I’m often asked, “Is makeup bad for my skin? Is it clogging my pores? What’s the best way to remove it at night? Is it okay to use every day? What’s the best kind to use for my skin type?” The fact is, makeup is being worn on the face for twelve to fifteen hours a day, so for better or worse, it’s definitely affecting your skin more than you might realize. This is why it’s so important to know how your choices are affecting the skin on your face.
In this article, I’ll share several common mistakes people make when choosing, wearing, and removing makeup, including my expert tips and solutions to ensure your skin stays in the best possible health with fewer lines, wrinkles, blemishes, and clogged pores.
1. You Shouldn’t be Going to Bed With Your Makeup On
It’s important to know that your skin is incredibly dirty at night due to:
- sebum (oil) that secretes through your pores
- bacteria from touching your face all day with your hands and dirt under your nails (without even realizing it)
- makeup from setting powders, primers, blushes, and liquid foundations
Letting your skin marinate in dirt, oil, and makeup all day and night can lead to clogged pores, breakouts, and contribute to a dull-looking complexion. It’s so important to cleanse your skin every night and perform a nighttime routine for your skin type.
2. Don’t Count on Cleansing Wipes to Remove Your Makeup
Despite their convenience, I never suggest cleansing wipes for removing face makeup because they don’t truly clean the skin. Instead, they smear dirt, bacteria, oil, and makeup around without lifting anything off. Essentially, using a wipe is like applying cleanser to your face with soap and then not washing it off.
Keep reading to learn how to properly remove makeup from your skin!
Wearing a full face of foundation, blush and lips can enhance your looks, but if you leave makeup on for too long, it’s going to do the opposite! Allow your skin to breathe. Makeup remover wipes, gentle cleansers and moisturizers are best for optimal results. After all, you’ll need a blank canvas to restart painting your masterpiece the next morning!
3. Stop Wetting Your Skin Before Removing Makeup
Particularly when it comes to removing liquid foundation (and removing water-resistant sunscreens, too), using a cream or lotion-based cleanser is the best product to use for proper removal. However, if you wet your skin with water first and then apply your creamy cleanser, it will be diluted and the makeup will not break down very well, leaving you with unclean skin.
4. Stop Thinking Makeup is Bad for Your Skin and That You Need to Let it Breathe
For starters, the skin doesn’t have a respiratory system, so the concept of the skin “breathing” is a myth. The real truth is that face makeup, when in the form of powder or liquid foundation, gives additional protection from the sun (even if it doesn’t list an SPF number). Since protecting your skin from UV light during the day should be the first priority, makeup can be extremely beneficial. Of course, you’ll want to choose the right type of makeup for your skin type to ensure it’s the best fit.
While pesky pimples and other skin ailments might pop up, it’s important to restrain from rubbing, leaning on or picking at problem areas. On our hands lie bacteria, which only cause more problems for our sensitive issues. Instead of messing with the mess, leave it be! Your skin will thank you later.
Despite people wearing less makeup now during this pandemic, I hope this gave you some good things to think about!
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