#194: Best Tips for Mascara wear for Sensitive Eyes
We all love mascara. It turns out it is the most popular cosmetic. Most of us feel it's something that we feel like we can't live without. Many women won't even leave the house without putting it on.
Mascara makes your eyelashes look long, dark, and beautiful. It highlights the windows to our souls. In this blog, I'll explore three tips for you to wear mascara if you are a dry eye sufferer.
Tip #1) No Waterproof Mascara.
Many dry eye sufferers will start using a waterproof mascara because their eyes are so irritated and sometimes they run water. They use the waterproof mascara, to avoid it from running down their face.
However, there are waxes and toxins in this waterproof mascara that makes it waterproof. These waxes are hard to remove from your lashes at the end of the day. And, those extra additives are irritating to the eyes.
Tip #2: Remove Your Mascara
Leaving remnants of your mascara behind gives the bacteria that naturally lives on our lids and lashes a place to thrive. The left behind mascara gives them a comfortable home and allows them to multiply. It's these bacteria that cause the redness and irritation over time.
Mascara can be more difficult to remove. I recommend an oil based remover if you have normal to dry skin. My current oil based favorite is made by We Love Eyes. It's their Eye Makeup Remover Oil. It does a great job of getting rid of all traces of mascara. It does contain tea tree oil in the ingredient list, so make sure to wash it off. Tea tree oil can be an irritant to sensitive eyes. I just follow it with my facial cleanser and rinse it away.
If you have oily or sensitive skin, try a micellar water based makeup remover. This type of makeup remover is very gentle, yet is great at removing all traces of mascara.
Don't forget to download the Guide to makeup removers for sensitive eyes. I've recently added a couple of new ones. You'll want to make sure you have the latest version. Download it here.
Tip #3) Throw Out Your Mascara.
If you want to wear mascara that doesn't irritate your eyes and is healthy, then you don't want to use that same tube for a long period of time. Typical mascara tubes should be thrown away at least every 3 months.
Do not keep your mascara longer than 3 months, ever. Because there are bacteria that live on our lids and lashes, the mascara tube ends up as a cozy home for them to grow. Every time you touch the mascara wand to your lashes, you pick up some bacteria on it. Then, you shove the brush back down into the mascara tube. The bacteria stays in the tube and multiplies in that nice warm, comfortable environment.
The next day, when you apply your mascara again, you end up applying bacteria to your lashes as well. To reduce the bacterial load, be sure to get a fresh tube every 3 months.
My favorite mascara is from Eyes Are The Story. It comes in a set of 3 mini-tubes. They are smaller and meant to be disposed of once a month. The tube is small, but the brush is still a nice size.
I throw this out at the beginning of the month and I get a new one. I know that it is always clean. There's not a whole lot of bacteria swimming around in there about to irritate the front surface of my eyes.
CONCLUSION
The eyes are windows to your soul. Keep them clean and irritation free. Less inflammation means less wrinkles. Ladies, that's what we're talking about here, less wrinkles. If you learn to take care of your eyes today, by following these 3 tips for healthier mascara wear.
- Never use waterproof mascara. It contains toxic ingredients to make it stick to your lashes. And these waxes make it harder to remove. This means more pulling on the delicate skin around your eyes, or leaving remnants of mascara behind to breed bacteria.
- Remove your mascara completely at the end of each day. Sleeping in your eye makeup will increase the number of bacteria around your delicate eyes. These bacteria cause redness and irritation. The extra inflammation leads to aging changes around the eyes.
- Throw out your mascara regularly. Your mascara tube can end up as a breeding ground for bacteria if kept too long. Re-using the same tube for months can lead to applying more bacteria than mascara to your beautiful lashes. Ladies keep it clean.
Learn to take care of your eyes today, and your vision will last you a lifetime.
