Moisturizing care for wearing a mask during the rainy season

The inside of the mask is humid due to breathing from the nose.


It's always steamy.



What's more, even though it's still May, the weather is like the rainy season.



The outside air is extremely hot and humid.



The inside of the mask gets extremely humid...







Moderate humidity for a short period of time is fine because it keeps your skin moisturized, but



Prolonged excessive humidity, or excessive moisturization,



It weakens the barrier function of the skin .




This is because the thin stratum corneum on the surface of your skin becomes soft and gaps appear.



These gaps allow moisture to evaporate from your skin, resulting in rough skin.



the result,



The inside of the mask becomes itchy, dry, and red.



Even during the rainy season or when you're wearing a mask, be sure to take good care of your skin with moisturizing care!!











Moisturizers are broadly divided into humectants and emollients.

Think of a humectant as a lotion that absorbs into the skin's stratum corneum and replenishes moisture, while an emollient is like a lotion or cream that locks in that moisture.



First, the lotion.


Although it is better to apply more than less, applying too much and leaving your skin wet for a long period of time will cause the stratum corneum barrier to soften, which is not recommended.


The right amount of lotion is enough that it slowly absorbs into your skin within a few minutes of application. It depends on the temperature and humidity, but you should put about the size of a 500 yen coin onto the palm of your hand and apply it.




Another important thing is lotion or cream.



When wearing a mask, especially during the rainy season, many people skip applying lotion or cream underneath the mask because it will be sticky, but it is actually important to apply lotion or cream underneath the mask.

Otherwise, your skin will become even more irritated.



I myself used to use less cream during the rainy season. However, I was worried about the itching caused by wearing a mask. So I looked up some recent dermatology papers and found that applying a lot of lotion or cream in hot and humid environments improves skin condition .

So this season I've been making an effort to apply it generously, and it's been going very well.




For your information, moisturizing with lotion replenishes moisture in the stratum corneum of the skin and is called a "humectant" (moisture retention). On the other hand, moisturizing with lotion or cream locks in moisture so that it doesn't escape from the skin and is called an "emollient" (prevents evaporation).




Finally, if you are someone who avoids lotions and creams because you think they will cause acne, that's a misunderstanding!

I'm not saying that moisturizing will cure your acne, but it won't make it worse.

Acne should be treated properly under the guidance of a dermatologist, and in addition to that, be sure to never skip using lotion, cream, and of course toner to prevent your skin from becoming dry and rough.

Aoharu Evangelist Eriko Koyanagi