Beauty Tips©

EYE COSMETICS

Small amount of carefully applied cosmetics can highlight a person's appearance and emphasize certain features, but the heavy application of cosmetics does not improve the appearance and may damage the complexion.

Cosmetics should be used around the eyes with extreme care. Some cosmetics cause rashes or other skin reactions for some people. (It is wise to test a new cosmetic on your arm before putting it on your face.)

More serious are possible eye infections brought on by the use and misuse of eye cosmetics. Preservations in eye products retard the growth of hazardous bacteria. But during months of storage on the shelf of a pharmacy, the preservatives may lose their potency. Once the eye product is opened, microorganisms gain ready access to the cosmetic.

The human eye is bathed with secretions that keep in balance the normal skin microorganism that migrate into the eye mucosa (underside of the eyelid) and onto the eyeball surface. However, the introduction of large numbers of these same microorganisms that have grown in a contaminated eye product severely challenges these protective mechanisms. If the cornea is scratched with mascara brush, or irritated by wearing contact lenses or through the use of an eye-irritating shampoo, bacteria such as Pseudomonas (a type that can cause an eye infections) infect the eye and pose a serious hazard to a person's vision. A scratch on the cornea (outer surface of the eyeball) allows the bacteria to invade and infect the cornea. Only products of good quality should be used near the eyes, and use should be as directed on the product.