Do Your Makeup Habits Harm Your Skin?

Mascara, lipstick, blush, foundation and eyeliner are beauty products that are a necessity for many women around the world. However, sometimes makeup can be harmful to your skin’s health. Unhealthy makeup habits can cause acne, aging, and oiliness or dryness. Here’s more about the negative effects of daily makeup use.

The Harmful Effects of Makeup

Clogged Pores

It’s easy to skip washing your face at night, but the negatives far outweigh the positives of this lazy habit. Sleeping in makeup can clog your pores and invite acne onto your face. It also can irritate your eyes and cause bumps to form on the skin close to your eyes.

Premature Aging

Leaving makeup on your skin overnight can accentuate wrinkles. Sun damage can also cause aging (and many people don’t wear sunscreen when they are wearing makeup). Age spots and wrinkles can appear as a result of not properly protecting your skin.

Dry or Oily Skin

Certain makeup products can make your skin drier or more oily than it usually is. Additionally, when people with naturally dry skin try to put makeup on top of their skin, the makeup can make their skin even drier. You can tell if you have dry skin by symptoms such as flaky or scaly skin. A shiny face is a sign of oily skin.

So if you wear makeup every day—like many women—how can you protect your skin? We’ve compiled some makeup habits to help keep your skin as healthy as possible. If you develop these habits, your skin will thank you.

Healthy Makeup Habits for Your Skin:

Wash your face every night

It can be hard to motivate yourself to take off your makeup at night before you go to sleep. However, to avoid hurting your skin, it’s essential to develop this habit. The process includes first, using a makeup remover, and second, washing your face with a facial cleanser.

Clean your brushes regularly

This one can be difficult to do regularly, but you only need to clean your makeup brushes once a month. Deep cleaning your brushes will help get rid of the harmful bacteria on the brushes that come from your skin—from sweat and dead skin cells—and the bacteria that comes from makeup products.

Find makeup products that work for your skin

Everyone’s skin is different, and that’s why you need to pay attention to how your skin reacts to different products. Some products may dry your skin out, while others can make it oily. Through trial and error, you can find the makeup that is the best for your skin. Many dermatologists recommend mineral-based makeup products because they are often less harsh on your skin.

Use moisturizer and sunscreen daily

People often don’t use moisturizer or sunscreen as a part of their daily makeup routine, but, they really should—moisturizer can help alleviate the dryness makeup can cause, and sunscreen can help with anti-aging efforts. To combat dry skin, try to avoid putting makeup on flaky or scaly skin. If you must put on makeup, use a moisturizer as a base underneath your makeup. There are also brands available that combine moisturizer and sunscreen into one product to help you save time.

Don’t share makeup

When you want to borrow your friend’s lipstick, you’d better think twice. Sharing beauty products is a great way to spread bacteria. It may be convenient, but it won’t help your skin in the long run.

These simple steps will help you get the healthy, glowing skin that you deserve. Makeup isn’t totally bad for your skin, but it can cause problems if you practice unhealthy makeup habits. Developing these routines will help create a safe environment for your skin. Even though these are simple tips, they’ll help save you from unwanted acne, aging, and dry or oily skin.

As Utah County’s leading dermatology practice, Revere Health Dermatology provides the best in skin care for our patients.

 

Sources:

“5 Makeup Habits that could be Harming You.” Onlymyhealth. https://www.onlymyhealth.com/5-makeup-habits-that-could-be-harming-you-1429872482

“7 Makeup Habits Making You Sick.” Vital Record. https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/7-makeup-habits-making-you-sick/

“Habits That Wreck Your Skin.” WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/bad-skin-habits#1

“Makeup.” U.S. Food & Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductsIngredients/Products/ucm134054.htm