Germs in Your Makeup Bag
When it comes to makeup, sometimes sharing is not caring. From mascaras to lip gloss, these products are meant for your face only—unless you're okay with introducing more bacteria or risking an infection. So, the next time you think it's harmless to pass around your blush or eyeshadow, think again. Here are 10 makeup items you should never share—and 10 reasons it's a major no-no.
1. Mascara
The only time sharing mascara is okay is when you're applying it the same way a makeup artist does: with a single-use brush that you don't double-dip with. Otherwise, sharing a tube with your friends is just asking for infections to happen. Plus, it doesn't help either if you have a habit of pumping the wand: this only further feeds the bacteria that can survive in an oxygenated environment.
2. Eyeliner
Unless you want to contract conjunctivitis (pink eye), you should probably not share your eyeliner with your friends, either. The only time this might be okay is if you're using a pencil that can be sharpened down (shaving off the bacteria), and you're regularly sanitizing your sharpener with an alcohol wipe or spray.
3. Pressed Foundation
Even though dry powders don't breed bacteria in the same way wet formulas do, you still shouldn't be freely passing around your pressed blushes and foundations for your friends to use. The only way this might be safe is if you're misting it down with an alcohol spray and using clean makeup brushes.
4. Cream Blushes
Cream formulas are where you want to be extra wary, so sharing these is a big no-no. Because of the wet environment, it gives bacteria the perfect chance to breed and grow. Plus, if you often use your fingers to apply your blush, that's even more of a dead giveaway that you shouldn't be passing this product around to your friends.
5. Lip Gloss
Whenever you pump your lip gloss back into the tube, you're not only introducing new bacteria, but feeding the ones that are already growing in there. Sure, it might sound gross, but at least when it's only your bacteria it's not so bad. Now, if you're introducing someone else's bacteria...
6. Lipstick & Lip Balm
Even if you might be able to get away with spraying the top layer down with an alcohol mist, you should still refrain from sharing your lipsticks and balms. Otherwise, you're just making it easy for infections, viruses, and cold sores to spread.
7. Cushion Foundation
Unless you're using cushion foundations with a new sponge every time, avoid double-dipping, and you're regularly sanitizing it after use, sharing this product is a hard no. Think about it: each time you press your sponge into the liquid, you're pushing in more bacteria; pass it to your friend, and now you'll only introduce more bacteria.
8. Eyeshadow Palettes
Even if you're using your palettes with clean brushes, as soon as you double-dip or swipe with your fingers to apply shadow in a jiffy, you've already contaminated them. Don't share your eyeshadow with your friends, be it cream or powder.
9. Makeup Remover Cloths
Sure, you're cleaning the cloth thoroughly each time, but it's still not the best idea to be sharing your reusable makeup wipe with your friends. If you need the kind you can pass around, use single-use makeup remover sheets instead.
10. Makeup Brushes & Sponges
Even if you clean your brushes and sponges regularly or after each use, you never know what could be lingering on them. Sponges especially breed more bacteria than you might think, given that they're often used damp, so never share them with your friends. If you absolutely must, spray your makeup tools down with alcohol or dunk them in a shampoo mixture.
It's probably clear enough why you shouldn't share your makeup with your friends, but to get more specific, read on to see exactly why doing so is a big no-no.
1. Trigger Breakouts & Acne
Every time you share your makeup brushes, sponges, and products, you're introducing new bacteria to not only the items themselves but also to your skin. Plus, it doesn't help that most makeup products can clog pores, which only triggers and worsens breakouts and acne.
2. Breed Bacteria
Unless you're extremely diligent about how clean your makeup products and tools are and make a point to always use fresh brushes and never double-dip, bacteria will grow in them. And every time you decide to share the same products with a friend, you're only introducing new bacteria and feeding the old ones.
3. Cold Sores
Sharing lip products, like lipstick, lip balm, and lip gloss, is the perfect way to spread infections and viruses, like cold sore blisters. It doesn't help that these sores don't always show up right away, so some people may have the virus without knowing, and pass it along to their friends through lip products.
4. Eye Infections
If you're freely passing around your mascara and gel eyeliner to your friends, you're only making it more likely for conjunctivitis to happen. Pink eye is extremely contagious as well, and, like cold sores, you might not know you're developing an infection until you have one.
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5. Moist Makeup Products Grow Bacteria Fastest
Anything moist is the perfect environment for bacteria and mold to grow, so if you're sharing cushion foundations, cream blushes, and liquid lipsticks, you're not doing you—or your friends—any favors. Always keep these products for your own use.
6. Product Contamination
Your makeup products can easily get contaminated: think of all the times you might have used your fingers or double-dipped with your brush. So, when you share them, you're not only making it more likely for contamination to happen but also to spread.
7. Shorter Shelf Life
Sharing your makeup products can shorten their shelf life. That should come as no surprise, given that once they've been contaminated and overgrown with bacteria, you probably wouldn't—and shouldn't—want to use them anymore.
8. Cold & Flu
If you or your friend is down with a cold or the flu, sharing makeup products is only going to spread that virus more quickly. These illnesses are already extremely contagious on their own, so by passing your makeup around you're only bumping up the infection chance.
9. Staph Infections
It's not just conjunctivitis and cold sores that can spread from sharing makeup—you can also contract Staph infections from contaminated products. Fun fact: lab studies show that makeup testers you find in beauty stores like Sephora harbor various infectious diseases and harmful bacteria, including mold, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
10. Makeup Hygiene
Just because you wash your makeup tools regularly and are mindful of how you use your products, your friends might not have the same makeup hygiene as you. You never know if something has already been contaminated, so it's best to always stick to using your own products, and not share with others.
