Maskne and How I have dealt with it... so far
Maskne. A word I didn’t think was a thing or really become a thing.
I have never been one to get a lot of acne growing up and even now in my twenties I have been fortunate enough to have very minimal break outage. But all that changed with the pandemic and life outside the home requiring face masks.
For the most part, the acne (or maskne) I have is centralized to near my hairline, where the mask straps rest, or my chin. To battle it, I started using an acne cleanser at night but that did little to nothing. I ended up going back to the gentle cleanser I had been using before and still used in the morning. I have anxiety as well, which did not help the fact that I pick at said acne, making it scar. I know, bad Sara. Picking at acne is a big no-no.
So, instead of getting another new cleanser that helps get rid of acne, I went a different route. I tried acne dots. Yes, acne dots. The small, singular use dots that you put on pimples to help them heal faster. The idea of these really interested me since it would also help in stopping me from picking at the forming or already formed acne. I have tried two different brands of acne dots and here are my thoughts on them.
My thoughts on ZItsticka:
From the Zitsticka brand I purchased the “Killazit” and “Hyperfade”. What I loved about the "Killazit” was that the sticker itself is almost transparent so it is very easy to cover up with foundation, concealer, or any other type of tinted face cream and no now would know you have one on. However, I found the dot itself didn't really do anything but make the incoming pimple more pronounced. Also for the price point, it was a bit of a splurge at $29, making each dot and pre-cleanse swab about $2. Their “Hyperfade” product is supposed to minimize dark spots left from pimples. While I did see some results with these, the price point for the amount of dots in the box is also a splurge. Almost $3 per dot in the box which retails $34. Needless to say, I was not that happy with the overall results of both products by this brand and they were kind of expensive.
My thoughts on Peace Out Skincare:
The second acne dots I purchased were the Peace Out “Acne Healing Dots”. These retail at $19 for 20 dots ($0.95 a dot), or $32 for 40 dots ($0.80). The price point for both the regular size box and jumbo box are much more reasonable for the amount of product. When I first tried these I was worried i would see no difference like the first acne dots. I was wrong. I love the Peace Out Skincare once dots. They have quite literally been saving my face overnight fighting my maskne. These acne dots are more of a yellow color and are meant to be used at night, so no need to cover them up with face makeup. You just pop one on and then go to bed. The first time I used one, a white dot started to form in the area where the pimple was under the dot. It raised up the dot a little even, while still being secured to my face, and I didn’t really expect that but I loved how I could already tell it was working. When I awoke in the morning and removed the dot, the pimple underneath was already looking ten times better. I continued using these single use dots on other pimples that would pop up and the same results would occur. I have now purchased at least 4 regular boxes and 1 jumbo box since I found out about this product and loved them.
Final thoughts:
Out of the two brands, hands down I recommend Peace Out Skincare. While the Zitsticka brand is cool sounding, I was unimpressed with the results I got from their products and it felt like I was wasting my money on something that didn’t work. I definitely still pick at my acne but I am getting better at no doing that, and the dots do their thing! Now I just have to find a good scar reducer for the acne scars I created from picking at them!