With so many makeup and skincare tutorials on Youtube and multiple influencers flaunting their favourite products on Instagram, many of us end up with heaps and heaps of beauty products in our dressers. Raise your hand if you’re guilty of that. Maintaining all that ain’t easy, ladies. You have to watch out for the expiry date on the packaging of each of your products, make sure they’re stored in a cool and dry place, and most importantly, your products and brushes must be disinfected! We may buy sanitizing skin care products, but infected makeup products can wreak havoc on your skin and cause eye infections too. While there are some basic tips like not sharing your eye products, washing your brushes ever so often and washing your hands just before applying beauty products, in this post we give you ways to disinfect your products and ensure that they’re safe to use.
Ways To Keep Your Beauty Products Sanitized
Show some love to those lippies and blushes, won’t you?
Lipsticks/chapsticks
With the 10 lipsticks you’re using on rotation, a few are bound to go bad due to moisture or bacteria. Best is that you keep some rubbing alcohol handy to spray the exposed part of the lipstick and chapsticks you use and wipe it clean before using it. Do this every time you wear them to maintain a good hygiene level.
Pencils and crayons
Pencils are tricky, especially eye pencils – eye infections can turn nasty very quickly! Firstly, try not to share these products with others. This only leads to more germs and bacteria transferring from one person to the product and subsequently to another person. With crayons and pencils, sharpening them before every use is all that you need to do. This removes a layer of the product which is what makes it safe for use. Make sure to disinfect your sharpeners every time you use them though. This can be done by dipping a cotton ball in some rubbing alcohol and cleaning the sharpener with it.
Pressed powders, shadows and blushes
When it comes to your eyeshadows, compact powders, highlighters, bronzers and blushes, rule #1 is that you always use a clean brush. If your brush isn’t clean, it will deposit bacteria onto the product, which will eventually find its way on your face. This can lead to rashes and zits, both of which you obviously don’t want. Make it a point to take a clean tissue every now and then and remove the top layer of the product by rubbing the tissue over it. Follow this up with a spritz of rubbing alcohol and wait for it to dry up completely before you close the product. And your products are safe to use!
Brushes and sponges
How often you wash them is dependent on how often you use your brushes and sponges. If you’re applying makeup twice or thrice a week, wash your brushes with an anti-bacterial hand wash every week. If you prefer to sanitize them each time to use them, you can always put some sanitizer on a paper towel and rub your brush/sponge on it. Make sure you store these after they’re completely dry. Putting them in a drawer or box when they’re still moist will lead to bacteria build-up and thus the purpose will be defeated.
Liquid foundation/serums with nozzles
Cleaning the wand of your liquid foundation or the nozzle of your serum regularly is an absolute must. Spray some rubbing alcohol on it and wipe it clean with a tissue. You must also sanitize the inside of the cap in the same way to make sure the product is disinfected properly.
Pots of creams and gels
The rule of thumb with regards to makeup and skincare in pots is that you absolutely never dip your fingers into them! Even if you’ve washed your hands and used a sanitizer too, it’s not advised to go in there with your hands. This only leads to the festering of bacteria and is bound to trouble you later. Use your clean brushes and sponges to use the makeup in pots ALWAYS! As for creams and gel-based skin care products, use a clean spatula to take out the product from the pot.
Mascara
Mascara spoolies are very quick to attract bacteria and cause a pink eye or some sort of irritation. The best and most hygienic practice is to change up your mascara every 3 months – that is usually their shelf life anyway.