Thursday Tips, Tricks & Tools: Eye Makeup Removal

On Monday I dished on several of my favorite eye makeup removers, so this week for Tips and Tricks Thursday I thought I would discuss removing eye makeup.

So if you are one of those delinquents who washes your entire face with soap and water, or, worse yet, goes to bed with her makeup on, this post is for YOU!  You may be thinking, what do I need eye makeup remover for?  It’s just a marketing ploy to get us to spend more of our hard-earned money.

Erm, no.  You see, your eye area is v-e-r-y delicate.  And you must take good care of your eye area so you don’t get the dreaded signs of premature aging.  Newsflash: crow’s feet ain’t purty.  Although I would take a few crow’s feet, I think, in exchange for these deep lines I’m developing around my mouth.  But I digress.

Basically, you always want to treat your eye area with care.  Rubbing your eyes can break down the skin’s layers and cause early aging, and who wants that?  So when removing my eye makeup, I gently pat the area and avoid scrubbing.  And when inserting contact lenses, I try not to pull on my eyes more than necessary.  Also, I never use toilet paper or rough wash clothes to take off my eye makeup.  I love baby washcloths because they are much gentler than the adult kind.  Or you can use those round cotton pads.

Likewise, when removing eye makeup, use a product designed for your eye area, and one that doesn’t require you to scrub to get your makeup off.  All-purpose cleaners can be too harsh for the eye area, whereas a good eye makeup remover will leave your eye area hydrated and help prevent your skin from developing those unwanted crows feet before their time.

According to About.com, these are the steps to take for removing eye makeup.

Here’s how:

1. Apply makeup remover to a cotton ball or pad making sure to get it pretty wet.  You don’t want to have to rub your eyes.
2. Working
   with only one eye at a time, close your eye and apply one of the cotton
   balls to your lid and lashes. Let it sit for a minute so it can work
   its way through the layers of makeup.
3. After letting it sit for a minute, gently swipe your eye in a downward motion making sure not to get makeup in the eye.
4. Open your eye and remove any eye makeup left under the lashes and in the crease of your eye.
5. Repeat with your second eye and spot remove as needed.

Tips:

1. Do
   you suffer from hay fever? If so, be choosy with your eye makeup
   remover. Those who suffer from hay fever might find gentle chamomile
   removers cause their eyes to burn. It’s because chamomile is in the
   same class as the allergy that gives you have fever symptoms.
2. Never use the same cotton ball for both eyes.  If you have an infection in one eye, you will quickly pass it to the other.
3. Cotton
   rounds work much better than cotton balls because of their circular
   shape. You can remove the entire area with one flat section.

So there you have it!  Safe and easy eye makeup removal.  Simple as THAT!

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