Ok ladies we all know how to make your eyes pop with heavy black eyeliner on the water line! This look is amazing right, yes we know and we all LOVE it! This look is great for occasions but not EVERY day. You see, on our eyelid margins , or what we sometimes call our waterline when putting on make up, there are glands that have openings ON the waterline. These glands are called our meibomian glands, and they secrete an oily component that helps keep our tears from evaporating too quickly. There are about 25-40 glands on our upper lid, and 25-30 on our lower lid.
There are several reasons that can cause these glands to function improperly and contribute to dry eye, one of the most common: make up wear! We, by all means, love our make up, but avoiding heavy liner on our water line can go a long way in preventing debris from accumulating on those glands and help keep those functioning as they should! Here are a few other tips for healthy eye make up application:
1. Wake up... NOT in your make up.
Don't sleep in your eye make up! We all know that feeling when you're too tired and want to just go to sleep without taking your make up off. However, sleeping in eye makeup can clog oil glands, causing infections and styes on your eyelids!
2. Treat yourself like a Queen, and Clean those make up tools.
Brushes and applicators can accumulate all kinds of bacteria and debris, even if they look relatively clean. Washing your brushes once a week is ideal, you can use warm water and baby shampoo. Let your brushes air dry and store them in a covered container.
3. Rock your own Flare, don't Share!
We all love sharing with our friends, but NOT eye make up ! Sharing makeup increases your risk of developing a bacterial infection. Even if you are at a cosmetic store, ask for small, personal sample sizes instead.
Meibomian gland dysfunction can be evaluated at your comprehensive eye exam and treatment can be customized depending on the cause. Have fun with your make up, but remember avoiding eye make up on your inner eye lid for every day goes a long way for your ocular health!
