One of the most important skills that any woman can learn is how to remove makeup properly. Makeup should never be left on longer than necessary. If you put makeup on before you go to work in the morning then you should remove it when you get home from work – never sleep in makeup, because it can clog your pores leading to grease build-up, and increasing your risk of breakouts.
It is particularly important that you remove eye makeup, especially if you wear contact lenses. Particles from the makeup can build up on your eyelashes and get into your eyes, increasing your risk of infection.
Ways to Remove Makeup
The first thing you should do is remove your eye makeup using a specialist eye makeup remover. Do not use standard cleanser for this because those products can irritate your eyes. Use a mild, gentle product to remove your mascara and eyeliner and wipe off part of your eye shadow as well, but don’t worry if you don’t get all of it at this stage.
Now use baby wipes to remove your blush and then, wash your face with warm water. This should get rid of the majority of the makeup you are wearing.
Those steps are just the start of removing makeup. A lot of people do these things and think that means they know how to remove makeup properly. The truth is that those steps alone are not enough to keep your skin looking great. You should do more than just wipe off the surface makeup – you should cleanse your skin thoroughly.
Take some time to steam-clean your pores. Do this by filling a sink with steaming hot water, put your head above the sink and drape a towel over your head to trap the steam. Let the steam work for a few minutes and then, continue removing the makeup with a gentle facial scrub.
To remove your lip gloss, apply a little petroleum jelly or vaseline to your lips and rub it in with a tissue. Then blot your lips dry. The lip gloss or lipstick should come up with the petroleum jelly leaving you with clean, moist lips.
Wash your face one more time with a gentle facial wash and use cotton swabs to dab up any makeup that has run under your eyes, or down your neck.
Finally splash your face with cool (not cold) water to close your pores, and then apply some gentle moisturizer. Ideally you should use unscented, natural moisturizer so that your skin stays as healthy as possible.
Get into the habit of thoroughly removing makeup every day and apply moisturizer before you go to bed each night. This will keep your skin as healthy as possible, for as long as possible, ensuring that you keep a youthful and healthy appearance. Do not use exfoliating facial scrubs every day. They are okay to use sometimes but if you use them too often they will dry your skin out.