Author: Dr Ewa Neumann
Posted: 20 July 2009 16:32

Having just seen a patient who managed to get hair spray on her contact lenses this morning, I thought I'd give you some tips on how to avoid getting makeup in your eyes.
Getting makeup in your eye can be quite painful and certainly slows you down in the morning. But it's even worse with contact lenses, this is because it often sticks to the lens instead of being blinked away.
Follow these handy tips to keep your eyes looking and feeling good and of course your contact lenses in good condition.
- Firstly, always wash your hands thoroughly before touching your contact lenses.
- Put in your contact lenses BEFORE applying your makeup.
- Only use non-allergenic makeup. This will reduce the likelihood of you rubbing your eyes and will help to keep you feeling comfortable.
- Choose water-based moisturisers rather than oil-based ones.
- Liquid or cream eye shadow is less likely to get in your eye than powder. However, creams may also irritate your eyes more if they do make it into your eyes.
- If you must use powder, keep your eyes closed during application. Try to brush off any excess powder before opening your eye.
- Apply eyeliner only on the portion of your eye lashes that is well away from your eye.
- Before you remove you eye makeup, wash and dry your hands thoroughly . Then remove your contact lenses, being careful not to make contact with any makeup.
- Once you have removed your contact lenses you can now safely use your eye makeup remover.
Its worth noting that eye makeup itsself is a fairly common cause of eye infections. So be safe and replace your eye makeup frequently — at least every three months. Through away old eye makeup, because over time bacteria will get into the product and then into your eyes if you accidentally use it
One way to tell if your makeup is too old is if it smells funny. Also, don't share your eye makeup with others! same way you wouldn't share your toothbrush!