How Safe is your MakeUp ??

How safe is your makeup?

A healthy face can easily become infected by using old or dirty cosmetics or brushes. Experts give advice on how to clean up your act.

Good, healthy skin is a must for most people.
And to get that glowing skin, some — women in particular — scrub daily with a high-quality cleanser, maybe following up with a good toner and pricey moisturizer.

But those same people may be using the blush brush they bought in college, or the mascara they bought two years ago, or a pair of tweezers that have scarcely had a good rinse-off, let alone been disinfected.

That's just bad hygiene, health care and cosmetics experts say, and though it may not have caused any serious problems so far, continuing those practices can put you at greater risks for bacterial infections of the eyes and skin.

"We see a lot of (infection) cases with eye makeup," says Dr. Gabrielle Curtis, family physician with the Cox Family Medicine Residency Program. "They may have difficulty with red eyes and things along those lines. Usually, you'll have redness at the sight, or itching, burning, watering of the eyes that's not related to just typical allergies. Most of the time it's a mild case, but other times it's more serious. Some people might need oral Benadryl or an office visit to their doctor."

To avoid any nastiness, clean up your act, experts say. Get rid of seriously outdated makeup, use perfume when it still smells its best, and for heaven's sake, clean your tweezers, sponges and brushes — or replace them.

But, cautions national cosmetics expert Paula Begoun, not everything needs to be tossed out after a certain time period, and doing so may benefit cosmetics companies more than the consumer.

"I think it is complete nonsense to discard (some types of cosmetic products) on a rigid timetable, especially for powder-based products, basic moisturizers (without antioxidants or other state-of-the-art ingredients), lipsticks, brow pencils and lip pencils," Begoun said via an e-mail interview. "The risk for microbial growth in nonaqueous or mineral-based products is at best minor."

Other products, such as mascara, do need to be pitched regularly, though, and still others, such as moisturizers with specialized ingredients, may lose effectiveness after some time.

Below is a guide to getting the best use out of your cosmetics and creating habits that will help your eyes and skin stay clear, bright and infection-free.

Mascara

Most of us are using it way too long, apparently. Begoun says she has heard ophthamologists recommend tossing this make-up after six weeks to three months of use and replacing it with a fresh tube. Curtis agrees with the three-month rule.

Heather Burch, an aesthetician at Grove Spa in Springfield, says it needs to go by about six months if you have not used all of it.

The mascara itself may give clues as to when it's too old to use.

"It will take on a smell," Burch says.

Getting rid of old mascara is especially important because it gets so close to the sensitive eye area.

And if you're tempted to share your mascara because your girlfriend left hers at home, don't do it.

"If you do share it, let them use it and then throw it away," says Tracy Bradley, who works in management at the Sephora store in Battlefield Mall.

Resist the temptation to pump the mascara wand up and down inside the tube, Bradley cautions.

"When you do that, you're causing air to get into the mascara, and that will result in bacteria."

Eyeliner

"Everybody loves their eyeliner and they want to hold onto it," Bradley says, but she recommends letting it go after about three months.

Burch draws a distinction between liquid eyeliner and eyeliner pencils, though.

"With the liquids, you're using the brush, then sticking it back in, so those need to be thrown away, possibly after three to four months. With pencils, each time you take that sharpener to them, you're taking off any type of bacteria," Burch says.

Lipsticks, glosses

Lipsticks have a pretty long shelf life, Burch says. Lip glosses and lipsticks may get smelly if they've started to go bad.

"It may not harm you, but it will be kind of yucky," she says. "If you've lost a lipstick and then found it six months later, make sure it's still moist and doesn't have an odor. You can also spray it with a little antiseptic spray.

"Once they feel kind of dry or have any kind of odor, though, you probably want to get rid of of them."

Eye shadow, foundation, blush, powder

Bradley says powder eye shadows, especially baked eye shadow, can last up to seven years easily with no color fading or other problems. It's unlikely that older powder eye shadow will harm you. Cream eye shadow, a moist shadow typically applied with fingertips, should probably go after six months.

When using cream shadow or any makeup applied with your fingers or hands, "always wash your hands before you apply it," Bradley says.

Foundations, also called "base" or "base makeup," may not harm the skin if they get older, but they can lose color, Bradley says.

"Through time, they may turn a little more yellow or orange," she says.

She says that should take a year or more, though.

It's unlikely that you need to change out blush or powder frequently, the experts say. Those products should last a long time.

Applicators

A bigger problem than aging cosmetics: The old brushes and sponges used to apply them.

Many people choose to use makeup sponges to apply foundation. If you do, buy the disposable variety and get rid of them frequently. Your clean fingertips are fine for applying foundation as well.

"With any make-up applicators, you need to throw them away frequently," Burch says. "They can be washed, but if they're cheap, it's worth it to throw them away. You can buy cleaner for them and clean them every two to three weeks. Clean them, let them air dry, then spray with disinfectant. If you do that, you can reuse them till they fall apart."

For pressed powder, Bradley says you should consider washing the sponge once a week if you can.

In fact, it's not a bad idea to wash all your makeup accessories — including eyeshadow applicators, blush brushes, etc. — once a week if possible.

Tweezers, eyelash curlers

Bradley wants you to replace the inside portion of the eyelash curler once a month, and all the experts say to use the curler on clean, mascara-free lashes.

"Your eyelashes can literally break off" if you use the curler on made-up lashes, Burch says.

Too often, Burch hears that people keep their tweezers inside their makeup bags, where they can get dirty.

"I had a client come in who said she kept her tweezers in her makeup case," Burch says. "They were contaminated and then when she was tweezing her eyebrows, it irritated her brow and she ended up going to the doctor."

She recommends disinfecting tweezers with rubbing alcohol or any good disinfectant, letting them dry and then putting them in their own special container or in a plastic resealable bag you're changing frequently.

Perfumes, lotions

It's unlikely that older perfume will cause skin irritation or problems, though the smell can start to diminish, meaning you're not getting the most out of the product.

Bradley says parfums, the strongest of scents, typically hang in there about four years before the smell starts to fade. Eau de toilette may start to fade in a year or two.

"They won't ever lose their smell," Bradley says. "You may notice that they don't smell as good on your body, but there's no danger to using older perfume."

Scented lotions may last even longer; Bradley says she's had some scented lotions for years and they're still good.

Decide for yourself

In some cases, makeup will have an expiration date on the package or companies will have a recommended use-by date, maybe posted on their Web sites.

Begoun's Web site, www.cosmeticscop.com, has tons of information on products and their ingredients, and offers recommendations for or against certain products, as do her books, such as "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me."

By and large, though, it's typically up to the user to determine when a product is too old or if it is too harsh or irritating.

"The (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) will check on a product after it comes on market if there's a problem," Curtis says. "If there's not a problem, they will not check on it. It's a really unregulated industry."

The best advice is to use common sense. Toss out things that look or smell nasty, or that you bought the same day you purchased a Duran Duran cassette. Test new products on a small area before slathering them all over yourself. Do a little research, on sites like Begoun's, for example. And try to practice good general hygiene.

The bottom line, from Burch: "If it's working great on your skin and your skin is looking terrific and feeling terrific, it's probably OK."