5 Healthy Makeup Habits For Contact Lens Wearers

All contact lens wearers need to take certain safety precautions when wearing, cleaning, or storing their lenses. However, if you wear contact lenses and also like to wear makeup, specifically eye makeup, you’ll have to adopt additional makeup habits for your health and safety.

Healthy habits will ensure that your eyes don’t get irritated or infected as you put on your makeup. Moreover, it will prevent damage to your contact lenses and allow you to maintain the health of your skin around the sensitive eye area.

Establishing the right habits isn’t as hard as you might think, so don’t worry. We’re here to help you. In this post, you’ll learn five safe and healthy makeup habits you need to adopt if you wear contact lenses

1. Wash your hands

The golden rule of wearing both makeup and contact lenses is “Wash your hands.” You need to wash your hands before you touch your contact lenses and again before you put makeup on. Never forget this step.

Washing your hands is simple. Just follow these steps:

  1. Wash your hands using antibacterial soap and water.
  2. Rub your hands for at least 20 seconds and take extra care to remove any dirt trapped underneath your fingernails.
  3. Rinse your hands thoroughly, making sure to get rid of all soap residue.
  4. Dry your hands completely with fresh paper towels.

Proper hand-washing eliminates the germs and bacteria present in your hands. This prevents you from spreading harmful microorganisms to your contact lenses and eyes once you touch them with your fingers. By washing your hands, you’ll avoid eye irritation and infection.

2. Put your contact lenses in first

Always put your contact lenses in before putting on makeup. As a safety precaution, this can’t be stressed enough. Putting in your lenses first allows you to see clearly, thereby preventing any mistakes when applying makeup. That isn’t the only advantage of putting your contact lenses in first, though.

Let’s say you decided to apply makeup first. You’ll end up getting product residue on your hands and fingers and/or experience eye shadow fallout around the eye area—it’s an unavoidable consequence of using makeup. This residue can latch onto your contact lenses and transfer to your eyes, which can lead to various issues such as eye redness, irritation, and even infection.

The simple act of putting on your lenses first eliminates all those problems in one fell swoop.

3. Take out your contact lenses before removing makeup

Removing makeup often requires the use of a makeup remover that contains many elements that won’t agree with contact lenses. Applying makeup remover on areas near your eyes with your contact lenses still in can stain or damage your lenses. This can lead to painful eyes, redness, or serious infections. Take out your contact lenses first and you don’t have to worry about damaging your lenses or hurting your eyes.

4. Don’t rush through the application

Doing your makeup is about feeling and looking beautiful, but it’s also much more than that. It’s also about taking care of yourself, your skin, and your eyes. To do that, you have to take your time with your daily makeup routine. Rushing will only make you take shortcuts and avoid steps that are necessary for the health and safety of your skin and eyes.

Invest ample time and effort into your makeup routine. Even if you’re not a morning person, it’s still important to wake up early each morning so that you have enough time to do your makeup in a safe and leisurely manner. You should also make it a point to shower, cleanse your face, and gently exfoliate your skin before applying makeup. This way, your skin is clean and smooth, which allows for a much more even application of makeup.

5. Use dailies

Daily contact lenses or “dailies” are the best option for people who use contact lenses and also wear makeup. Why? Because dailies automatically eliminate the hassle of contact lens maintenance which includes contact lens cleaning and storage. At the end of the night, all you have to do is take them out and then start with a fresh pair in the morning.

Wearing dailies also prevents protein and makeup particles from building up in your contact lenses. If you’re currently not using dailies, consult with your eye care professional to make the switch. Dailies are more expensive than bi-weekly or monthly lenses, but the benefit is that you have much less to worry about in terms of makeup safety and contact lens maintenance.

In conclusion

You likely have your own way of doing makeup each morning, and that’s fine. You don’t have to completely change the way you do things. The most important thing is that you integrate the healthy habits outlined in this post into your routine. By adopting these habits, you’ll maintain the health of your eyes and your skin while also protecting your contact lenses.

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