What you do not know about your makeup

Women are fond of buying and using cosmetics. Infact the mere act of browsing through the aisles of well-stocked cosmetics—mascara, eyeliner, kohl pencils, foundations, lipsticks— acts as a stress buster for most of us. Needless to say, we have drawers crowded with these. Yet, we must admit, as a woman we tend to cling to our beauty enhancing arsenal. After all, who hasn’t sometime dipped in lipbrush in the almost finished lipstick? Needless, to say as a woman it is difficult to dispense with our cosmetics. What complicates the matter further is that cosmetics do not come with an expiry date like medicines, beyond which they ought to be thrown.

Read ahead if you believe that cosmetics are forever, once they reach home. Like all good things in life cosmetics too should come to an end and should be consigned to bin incase you have used it for a period beyond three years, which is applicable to a whole lot of cosmetics, with the exception of eye makeup.

The storage manual

To preserve and handle your cosmetics properly, always follow the storage directions that appear on the cosmetics package. If no directions appear, you can contact the manufacturer of the product for advice.

• In general, you should store cosmetics in a cool, dark, and dry place. Avoid exposing cosmetics to extreme heat. This means do not store cosmetics in the glove compartment of your car.
• Similarly keep makeup away from your bathroom cabinet—a hot and humid place.
• Always cap the bottle and tubes tightly after you have finished with them, so that there is reduced exposure to bacteria.

If possible, avoid sharing your cosmetics with other people. Sharing make-up and other cosmetics products greatly increases the risk of contamination. In case you are in the habit of sharing lipsticks, lip balm and lip-gloss with friends you may contract cold sores if your friends have them. These painful blisters are a result of infection from Herpes A virus and sharing of lipsticks can act as conduit for virus to travel.

Part away

As a rule of thumb, you need to throw mascaras, eyeliners and kohl pencils earlier than facial products because they contaminate faster. You may think that sharing eye cosmetics is the only way to contamination, but this is not true. Bacteria develop in your eye makeup over time just from exposure to moisture and air?

Take mascara, for instance: Each application introduces bacteria not only to the wand, but pushes it inside the tube. As you push the wand inside the tube you increase the amount of air, which creates a breeding ground for bacteria. From the moment makeup is opened, this cycle begins, and the clock is ticking.

• So how can you tell when a product’s fit for the bin? It depends on the ingredients and the preservatives in a product. But, as a rule of thumb most products without a use-by date should be used within three years of leaving the factory. It sounds like a long time, but what can you expect if you decide to hang on to a product for longer than that.
• The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that powders, and eye shadows be discarded after two years and eyeliner, lip liner, lipstick, concealer and foundations be replaced after one year. Mascara has the shortest shelf life of all makeup — dermatologists suggest discarding within three months.
• Smell your makeup. Your nose will detect if the smell is right or not, and if you are in doubt, out goes the product.
• Not only old makeup but you need to throw makeup sponges and brushes too. Throw sponges after a week’s use.

Parting with expensive makeup may be difficult to do for women. However, risks are plenty with using expired makeup. Using mascara way beyond three months may result in exposing yourself to pink eye. Some women may develop a peri-oral dermatitis from using some old, expired makeup that might irritate the skin and cause little red bumps that look like acne. Hence, for your flawless complexion exercise discretion while buying makeup ( read do not get carried away with discounts and sales) because they are not forever.

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