A Rant About Mask-ne

Gosh darn dimma-dammit. Why is this happening. I have had acne since I was maybe eleven or twelve years old. Pimples, blackheads, cystic pimples, dry patches and an oily T line to be exact. It was so greaaaaat. Acne haunted me through my teenage years, always there on dates, peer events, and in photos. I definitely think that I suffered emotionally from it, and was also bullied as a result of my acne. I remember crying in the bathroom at middle school because some of the popular kids had nicknamed me the Pizza Face Case.

Feeling ugly because of skin issues growing up is a great way to develop horrible self-esteem issues, btw. I always felt disgusting because of my skin and I still have that image in the background of the hurt it caused. The worst of the cystic acne was over by nineteen, and just as I hit the age of twenty four and my acne was finally starting to fade away completely with a rigorous regime and birth control pills, I'm introduced to the new evolution of acne. Mask-ne. Yay. At least I'm not alone in dealing with this problematic adult acne.

As soon as the pandemic hit and I was forced to wear a mask for ten hours a day at my essential job, my skincare went down the toilet despite my efforts to prevent it. I know some of you out there feel me. I have a job that is intense and makes you sweaty sometimes, and that sweat backs up into my pores and has created never-ending acne that is impossible to get rid of. I can wipe my face after every hour at work and I get new pimples. I can do nothing for my face at work, and I get new pimples. I can take the best care of my face after a work day and I still get new freaking pimples. Nothing wins, except maybe a new job where I don't need to breathe my own carbon dioxide for half of my life. I feel a little selfish to admit it, but something as petty as acne is going to send me into a depressive spiral eventually if I can't control it.

Are we going to have this shit strapped to our face forever? I certainly don't want to, but I'm bracing myself for that unfortunate reality. Grocery stores, restaurants, bars, everywhere. At least nobody can see the maskne, right? My self esteem is ever so slowly getting flushed down the toilet again, and I am reminded of when I was bullied for my acne in school, even though nobody has really commented on it unless to lament with me about it. We have at least discussed it enough to joke about it as "this damn maskne!" Hopefully this doesn't set the precedent for the future, but it probably does.

Things are definitely changing. After 9/11 happened, the TSA was introduced. This is the same thing that seems to be happening now with masks and social distancing rules. Fear breeds restriction. We will have to wear this crap until the end of time with how American politics are going. I understand it, but I wish things went differently. I wish the world wasn't so damn crazy too.

So what solutions have you guys come up with to curb the mask-ne? I could use some help! I don't want to have pimply skin forever! I just tell myself that it isn't my fault and it will clear up eventually. I keep my face clean and still follow my regime. Unfortunately I can't see a dermatologist right now, nor have I ever for this possible forever-plight, so learning to live with it has been my best option so far.

But hey, at least I am alive, right? That's what I tell myself. I have a lot of things to be grateful for, but I definitely do wish great skin was one of them. Maybe I would feel differently about my image, and now, my future. Welcome to 2021, maske, and fuck you too for ruining my skin's great progress.