People wear makeup for various reasons. Many wear makeup to feel more confident; others wear it because they think it makes them look more attractive. In fact, in recent research, women named eye makeup as the number one way to enhance other women’s general facial attractiveness. No matter what the reason for wearing makeup, it’s important to keep eye health in mind when wearing eye makeup!
Here are some helpful tips to help keep eyes safe when using makeup:
Don’t poke your eye out! – While it’s common sense when using something so close to your eye, one of the most severe problems that can arise when applying makeup is a corneal abrasion, or scratch. Often, a person applying makeup might accidentally poke the eye when using a sharp object to separate eyelashes. People could also easily scratch or poke at the eyeball when applying makeup in a moving vehicle. Try to save application for when you’re stationary, and make sure to be careful always.
One at a time – If you are prone to allergic reactions to products that come into contact with your skin, you’ll want to introduce just one new product to your routine at a time. If you find you do have reactions to certain ingredients, keep track of them and check labels when perusing new products – you might be able to avoid irritation, redness, swelling, or infection by taking a bit of precaution!
Keep it clean – Speaking of infection . . . it’s very important to keep things clean when using makeup to avoid this common problem. Some ways to do this include:
- Washing hands to make sure no bacteria on your hands can be transferred to your eyes
- Get rid of makeup that has come into contact with an infection as well as any makeup that has expired – bacteria thrive in moist, dark places like tubes of mascara, so be sure to replace your makeup every few months
- Though it can be fun to share makeup to try something new, using someone else’s makeup introduces new bacteria to your eyes, so do not share makeup!
Avoid “contact” – For contact lens wearers, it’s especially important to use caution when applying eye makeup. Be sure to put lenses in before applying makeup. It can also be helpful for contact lens wearers to switch to daily lenses to ensure lenses are makeup- and bacteria-free. In addition, the type of makeup you choose can make a difference: wearing makeup that doesn’t flake off, such as cream blushes and eye shadows, can help reduce particles entering the eye.