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Patients who walk into Dorset Street Dermatology in Vermont are asked to wear a mask to their appointment. For many, it's what lies under their masks that's the problem."Everyone’s coming in asking, 'What do I do about my maskne?'" said physician assistant Kara Hankes. "We have been seeing a lot of people with different sorts of acne issues from masks and just rashes in general on their face from wearing a mask."Hankes attributes the phenomenon to moisture getting trapped underneath face coverings, causing friction, irritation and oil buildup. She also said the bacteria in people's mouth constantly breathing in and out under the mask contributes to acne popping up."It’s constantly re-contaminating the face," Hankes said. "What you should do is — the second you’re done wearing your mask, taking a nice cleanser, cleansing the area, moisturizing and then letting the skin breathe as much as possible, so you can counter the effects."Fellow physician assistant Phoebe Pelkey said her advice for her clients comes down to the mask they wear and how clean it is."I usually tell people to try to wash every single day because most of us are wearing them daily," Pelkey said. "The disposable ones are actually sometimes a little bit better because they don’t hold as much bacteria, but the cloth ones are fine too, as long as you’re washing them."Pelkey recommends using a "free and clear" detergent to wash fabric reusable masks, meaning it does not contain dyes, fragrances or harsh chemicals.The material of the face covering can also cause irritation. Pelkey said disposable masks can sometimes be rougher on the skin, while cloth masks can be softer, but the reaction varies person-to-person.Hankes said she's seen many health care professionals with the worst skin damage from masks."They’re really wearing the tight-fitted ones and their skin’s really breaking down," she said. "For those people, we’ve had them come in and give them some prescriptions to help them get through it because of the chronic wear and tear."Another area of concern is the ears, according to Hankes and Pelkey. To prevent the straps of a face covering from damaging skin on the ear, they recommend putting ointment or petroleum jelly on the ears before fastening a mask, that will act as a friction barrier. "What’s most important is that we all wear a mask," Pelkey said. "It helps everybody. It helps our community and it hopefully will get us all back to normal faster."Watch the video above to learn more about this story.