In addition to Audiobook Month, June is also Safety Month. I get to write up all sorts of articles on household safety for work, but it’s important to be safe about the products we put on our skin also.

The FDA has an entire section of their website devoted to cosmetic safety, so I thought I would share some of the highlights. You can check out the full articles for more details. Today, I want to share Eye Makeup Safety.

Products that are generally considered safe may cause irritation for people with specific allergies. If your eye makeup causes irritation, STOP using it. If you continue to have irritation, go to the doctor. Your eyes are important!

As tempting as it may be to cover up when you have an eye infection or the skin is inflamed, DON’T! Let it heal before using any products. Throw out makeup that was used at the time of the infection to prevent recontaminating the area.

Always wash your hands before applying eye makeup. Bacteria lives in places you don’t even think about, and you don’t want that anywhere near your eyes.

You may be beauty-savvy and ditch the disposable foam applicators in favor of brushes. If you can’t wash them frequently, at least make sure you have enough brushes on hand that you can use clean ones. This includes keeping them dust-free. Brushes look great on display, but if your home is particularly dusty, you may want to keep them sealed up.

This should be a no-brainer, but don’t share with anyone. You might be 100% certain that they don’t have anything, but another person’s bacteria can still be harmful to you.

Eye makeup has an expiration date. Check the label or packaging to see how many months you can keep something after first use. Mascara has the shortest life at 2-4 months. The applicator comes in direct contact with your eye fluids and then gets stuffed back into a sealed environment where your eye flora (bacteria naturally found on everyone’s eyes) can grow.

Don’t leave your makeup in a hot car. While it may not necessarily melt the makeup, it can break down the preservative chemicals.

I preach product versatility, but disinfect products that you use around your lip and eye area. Spritz pencils with alcohol. Keep sharpeners clean or have separate ones designated for lip pencils and eye pencils.

Check out the FDA article for information on kohl and banned pigments.

Images from http://simplyuse.deviantart.com/