What does Clean Makeup Mean?

Most of my patients ask me lots of questions about how to make their eyes look younger.  How can we turn back the clocks and make ourselves look years younger?  Well, if I knew how to do that, I would be lounging on a private island by now.  I don't have a magic wand to wave to erase the effects all those years have had on our bodies.

But, I do know that using Clean Makeup will help decrease the signs of aging around your eyes.  Now I've caught your attention.  It's true, using the average makeup found at the drug store or at the department store counter is filled with toxic ingredients that will increase inflammation of your tissues and increase the signs of aging.

What is CLEAN Makeup?

Clean makeup is defined as beauty products that are made without ingredients shown to harm human health. These makeup products do not contain any toxic ingredients.

It doesn't necessarily mean that they're organic, or vegan, or animal friendly. It just means that they are made without ingredients that are going to harm your health.

If you'd like to know what all those other symbols on your makeup packages mean, check out this blog.

Why is CLEAN Makeup important?

When we put toxic ingredients on our faces and especially around our eyes, it exacerbates the aging process. None of us women want that.  Absolutely, we want to avoid these products that are going to make us look older.

Clean products will also reduce cell death. They'll reduce redness, irritation, inflammation, allergic reaction, watering, and contact dermatitis - aka scaly or flakey skin.

What does CLEAN Makeup have to do with my eyes?

Well, as you may or may not know, the skin of the eyes is the thinnest skin in our body. In fact, it's four times thinner than the skin on your face. That means that the products we put on the eyelid skin are able to get right into your bloodstream much quicker than products that you're putting anywhere else on your body.

The chemicals in your eye makeup are quickly getting into your systemic bloodstream and can affect your systemic health.  And, those same toxic chemicals are also affecting the cells deeper into the tissues because that outside layer is soo thin.

These toxic chemicals cause reactions in our skin like irritation, redness, inflammation, damage to the cells, and wrinkles.  Wrinkles should be considered a 4-letter word.  No one wants to talk about having them, only how to get rid of them.  And, eliminating toxic chemicals by using Clean Makeup is a great way to prevent more wrinkles from happening. 

These same toxic chemicals are also responsible for damage in the structures of the eyes that lead to symptoms of dry eyes.  When there is makeup debris (like powdered eye shadow or flakey mascara) floating in the tears, it can damage the front surface of the eyes.  Each particle of eye shadow can be sharp and cause tiny micro-abrasions to the front of the eyes. 

Also, extra debris floating in your tears can change its overall composition.  Suddenly, the tears are not bringing nutrition to the front of your eyes, instead, they are bringing irritation.  This can cause toxicity to the cells on the front surface of your eyes, called our cornea.  Thus, these toxic ingredients in our makeup products could lead directly to dry eye symptoms.

What If You Don't Switch to Clean Beauty Products?

I understand, there are probably products in your makeup bag that you have been using for decades.  You love these products, you love the way they look, and you love how easy they are to apply.  I get it.  I've been there too. 

Maybe your dry eye symptoms "aren't that bad".  You're thinking you don't really need to switch yet.  I'm sorry to be the one to burst your bubble of denial.  Dry Eye disease gets worse the longer we put off treating it.  There is no better time than right now to make a change. 

Now is the time.  There are lots of great, non-toxic brands on the market.  If you don't do anything about switching to cleaner makeup options, then the redness and irritation that you're already experiencing are going to continue to get worse.

Watering, redness, irritation, and your makeup crying down your face all day long are symptoms of makeup irritation from toxic ingredients.  This may lead to makeup intolerance.  When that occurs, you feel like you can't wear makeup at all.

What Can Be Done Today?

If you are already feeling that you're allergic to your makeup, or it just bothers you all the time, then it is time to make a change.  Don't wait until the toxins damage the delicate structures in your lids and on the front surface of your eyes.  All of these changes will slowly, over time, lead to dry eye disease.

The best way to get started on a clean makeup routine is to start with your eye makeup remover.  Download the Ultimate Guide to Eye Makeup Removers for Sensitive Eyes to find the one that suits your skin type and lifestyle habits.  Every remover on this list is CLEAN and will not lead to dry eye symptoms. 

And, if you are ready to take an even bigger dive into the world of CLEAN makeup, I recommend both Eyes Are The Story and Beautycounter.  All of the products in both of these brands are toxin-free.