Men’s Grooming Tips for the Face Mask Era
Face masks have become part of the new normal. With storefronts requiring them upon entry and government mandates across the country, you’ll very likely continue wearing a cloth face at various points. While it might take some time to get used to breathing in a face mask, it might take even more effort to get your skin used to the covering. Many men have seen breakouts of acne, dry skin, and overall irritation due to long hours of mask-wearing.
To help other men out, we’ve compiled a list of grooming tips specific for the face mask era.
It might not sound like a grooming tip, but having a clean mask can make a huge difference for you if you’ve been struggling with acne or dry skin. In the early 1900s, during the Spanish flu, citizens were encouraged to boil their masks for 5 minutes before reusing. This ensured any bacteria or mold wouldn’t grow on the mask, making people sicker.
Today it will be enough to simply wash your masks in the washing machine and dry them. Make sure you have a few different masks so you can rotate through. If you are using disposable masks try to change them out at least once per day or every six to eight hours. Doing this will keep your skin much healthier and your mask-wearing a bit more enjoyable.
Skincare
The face mask era has brought on an unprecedented surge in irritated skin for men who usually don’t struggle with breaking out. Now more than ever, a healthy skincare routine needs to be in place for every man. Every man’s skin is different so read this skincare post to make sure you are doing what is right for your skin type. For most men, daily exfoliation, face wash, and moisturizer will be important to include in their routine. Properly taking care of your skin is your strongest defense against breaking out under your face mask.
What to Do About Facial Hair
Facial hair can be a bit of a nuisance when wearing your face mask. Some beards or stubble will catch the material of certain masks and create an annoying feeling as you move your face to talk. Mask-beard combos can also increase irritation for your skin. The obvious solution is to go clean-shaven, but if you’ve had a slick beard for some time, or if you have a beard for religious reasons, shaving is not the answer.
For you, we recommend softening up your beard as much as possible. Use a quality beard wash and follow that up with some beard oil to ensure maximum comfort. Cotton cloth or microfiber masks will work best with facial hair rather than the disposable masks.
Chapped Lips
Just as the skin on your cheeks and around your mouth can dry out when your mask is on for long periods of time, so can your lips. Men that wear masks for work or other activities have seen drier lips. To help fight that awful feeling of dry or cracked lips, we recommend using our organic lip balm, Slick Lips. Using an organic lip balm like ours will give your lips healthy hydration that will lead to long-term recovery and comfort.
Stay Slick
Even if you haven’t had any dried-out skin or other symptoms men in masks have seen, you’ll still need to adapt some of your grooming routines to your mask-wearing. There’s no better time than now to begin standing out in the crowd. While some men have used social distancing as an excuse to stop taking care of themselves, we recommend the opposite. Start using your extra time in the house to take care of your body. Introduce a new skincare routine with a new body wash or moisturizer. Take care of your hair with organic shampoo and conditioner and switch to an organic pomade for a healthier style.
Whatever you decide to try, use the time distanced from others to keep yourself groomed, healthy, and of course, slick.
