Maskne is a modern facial skin condition—rediscovered during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social media platforms drew attention to this matter.

Since healthcare workers (HCW) were the first line of defense in fighting COVID-19, we investigated whether their experience of using personal protective equipment (PPE) was different due to their occupation relative to non-healthcare workers (N-HCW). Prolonged mask use, skin diseases, and reusing masks are triggers of face-mask-induced skin lesions.

HCW more frequently developed maskne compared to N-HCW.

Women also more often developed maskne in comparison to men in both groups.