Welcome to the new series on Laced Ivory Beauty Blog, the Beauty Myths Series. In these entries, I’ll be talking about beauty myths and whether they are true. The first topic to start the ball rolling will be whether makeup is bad for your skin.
I’ve got many girl friends. Some use makeup, some don’t. For the latter group, some of them believe that makeup actually makes one’s skin worse. Now, I can’t say they’re completely wrong because these are the girls who’ve got great skin! Then again, there are girls who use makeup and also have perfect complexions. So does makeup really wreck havoc?
Honestly, no, I don’t think that makeup is all Mojo Jojo. When you say bad, it can mean a whole lot of stuff. Some terms that hold a notion of negativity include “acnegenic,” “allergenic” and “clogs pores.” While it’s true that makeup can speed up skin ageing, it is also true that there are makeup products out there that contain skincare ingredients like serums that help to protect and heal the skin while concealing blemishes. It’s more of whether you know how to pick the right products for your skin type than the products themselves that matter. For example, if you have oily skin and you use a liquid foundation, you’re definitely going to break out from the build up of sebum and dirt collected in your pores, and this is especially true if it happens to be summer.
Another cause for the belief that makeup damages the skin is that many people do not cleanse properly at the end of the day, before hitting the sack. For example, if you’re not the kind who uses makeup but one day decided to try it and then found out that you started having pimples after that, you’d blame the makeup. However, supposing that the makeup you tried on was of good quality, then you should suspect not having washed all of it off before bedtime. Where makeup application is involved, cleansing is equally, if not more, important. Because our skin repairs itself while we sleep at night, you’d want to make sure that nothing from the day stays hidden in the pores and starts inviting your pillow germs to party. If pimples start popping out immediately after you apply the makeup, then it’s highly likely that the product is the culprit (Is it expired? Are you allergic to any of the ingredients?). In that case, I’d never touch it again. If pimples start coming out only days after, then you can be sure that you aren’t vigorous enough in removal.
Most of you might have heard of Bae Dal-mi, the Korean girl who did not remove her makeup for 2 years straight. Dermatologists then revealed that her skin had aged twice as much as her and this is speaking volumes, especially since she was only 20 years old. Whether makeup ages one’s complexion is subjective and depends on many factors, such as the type of makeup used, how often it is applied, whether other skincare products are used alongside the cosmetics and how makeup is applied. It’s always better not to apply makeup directly onto the skin. Because we use so many different kinds of makeup, our skin can get stressed from trying to adapt to these frequent changes. Add in an occasion when we try out a new product that isn’t suited for our skin, then all hell will break loose. I highly recommend at least having a layer of serum and/or moisturiser before foundation to act as a protective shield.
One other reason makeup can cause ageing is the technique used in piling the stuff onto your face. I’ve seen videos of makeup artists at work on models (for runway shows and photo shoots) and was surprised at how much force they exerted on the poor girls’ skin! Dabbing and blending concealor looked like a furious attempt at detonating bombs. Eyeshadows were rubbed on mercilessly onto lids, already creased and wrinkled from past rough handling. If we treat our skin better and refrain from using harsh strokes and pressures when applying our makeup, it’ll go a long way in maintaining its youthfulness.
So does makeup really damage our skin? I’d say it’s a whole lot more than that.
TODAY’S RANDOM
Image credits: Punk-Makeup