By Mirwat Sami, M.D, Houston Oculofacial Plastic Surgery
Eye make-up and cosmetics can enhance your appearance. Adding a mascara, eye liner, and eye shadow is easy. However, this cosmetic enhancement could end up being harmful to the eyes if applied carelessly.
Issues can range from allergic reactions, to eye infections, to serious injuries.
The most serious eye issues caused by make-up application could involve injury to the cornea, which is the front part of the eye’s surface. Corneal injuries usually cause pain and always necessitate quick medical attention.
Other eye make-up application issues can be caused by bacteria growing inside the cosmetic containers or on the surface of make-up applicators. If precautions aren’t taken when applying make-up, bacteria can be transferred directly to your eyes.
Follow these tips to protect your eyes:
- Keep eyeliner pencils sharpened so that the rough wood casing won’t scratch the eye or eyelid. As the pencil becomes old, the liner tip becomes stiff, requiring more pressure to apply. When this happens, replace the pencil with a new one. Don’t mix and match cosmetics.
- Use what’s intended for your eyes on your eyes only. Sometimes we use the one specific product on different parts of our face, so don’t use the same pencil for both lips and eyes, or your lipstick as your eye shadow, as that can introduce bacteria.
- Throw away eye makeup after three months. Infection-causing bacteria grow easily in creamy or liquid eye makeup. If you develop an eye infection, immediately toss all of your eye makeup.
- Never share eye makeup, and when sampling makeup in stores use only fresh applicators and samples that haven’t been contaminated by multiple users. The safest choice is to avoid store samples.
- Introduce only one new eye makeup or care product at a time, if you tend to be allergic. If there’s no reaction, add another, then another. If you notice an allergic reaction, find out what the ingredients are and let your doctor know.
- Avoid products that contain untested or harmful chemicals.
- Be sure your face and eyelids are clean before applying makeup.
- Always apply makeup outside the lash line, away from the eye, to avoid blocking the oil glands of the upper or lower eyelid. These glands secrete oil that protects the eye’s surface.
- Never apply makeup while in a moving vehicle.
- Never use saliva to thin old or clumped makeup or to wet a mascara wand. Your saliva contains bacteria from your mouth.
- Don’t separate your mascara-clumped lashes with sharp items.
- Avoid metallic/glitter, powder, or other makeup that flakes if you tend to have dry eyes. Flakes can get into the tear film and increase your eyes’ irritation. Glitter eye makeup is a common cause of corneal irritation or infection, especially in contact lens users.
- Remove all eye makeup at night before sleeping, especially mascara that can stick to the lashes. Brush a clean cotton swab along the base of the eyelashes to remove all makeup remnants. If you use eye makeup remover, avoid getting it in your eyes and thoroughly rinse remover off your eyelids.
- Don’t wear makeup around the eye if you’ve had eye surgery, until your ophthalmologist tells you it is safe to do so. Then, use only fresh, new makeup.
- Be sure the cosmetics demonstrator uses fresh applicators when at a store cosmetics counter and doesn’t let a used sample product come into direct contact with you.
- Make sure the rubber is soft not stiff and cracking if you use an eyelash curler. Always use the curler before applying mascara. Persons allergic to nickel shouldn’t use an eyelash curler, as the metal frame contains nickel.
