Do you wear contact lenses and makeup at the same time? Then you need to ensure that your makeup routine is safe for your eyes. We can help.
Here are four habits to adopt if you wear contact lenses with makeup:
- Wash your hands.
Wash your hands first. This is the cardinal rule of wearing contact lenses with makeup. You need to wash your hands before touching your contact lenses and putting on any makeup on your face and follow these steps each time.
- Use antibacterial soap (unscented is best) and water.
- Rub your hands together for at least 20 seconds.
- Get rid of the dirt on and underneath your fingernails
- Wipe your hands dry with fresh paper towels.
With proper handwashing, you eliminate bacteria from your hands that can transfer to your eyes or latch on to your contact lenses. You avoid not only eye irritations, but also serious infections.
- Put your contacts in before putting on any makeup.
After washing your hands, the next step should be putting in your contact lenses. Remember to do this before you apply any makeup.
Why is putting in your contact lenses first so important, you ask?
Applying makeup first means product residue is going to end up on your fingers—there’s no avoiding it. If you then touch your contact lenses, the residue is likely going to transfer to your contact lenses. Even the tiniest particles can damage your lenses, cause blurry vision, irritate your eyes, and lead to infection.
The best way to prevent all these problems is to put your contacts in first.
- Take your contact lenses out before removing your makeup.
Before removing your makeup at the end of each night, make sure you take out your contacts first.
Using makeup removers to take makeup off while you still have lenses on can damage yo your lenses and hurt your eyes. Makeup removers can also contain elements that might cause an adverse reaction with your contact lenses. Leaving your contacts in as you remove makeup can cloud your lenses, distorting your vision, and resulting in irritation or infection.
You can easily avoid this by taking out your contact lenses first.
- Use makeup that is designed for contact lens wearers.
Invest in makeup that is safe for contact lens wearers. They may be a tad more expensive than standard makeup, but if they are safer for your eyes, then the investment is worth it.
Here are some tips on how to choose the right makeup.
- Hypoallergenic
Look for makeup with labels such as “hypoallergenic” or “safe for contact lenses”. It’s also a good idea to read ingredient lists to determine if a product contains anything that might damage your contacts.
- Cream-based
Unlike powder-based makeup, cream-based makeup isn’t made of fine particles that can get into your eyes. This makes cream-based makeup the perfect choice for contact lens wearers.
- Oil-free and fragrance-free
Oils and fragrances can get into your eyes and stain your contact lenses, which will cause problems with your vision. This is why it’s much better to use oil-free and fragrance-free makeup.
Conclusion
There you have it. Four easy steps to establish a safer and healthier makeup routine. Follow these guidelines and you’ll no longer have to worry about damaging your contacts, hurting your eyes, or taking a stressful trip to your eye doctor because of an infection.
Jericho Gonzales is a Content Marketing Specialist at Lens.com. Writing is his passion, and he specializes in tech-based and consumer product-based writing. His other passions lie in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. When he isn’t busy with wordcraft, he loves to immerse himself in those worlds through novels, video games, TV shows, or movies.
