 11-13 hour journey by bus is one I have always dreaded- and in this time of the coronavirus pandemic, I knew it was going to be a lot harder.
As a safety precaution by all establishments and citizenry, every passenger had to wear a face mask the entire journey.
I left my home at 2:00pm for the bus station with a surgical mask on and it never came off till I got to my doorstep in Wa at exactly 6:15 am the following day. It was a lot for me, especially with the fact that I am Asthmatic and in an enclosed environment for more than 12 hours.
I made it home safely, but there was a price to be paid. When I finally took off the mask, I noticed a had a lot of rash on my jaw and mouth area. My skin was absolutely fine before I went on the journey. I however noticed that it was as a result of the mask I had worn for that ridiculous amount of time.
Wearing a mask does a lot of things to the face: from trapping moisture from our breath, oil from our skin, and dirt and makeup, it is likely to penetrate the bacteria into our pores.
For someone who is very particular about my skin, I had to jump into exfoliation mode to help get my skin back to normal. With the help of a honey and sugar scrub and black soap from Girlush Naturals accompanied with witch hazel from TN Dickinson’s my face went back to normal within a couple of days.
If you find yourself in a situation like mine where you have to wear a mask for a very long period of mine, I suggest you opt for masks made out of silk or soft cotton materials so that your skin can breathe and you can have some airflow.
Also, double cleanse your face to remove all impurities before and after wearing a mask to get rid of excess oils and makeup that may have made it into your pores.
