11 Ways Makeup Can Damage Your Eyes.

When it comes to makeup and your eyes, don’t let vanity cloud your judgment – or your vision. Here’s how to protect your eyes… 

Your mascara had a meltdown. It was fine yesterday, but now it’s all gloppy coming out of the tube. Is it still OK to use? 

Don’t take any chances. Watch out for these 11 makeup dangers that can ruin your eyes and vision. 

1. Not washing your hands. 
You touch things with your fingertips, so bacteria are always on them, says Cindy Wang, O.D., of the South Pasadena Optometric Group in South Pasadena, Calif., and member of the California Optometric Association. 

“If you aren’t washing your hands [before you apply makeup], you can transfer bacteria onto the makeup or into the eyes,” Dr. Wang says. “There’s always a risk of irritating the eyelid area or causing an eye infection.” 

                            

  

2. Using old mascara

Throw away mascara after six months because it dries out. “It doesn’t coat as well, can flake off and get into the eye area and cause an infection,” Dr. Wang notes. 

                                                                    

In rare cases, women have been temporarily or permanently blinded by using old eye makeup, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

                                  

3. Storing cosmetics in heat. 
Don’t store makeup in warm or hot places, such as your purse or a suitcase in the trunk of the car on a warm day. “Heat destroys preservatives, [which] keep bacteria at bay, so they can grow easily,” she says. 

So toss makeup exposed to heat. 

                           

 

4. Mixing up makeup. 
Don’t use a lip pencil on your eyes. Only use makeup for their intended use. The danger? You guessed it: bacteria. 

Bacteria in saliva in the mouth and lips differ from bacteria in and around the eyes. Although lip bacteria won’t cause infection in the mouth, they may in the eyes, Dr. Wang says. 

“I had a patient once who was flossing, and a little bit of what was in her teeth went into the eye and caused an infection,” she says. 

And, never spit into eye cosmetics, the FDA warns.

                        

5. Putting eyeliner in the wrong place. 
Don’t apply eyeliner to the eyelid margin, where the eyelid meets and runs along the surface of the eye. It has tiny openings with oil glands that can get clogged “whenever you cover that up with an oil-based or waxy-type liner,” Dr. Wang warns. 

That can lead to a sty, an infection of the eyelid resulting from a blocked oil gland, or lid margin disease, an inflammation of the eyelids. Its symptoms are itching, burning, stinging and redness. 

Putting eyeliner too close to the lash line also can irritate, says Ginny Kullman, M.D., an ophthalmologist at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. 

“A dull eye pencil also can cause abrasions if you tug too hard,” she says. 

                        

6. Ignoring your eye irritation or infection. 
See your eye doctor if you have symptoms of a viral infection, such as discharge, swelling of the eyelids, or inflammation of the white of the eye. 

And don’t use makeup when you have an eye infection. 

If you have an eye irritation or infection, you’ll transfer bacteria onto the makeup, Dr. Wang warns. When you use it after you’ve healed, you may re-infect yourself. 

After the infection is gone and to avoid reinfection, “wash all applicator brushes,” Dr. Wang advises. 

For pencil eyeliner, “burn the tip a bit to kill the bacteria, wipe it against a tissue to take the residue off, and then sharpen before using it,” she says. 

“With mascara, you’d want to buy a new one. But with eyeliner, it’s safe to burn and sharpen,” she says.

                                  

7. Using the wrong type of mascara. 
Avoid waterproof mascara. It’s harder to remove. 

“You want something gentle that coats well,” Dr. Wang says. “If it’s thicker and flakes, it can flake into eyes, causing irritation.” 

Plus, some mascaras contain irritating chemicals, such as parabens, which may create a painful condition in the cornea. 

“It can irritate some people and cause toxic keratitis, which can irritate the cornea and eyelids,” she says. “So some patients who have very sensitive eyes can’t use mascara with parabens in it; they’d have to use a product that’s more natural [and] less irritating for the eyes,” she says. 

Dr. Wang recommends using hypoallergenic mascara. 

                                

8. Using unsanitary brushes. 
Keep your brushes and applicators clean to avoid dust or makeup from accumulating. 

“Otherwise, there’s a small risk of infection,” Dr. Wang says. 

Particles of makeup can land in the eyes and cause redness and irritation, according to the FDA. “More serious, potentially sight-threatening infections can result if the surface of the eye is scratched with a contaminated brush or makeup pencil.” 

On a larger scale, an Australian woman was left paralyzed in March after borrowing a friend’s makeup brush to run across her face. She contracted MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, that probably entered through a pimple from bacteria on the brush. 

                                

9. Sharing cosmetics. 
You were taught to share, but don’t share germs. That’s what you’ll do if you borrow another woman’s makeup. 

“When you’re sharing cosmetics, you’re transferring the bacteria over to them,” Dr. Wang says. “They could develop an eye infection or a little more redness or tenderness.” 

But the main danger is passing on viral conjunctivitis, or pink eye, an infection of the membrane that lines your eyelid and covers the white part of your eyeball, the FDA warns. 

“Exposure to even a small amount of virus can lead to a very uncomfortable infection,” the FDA says. 

                                 

10. Wearing contacts after applying makeup. 
Put in contact lenses before you make up your face but after you apply all spray products, such as perfumes, sunscreens and hairsprays. 

“Otherwise, you can get makeup on or under the lens when you’re inserting the contacts afterwards,” Dr. Wang notes.

Arti Shah, O.D., an optometrist and contact lens specialist in Santa Monica, Calif., agrees. “Soft contact lenses are very absorbent” and can pick up residue from such products, she says. 

                                   

11. Driving and applying makeup. 
If you regularly put on eye makeup in the car, consider this: 

“Even if you’re at a stop, someone can rear-end you and you can poke your eye with the mascara wand or eyeliner,” Dr. Wang warns.            11 Ways Makeup Can Damage Your Eyes.