Efficacy of a moisturizing cream and facial mask for alleviating skin problems associated with medical mask use: A...

Prolonged use of medical masks has increased skin-related issues.

To evaluate the efficacy of a facial cream and facial mask in mitigating medical mask related skin symptoms.

Healthy women were randomly assigned to apply a facial cream (n = 32) or a facial mask plus a facial cream (n = 32) on half-faces after wearing medical masks for 4 h (T_b). Transepidermal water loss (TEWL), dryness score, and redness area were assessed at T_b and 10 min after using the cream (T₁) in the facial cream group, and at T_b, 1 h after using the facial mask (T₂), and 10 min after using the cream (T₃) in the combined use group.

In the facial cream group, the treated half-face showed significantly better improvements from T_b to T₁ in TEWL (-2.95 ± 0.38 vs. -0.68 ± 0.35 g/h·cm², p < 0.001) and skin dryness score (-1.00 ± 0.12 vs. 0.00 ± 0.00, p < 0.001). In the combined use group, the treated half-face showed significantly better improvements from T_b to T₂ and T₃ in TEWL (T₂, -3.46 ± 0.33 vs. -0.09 ± 0.13 g/h·cm²; T₃, -4.67 ± 0.31 vs. -0.28 ± 0.22 g/h·cm²) and skin dryness score (T₂, -0.63 ± 0.13 vs. 0.03 ± 0.03; T₃, -0.94 ± 0.17 vs. 0.19 ± 0.07) (all p < 0.001) then the untreated half-face. The combined use group had significantly lower TEWL at T₃ than T₂ (p < 0.05). The reduction in redness area was similar between the treated and untreated half-faces in both groups.

The test facial cream and mask significantly improved skin barrier function and alleviated dryness symptoms associated with medical mask use, with the combined use offering superior benefits.