So, you’ve wash your hands 10 times a day and fervently with applying hand sanitiser to keep yourselves safe and protected. But that is not the olny thing you ought to keep sanitary. Our daily beauty regime requires the same sort of attention and that means ensuring that our faces and beauty kit are free of germs and bacteria. Yeap, your beauty brushes especially.
In an interview with The Daily Mail last year, Dr Annie Chiu from the American Academy of Dermatology noted that it is wise to wash your brushes every seven to 10 days. She said: “Dirty makeup brushes can irritate your skin and cause an infection, such as fungal infections, E. coli, or a staph infection – the latter of which can be very serious.“ Here, we share some tips on how to maintain hygiene with your beauty routine and the products that can aid you in it. Call it a new perspective to ‘clean beauty’ if you will.
#1: Don’t dip your fingers into a product
While many of our products come in airtight containers or bottles, there are still a handful (especially our creams) that are packaged in pots and jars. For such products, it is much better to use a sanitary beauty spatula (it often comes together with the product) to scoop out an appropriate amount. This essentially helps to ensure that germs and bacteria do not stay in your creams because trust us, you really don’t want to be putting the dirt on your face.
#2: Wash your hands thoroughly before starting on your skincare routine
As simple as it sounds, it is very important to keep your hands clean before touching your makeup and skincare products and face. And no, a rinse does not count. It is crucial to wash all surfaces from your palms to your fingers and the back of your hand. Tip: you can even use a nail brush to clean long nails and other harder-to-reach areas.
#3: Routinely wash your makeup brushes and other beauty tools
Many of us are probably guilty for not consistently washing our brushes. It is advisable to wash them at least once a week to get rid of all the grime and gunk. And if you recently caught a cold or fever, it is better to wash them more frequently.
#4: Wipe down all your skincare and makeup bottles
We are constantly touching all our different products without realising the amount of germs and bacteria that could be laying on the surface of each product. Yes, this includes your makeup bags and pouches that we bring out on a daily basis. Use an alcohol solution or wipe to thoroughly clean all the products and accessories at least twice or thrice a week.
#5: Change your pillowcase every week, seriously
We all know the importance of sleep when it comes to taking care of our skin, and the cleanliness of your bedding counts too. Sleeping on a dirty pillowcase can cause acne and breakouts thanks to all the germs and bacteria living on the surface of your pillowcase. And if you are feeling lazy (trust us, we do too), store a stack of pillowcases in a drawer near your bedside to make changing them out a whole lot easier.