I’m Sophie, and I am very lazy, but one thing I have never done – (ok there was once a Christmas eve) is sleep in my makeup! However, I know a lot of people who do, so this blog is about how you should correctly remove makeup and why.
Firstly, I’m about to give you 3 tips for washing your makeup off.
Cleanse
We will go into a bit more depth later about makeup wipes, but the long and short of it is to not use them and use a cleanser instead. Cleansers come in all types of formulas such as oil based, balms, gel, and more, so if you are purchasing a cleanser make sure to do a little bit of research into which one is best suited to your skin type. A cleanser not only removes the makeup off your face but also gets rid of the excess oil and grime which comes not only from long term makeup wear but also environmental factors.
Be careful around your eyes
When it comes to removing makeup, you need to remember to be extra gentle around the eyes, as this is the skin that is the thinnest, so no scrubbing! For this part of the face, you just want to be going in soft circular motions just enough to be removing the makeup.
Avoid wipes
I’ve always used makeup wipes since I started wearing makeup but recently, I’ve come to realise just how inefficient they are at removing my make up. Although this always seems like the easiest option, wipes only remove what’s on the surface, which is where you end up with acne, because the pores below are neglected. So, if you really don’t want to stop using them then keep your beloved wipes, but just use them as a first step. You can then go in with a cleanser to really make sure your face gets a deep clean.
And if you need any more reasons to avoid wipes, check out our '7 Reasons Why You Need to Bin Makeup Wipes For Good'
Now, let's go into the top 3 reasons as to why you should be cleaning the makeup off your face properly…
Clogs pores & causes breakouts
In my opinion, this is the reason I was always told never to sleep in your makeup and it’s exactly the reason I never have. One thing you may not know about makeup is that some products contain ingredients that are likely to clog pores, which of course as we all know, leads to clogged pores…and what comes from that? spots. Wearing makeup to bed allows these products to essentially seep into the skin and trap the pores which increases the risk of waking up in a day or 2 with a new friend on your face.
Irritation & Inflammation
For starters, if you’re going to sleep with mascara on, you should expect to wake up to some irritation. This happens because the pillow actually rubs some of the product off which then eventually through the night can end up in your eye so make sure to remove your eye makeup if anything! As for your face, leaving foundation on can cause inflammation due to this often thick and oil-based product, it all goes back to your pores being clogged. So, that process that I’ve just spoken about can’t continue, so your skin becomes irritated and inflamed.
Dull Skin
We’ve mentioned in a few other of our blogs about how important enough sleep is when it comes to a stable skincare routine, and this is because of how our skin gives itself a bit of rejuvenation overnight. This process is basically where all your dead skin cells are shed from the surface of your skin and replaced by new, healthy cells. Now, when that rejuvenation process begins as you sleep, but that barrier like we spoke about previously is blocked, the process can’t begin, leaving you with lacklustre skin. The makeup on your skin interferes with this cycle which ends up actually trapping the dead skin below your makeup which then circles back to clogged pores and acne breakouts. If you have ever found yourself sleeping in your makeup after a long night, make sure that in the morning you use a facial scrub which will help you exfoliate those dead skin cells to give your skin a bit of a refresh.
And if there’s anything you take away from this blog, please let it be that you shouldn’t sleep in your makeup ever!
