Contact Lenses and Make-Up

Contact lenses are a great option for sports, special occasions or some freedom from glasses. However, it’s important to have good lens hygiene so that the contacts help to enhance your vision and don’t cause irritation to your eyes, especially if you wear eye makeup with the contacts.

One of the easiest ways to irritate your contacts is with makeup. How many of you have ended up with a fleck of eye shadow lodged underneath your lens? Or dirtied your contacts so much with mascara that you’ve had to prematurely open a new pack? For better comfort and lens hygiene, here are a couple tips for how to wear eye makeup without irritating your eyes and contact lenses:

1. Always have clean dry hands. You should insert your contacts before you do anything like putting on moisturizer or makeup. Anything that’s left on your fingers can transfer onto the lenses, so you want to make sure your hands are squeaky clean. You also want to make sure they’re completely dry. Tap water has the potential to contain a parasite called an Acanthamoeba, which can cause a serious eye infection, so you never want to rinse your contacts or your contact case with regular tap water.

2. Use oil-free products. The oils found in creams and eye shadows can sometimes work their way through the natural contours of your face and into your eyes. Think of it like salad dressing: Oil and water won’t mix, and your lenses will attract the oil. While it won’t hurt your eyes, cloudy lenses will cause blurry vision.

Following these tips will get you started on having good eye and makeup hygiene. However, if you have more questions or you want to learn more about healthier makeup and skin care around the eyes please book in for a complimentary skin care and makeup consultation. You can bring in your current products to see if they contain ingredients which may potentially cause dryness or irritation around the eyes as well as learn about good eyelid cleansers, healthier makeup and skincare for UV protection and anti-aging. We want to help you look good and feel good about the products you are using! Book your complimentary make-up and skincare consultation today.