"KISS and Makeup" – Makeup hygiene

 

Makeup hygiene – simple, effective, and uncommon.

Hygiene in general has a simple principle: prevent bacteria, fungi and viruses from getting where they don't belong. Hygiene prevents illness and promotes health, both for ourselves and for other people.

Makeup hygiene is the practice of using makeup and makeup application tools in such a way as to prevent illness. Seems simple enough, yes? And yet, many people who use makeup, including makeup artists, do so in an unhygienic fashion.

What sort of illness could you get from makeup? Most commonly, infections.

What sort of infection? This depends on how you have treated your makeup and makeup tools. If other people have been using them, you are potentially being exposed to infections that those other people have had. STDs, herpes simplex, colds and influenzas come to mind first, but essentially anything that has a sufficient lifespan (lives long enough to be transmitted to you) or has the correct vector (right way of getting to you, for example, by contact, through water droplets, or whatever) can reach you through your make up. Secondly, makeup "goes off". What does this mean? Makeup that has gone off will often contain a fungal or bacterial culture. If you put it on, the chances are good that you will "get sick" – you will be infected with that bacteria or fungus, or a combination of multiple bacteria and fungi.

Yuk! No wonder makeup wearers sometimes end up breaking out in spots (bacterial infection), getting conjunctivitis (bacterial or viral infection), or suddenly starting to get cold sores (herpes simplex) where they had never had them before.

What can you do to prevent yourself from catching all this nasty stuff? The following list contains many ideas that will boost your makeup hygiene and prevent illness:

• Wash your hands often. Go to the loo? Wash your hands. About to apply makeup or just finished? Wash your hands. About to eat or just finished? Wash your hands. You get the idea. :)
• Keep your hands away from your face. Where possible, do not use your hands to apply makeup; if your hands are the best tool, at least wash, but preferably disinfect your hands.
• Wash or dispose of makeup tools after each session, and after each person. Wash brushes and sponges; dispose of spatulas, mascara brushes and gloss wands.
• Disinfect everything you wash. Isopropyl alcohol is cheap and effective. Put some in a spray container for convenience.
• Keep your kit clean! If you spill something, clean it up asap, and disinfect.
• Do not use makeup straight from the container. Use a palette and a spatula.
• Do not blow air on anything! Not brushes, not your client's face! Blowing air is just as bad as spitting.
• Do not "double dip". This contaminates the product in use.
• Dispose of products BEFORE they go off. I can't emphasize this enough – if you think the product has gone off due to smell or appearance, you may be TOO LATE! The product may already have turned, and may be causing you an infection. Therefore, keep a close eye on "best before" dates, and have a regular routine of throwing out products before they become a problem.
• Keep mascara for a maximum of 3 months.
• Keep lipstick for 1-2 years, lip liner for 3 years, lip gloss for 6 months.
• Keep foundation for less than 2 years.

Discontinue use of a product if you suspect it is making you sick. If you have symptoms that persist, see a doctor. You may find that you require treatment, either for an infection or for an allergic reaction to a cosmetic product you are using.

Correct hygiene takes extra time, but prevents you from getting sick. Isn't that worth it?