Is Makeup Bad for Your Skin? Tips for Healthy and Protected Skin
Alyssia Chang
- Published
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
Is makeup bad for your skin? Will it it make your skin look worse as you age?
While the answer isn’t direct, there are variables that are important to know before coming to your own conclusion.
Product choices, ingredients, skincare, and how you clean your skin are critical.
In this article, you’ll find how makeup can impact your skin and how to minimize any adverse effects. By understanding the balance between beauty and skincare, you can make informed choices to keep your skin looking heathy and it’s absolute best!
Key Takeaways
Makeup acts like a dance partner with your skin; harmonious interaction promotes beauty, but poor choices can lead to clogged pores, irritation, and other skin issues.
Maintaining a balanced beauty routine, which includes proper skin preparation, daily makeup application, and a complete night-time ritual, is essential for your skins health.
Clean makeup tools are crucial for preventing bacteria build-up and skin problems, while using sunscreen with makeup and discarding expired cosmetics protect against skin damage.
The Skin and Makeup Connection
Makeup! Our favorite way to enhance our natural features, show off our creativity, and bring out our confidence.
But how does this colorful enchantment interact with the health of our skin?
It’s like a dance, a ballet of beauty where the skin and makeup must move in harmony. When they’re in sync, the performance is flawless. But when they’re not, we might face some skin obstacles as makeup affects the overall balance.
The Role of Pores in Skin Health
Meet the tiny dancers of your skin – the pores! As they breathe at night, pores let out gases and help liquids glide through the stages of your skin to promote optimal health.
What occurs when makeup, free radicals, and dirt invades their space? If not thoroughly cleaned, makeup can block these pores, potentially resulting in clogged pores, irritation, and accumulation of dead skin cells, leading to skin problems or pre-mature aging.
What’s the solution? Wash and clean your skin properly! Day and night, your skin will thank you.
Double cleansing is the ultimate solution when making sure your skin is happily cleaned! Use a makeup breakdown cleanser like cleansing oil, makeup wipes, or micellar water first. Then a different deep cleaning cleanser after, like a gentle foaming cleanser to hydrate and remove the excess bacteria.
Makeup and Skin Irritation
It’s not that all makeup products are bad and will cause possible irritation to your skin. It’s the fact that everyone’s skin is built so differently that the ingredients, your potential skin allergies, how your skin reacts to said ingredients, can cause irritation or bad breakouts.
Choosing the Right Products for Your Skin Type
Choosing the right makeup for your skin type should be a thoughtful process, similar to selecting the perfect meal plan.
With suitable products that are right for you, you can seamlessly navigate through your day, confident that your skin is well-protected and living it’s best life. However, choosing the wrong ones could lead to preventable skin challenges.
A Healthy Daily Makeup & Skin Routine
Too often, our clients tell us that they forget to apply their skincare in the morning before their makeup, don’t use sunscreen, and don’t wash off their makeup before going to bed.
This sets the rhythm and a set of bad habits which can accumulate to you feeling that “makeup is bad for your skin”.
Let’s learn how to keep your luscious skin while still being able to feel good while wearing makeup!
Preparing Your Skin for Makeup
Before you leave for the day and wear makeup, start off with a good morning skincare routine. Use a gentle cleanser with weekly exfoliation and any light tonics or serums.
This makes sure that your skin is free from any oily residue from the night before, then by adding moisturizer to your dry skin, this will help retain moisture throughout the day!
Don’t forget to prime to create a smooth canvas for makeup.
The Truth About Everyday Makeup
The truth about wearing makeup daily is that it’s not the culprit for causing allergic reactions or more frequent breakouts.
As long as you’re taking care of your skin, using as many clean beauty products as your can, avoiding sun damage with SPF, reading your makeup and skincare ingredients before purchasing, as well as washing your skin regularly, and not using expired products, then your skin will be good for the long run!
Night-time Rituals for Skin Recovery
Your evening skincare regimen is just as important as your mornings application.
Letting your skin breathe at night after applying makeup regularly and letting it absorb your skin care will not only improve your skin’s health, but it will also prevent your skin creating any blocked pores and feeling negative effects from the day’s wear.
Tools of the Trade: Keeping Brushes and Applicators Clean
Your makeup brushes and applicators are your allies in the pursuit of beauty. Using dirty brushes, sponges, makeup, is the perfect recipe for growing and transferring bacteria to the skin.
Here is all you need to know how to properly sanitize your go-to beauty tools!
Regular Cleaning of Brushes and Sponges
To avoid the spread of bacteria, you’ll want to wash your brushes and makeup sponges regularly.
Makeup brushes should be “surface cleaned” with a brush cleanser then deep cleaned with soft baby shampoo and water at least once to twice a month.
Surprisingly, you want to deep clean and let air dry your beauty blender or makeup sponge after every use!
Cleaning them regularly not only keeps them hygienic but also extends their lifespan and makes for the BEST sensorial makeup application. Who likes itchy and scratchy brushes on their face?! Not us!
The Hidden Dangers of Dirty Applicators
Dirty makeup applicators can be a silent saboteur in your makeup routine. They can harbor harmful bacteria, causing infections, breakouts, and acne. It might not be instant but eventually you’ll be wondering why your skin is so sensitive!
Using a makeup remover regularly and sanitizing your tools can help prevent these issues by keeping your applicators clean.
The Shelf Life of Beauty: When to Toss Your Cosmetics
A lot of people forget to throw out expired makeup or just think that it’s still good even though it’s been years.
Believe it or not, each makeup product has a shelf life to protect you, not to make you to spend more money. Using expired makeup can damage your skin, hence it’s crucial to identify when it’s time to retire it and let it go!
Identifying Expired Makeup
Does your makeup smell funny, look off, perform poorly, or feel different?
It might be telling you that it’s time to replace it. Keeping an eye on these signs can help you avoid the potential skin issues associated with using expired makeup.
Anytime you first open and expose your beauty product to oxygen, use a sharpie pen and mark the date that it’ll be expired and when you need to throw it out!
The Consequences of Using Expired Products
Using expired makeup can lead to skin reactions, breakouts, and even long-term skin infections. So, it’s important to know when to toss your cosmetics to keep your skin healthy and your makeup performance impeccable.
Sunscreen and Makeup: A Protective Duo
In the grand performance of beauty, sunscreen is the unsung hero. It protects your skin from harmful UV rays, prevents sunburn and premature aging, and even reduces the risk of skin cancer.
By following the guidelines provided by the Skin Cancer Foundation, you can make sure that you’re taking the necessary steps to safeguard your skin.
Let’s explore how to incorporate this superstar into your makeup routine!
Layering Sunscreen with Makeup
Applying sunscreen before makeup is VERY important – it prepares your skin for protection from the UV rays, cancer, and helps prevent wrinkles. Just apply a thin layer of your favorite, non-oily, no white, made for the face, skin sunscreen!
Our favorite that you HAVE to try is the Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40. It is lightweight, need very little for all over coverage, no flash bounce back, and doesn’t effect your makeup wear!
Healthy Habits for Makeup Wearers
As a makeup lover, your passion fuels your beauty choices.
However, to prevent makeup from becoming overwhelming and too high maintenance, it’s important to incorporate healthy makeup habits that will maintain your skin’s health and happiness. Especially when wearing makeup if you have acne prone skin or sensitive skin:
The Benefits of Mineral and Clean Makeup
Makeup that has high performance, scientific research, clean ingredients, and technology is what you want!
Why wouldn’t you want your skin, the largest organ of your body be protected from absorbing harsh chemicals? Use makeup that’s gentle, clean, and non-toxic.
Ingredients to Embrace and Avoid
Choosing makeup and skincare with healthy ingredients is KEY. So here is one of our favorite articles you can use to shop with whenever you’re in doubt or unsure what is good or bad for you, check out CSC: Champaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Summary
As a makeup artist that wears makeup almost daily, I can tell you that as long as you’re following these safe practices and doing everything that you can to take care of yourself, you can (guilt free) wear makeup without worrying about damaging your skin or jeopardizing your overall health!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better for your skin to not wear makeup?
It will always be better for your skin in the long run not to wear makeup 24/7. But as long as you’re purchasing clean beauty products, cleaning your skin properly, and using healthy skin care products, then it’s totally fine to wear makeup! Just make sure to let your skin breathe by not wearing makeup all the time and using SPF to protect your skin.
How can I wear makeup without damaging my skin?
To wear makeup without damaging your skin, make sure to use makeup with an SPF 30 to 50, stay away from toxic chemicals, regularly clean your makeup tools, check the expiry date of your makeup, and thoroughly remove your makeup every day. Remember, protecting your skin while wearing makeup is crucial for maintaining its health and radiance.
Why is it important to clean my makeup brushes regularly?
Cleaning your makeup brushes regularly is essential to prevent bacteria buildup and acne breakouts, ultimately improving the condition of your skin and the performance of your makeup. It’s a simple step that makes a huge difference!
How can I identify expired makeup?
You can identify expired makeup by checking for changes in texture or smell, checking the period-after-opening symbol (the 6m or 12m), and identifying poor performance. If you notice these signs, it’s time to toss it!
What are the benefits of using mineral makeup?
Mineral makeup offers protection for sensitive skin, potential acne-clearing properties, and is free from irritants like talc and chemical dyes! Try it out and see the difference for yourself!
