So you wanted a Smokey eye for your night out with your friends but you woke up with pink eye in the morning- definitely not what you wanted. The wrong eye makeup routine can really cause you some problems, and it can lead you down a difficult path for your health if you’re not putting your eye makeup on correctly, or taking it off properly afterward.
Did you know that some makeup wearers have been temporarily and even permanently blinded by an infection? This is due to improper use of cosmetics, or laziness when it comes to removal. Having redness around the eyes can also indicate something as simple as an allergy to the particular makeup you are using, so it’s always a better idea to stay away from any makeup until you know what’s causing the redness. You want to keep your eyes healthy and bright, not dull and swollen, so here are some habits that you should try to avoid so that you know you are not making these makeup mistakes.
- You don’t take your makeup off before you fall asleep. It’s understandable, you’ve had a great night or a long day at work and all you want to do is crash out and head to the pillows. Before you do that though, you need to spend 5 minutes using some makeup pads and some remover and getting rid of your eye makeup. Without washing your eyes and face, you are leaving leftover makeup on your skin, and what you are going to do is hot yourself in the meantime. Lingering makeup can leave bacteria, dust and allergens on your face which then lead to infections. Who wants red eyes and styes if they don’t have to have that?
- You’ve been sharing your makeup with your best mate. So you’re in the club bathroom and you’re touching up your make-up in the mirror but you’ve noticed that your mascara has run out. So you ask your friend to help. They hand you their mascara in a pinch and you’ve just introduced a whole new load of bacteria to your body. In fact, you’ve invited those nasties directly into your eyeball, which goes straight into your bloodstream. You should never share eye makeup with others, because you just don’t know what somebody else has got in their body compared to yours.
- You don’t replace your eye makeup often enough. Most people don’t use makeup during the day, and they save it for nights out. But if you only have a night out once a year, that means that you are not replacing your makeup often enough. There’s every chance you’ll be using eye makeup that’s up to a year old or even older than that, and that means it’s definitely time for a fresh one. You should never keep your eye makeup open for more than six months, especially if you want to avoid an infection.
- You don’t have a consistent routine. If you find yourself applying makeup on the go, there’s every chance that if you hit a bump, that makeup is going to go straight into your eyeball and scratch your eye. That can then lead to an infection which is what can cause the redness.
- You don’t wash your hands before you apply your makeup. You may think you don’t need to, but if you are going to be touching anywhere near your eye with your fingers when you put on eye shadow or when you wipe off mascara, you need to have clean hands. Why would you introduce any bacteria right into your eyeball if you don’t have to?
