Does PM2.5 dust affect my skin? How do I look after it?

PM2.5 dust may affect your skin, but the evidence is still weak and comes mostly from outside Thailand. A 2026 review of 77 studies found that most linked air pollution with skin problems, yet rated the certainty of that evidence usually low to very low. In Thailand, a 2024 survey found 11.1% of travellers who visited Chiang Mai in the haze season reported skin issues. What you can do is the same whatever the size of the effect: spend less time outdoors on orange and red days, wash your face gently with lukewarm water when you get home, moisturise straight after, and keep using sunscreen, because a hazy sky still lets the sun through.

This article is about your skin. For reading the PM2.5 and AQI numbers, see How do you read PM2.5 and AQI figures? For exercise, see Is it OK to exercise outdoors on high PM2.5 days? For your eyes, see Itchy, red eyes in PM2.5 haze season: what can I do?

Does PM2.5 dust affect my skin?

What a review of 77 studies found

Researchers at the IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Germany, led by Singh and colleagues, reviewed 77 studies published between 1990 and April 2025 on outdoor air pollution, including PM2.5, and the skin. They found:

• most studies reported harmful links between air pollution and the skin conditions studied, but results varied in direction and size
• every group of studies had a high risk of bias, mainly from other factors that were not accounted for, from how people were chosen, and from how exposure was measured, so certainty was usually low to very low
• in most studies, high pollution had an effect the same day that lasted up to about a week
• results for children, older people and women were unclear
• most studies came from upper-middle and high-income countries

In short, a link is plausible and often reported, but the studies cannot yet show how much dust itself changes the skin.

What a study in Taiwan found

Huang and colleagues looked back at 389 people aged 30 to 74 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, who had their skin photographed and scored before a laser skin treatment between 2006 and 2019. Higher levels of several pollutants, including PM2.5, were correlated with poorer overall skin scores, including among people over 45; which skin measures were linked differed from one pollutant to another, and ozone went the other way. The people studied came to a hospital because they already had skin concerns, so the findings may not apply to everyone.

How bad does PM2.5 get in Thailand, and what have Thai studies found?

Thailand's standard and the haze season

According to the Pollution Control Department (PCD), the 24-hour PM2.5 standard has been no more than 37.5 µg/m³ since 1 June 2023, down from 50, and the annual average standard no more than 15 µg/m³. Levels rise sharply in some seasons; the traveller survey below treated February to May as a high-pollution period, and, using PCD data for February to May 2024, it found averages of 65.9 µg/m³ in Chiang Mai and 30.5 µg/m³ in Bangkok.

Thai studies on symptoms in the haze season

Reading the Thai findings

Skin was the least common complaint in the traveller survey, and the office study did not find a clear skin link. The studies are small or self-reported, and about two-thirds of the travellers came from North America, so they may not reflect people who live here. Taken together, the Thai data point to the nose, chest and eyes as the first places people feel the dust, with the skin less often mentioned.

What can I do on high-dust days?

Follow the colour of the day

The PCD gives advice for each colour of its air quality index:

Spend less time out in thick dust

In the traveller survey, people who cut back on outdoor activities during high pollution reported fewer symptoms. This is an association from a survey, and it is in line with the PCD advice above.

Cover up outdoors

The PCD advises a PM2.5 mask every time you go outside on orange days, and the NHS suggests covering up with suitable clothing and spending time in the shade to protect your skin from the sun.

How should I look after my skin when I get home?

Wash gently

The NHS advises cool or lukewarm baths or showers rather than long ones, and not using perfumed soaps. Wash your face with lukewarm water and a mild, unperfumed cleanser, then pat it dry rather than rubbing. The NHS also notes that everyday soaps, shampoos and shower gels usually dry out the skin.

Moisturise straight after washing

The NHS says moisturisers are best applied after washing, as soon as you have patted your skin dry, because that is when skin most needs moisture. It adds that the face and hands need it most often, because they are more exposed to the elements than any other part of the body. Use an unperfumed product and smooth it in gently.

Do not scratch

If your skin feels itchy after a dusty day, the NHS suggests patting or tapping instead of scratching, holding something cool such as a damp towel on the skin, keeping nails short, and wearing loose cotton clothing.

For a full daily routine in a hot climate, see How do you look after skin day to day in a hot climate?

Do I still need sunscreen on hazy days?

A grey sky is not a reason to skip it

The NHS notes you can burn even when it is cloudy. A hazy, grey day in the dry season can feel less sunny, but sunscreen is still part of the routine.

How to use it

The NHS advises a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and at least 4-star UVA protection, reapplied every 2 hours and straight after sweating or towel drying, together with shade and clothing. Wash it off gently at the end of the day along with the dust. For why skin can look dull and tired, see Why does my skin look dull and tired, and what can I do?

When should I see a doctor about my skin in the haze season?

Ask a pharmacist first

A pharmacist can tell you what you can do yourself and whether you need to see a doctor.

See a doctor if itchy or irritated skin

• affects your daily life
• does not get better with self-care, or keeps coming back
• comes with a new rash, lump or swelling that worries you
• is all over your body
• is severe

If the dust affects more than your skin

The PCD advises watching for coughing, trouble breathing and eye irritation on orange days, and seeing a doctor quickly if you feel unwell on red days. Call 1669 straight away if someone is struggling to breathe. If you see a doctor regularly about your health, follow their advice on dusty days.