Myth : Sharing Mascara and eyeliner is safe if you only do it with close friends and family or with makeup professionals.

Disgusting and disturbing, right?! My thoughts exactly!

Eyeliner is typically fine and can be rendered “safe,” so long as you re-sharpen the pencil and wipe it down with alcohol before and after every use. But mascara… Sharing mascara is NEVER okay! Not with friends or family and especially not in a salon or on set.

Any truly professional makeup artist will never apply mascara with a used wand or from an old (and potentially unhygienic) tube. Exposure to tainted products it is unsanitary and a potentially serious health hazard. Just think about it… That’s why there are always disposable applicators readily available at all cosmetics counters. Viruses can live on inanimate objects, which is why I strongly recommend you follow the same “No Sharing” rule with lipsticks and gloss.

Keep in mind that every single time you touch a lipstick or mascara, you are  introducing contaminants  to the product.

Here are some tips to help minimize your risk of infection from contaminated products:

If you are looking to buy new products, remember that stores tend to be busier on weekends and holidays. You should try to avoid shopping for cosmetics at this time because as a general rule, more people in the store means more people handling the testers.

Make sure if you are having your makeup professionally applied that the artist is willing to use a fresh, new product.  Always insist that they use disposable applicators to apply lip gloss and mascara.  This also means that they do NOT reintroduce the disposable wand into the gloss or mascara tube after application but are constantly using fresh applicators.

Ask about the cleaning procedures the makeup artist uses to care for their products. Sharpening pencils, washing brushes and wiping lipsticks with alcohol– all these things reduce the spread of bacteria

Remember:  When it comes to cosmetics Sharing isn’t caring.

Here are some tips to help minimize your risk of infection from contaminated products:

If you are looking to buy new products, remember that storers tend to be busier on weekends and holidays, you should try to avoid shopping for cosmetics at this time because as a general rule more people in the store means more people handling the testers…

Make sure that if you are having your makeup professionally done that the artist is willing to use a fresh, new product. Then be sure to have them use disposable applicators to apply lip gloss and mascara – This also means that they do NOT reintroduce the disposable wand into the gloss or mascara tube after application but are constantly using fresh applicators.

Ask about what cleaning procedures the makeup artist uses to care for their products – Such as: Sharpening pencils, washing brushes and wiping lipsticks with alcohol, all things that reduce the spread of bacteria