Why sleeping with makeup on is bad!

Do you go to sleep without washing off your makeup? I must admit I’m guilty of it from time to time, but when I do I feel terrible. Here’s why:

As you sleep the skin uses the time to regenerate but covering it in makeup it can’t do that and stops the natural exfoliation process. It cannot shed and leads to a dull complexion that will need help from alpha hydroxy acids. This is not the only problem, all the environmental pollution gets trapped in makeup and is then absorbed by the cells. All those free radicals that cause aging are now in the skin doing harm as you sleep. This is what causes the premature aging by breaking down collagen, it can even lead to age spots. Not only that the pollution creates inflammation and irritation over time. Scary right?!! On top of this makeup clogs pores adds grease and creates a hotbed for bacteria. That can lead to very bad things especially if you are acne prone. It causes dryness which will make your moisturizer less effective and will affect the skin barrier. This leads to cracked skin, bleeding even, not to mention bacterial infections. When the skin is drier it has less moisture and therefore elasticity and accelerated aging!

So what about the eyes? They are not exempt from the attack of mascara. Sleep causes it to rub further into the eye creating sore itchy eyes upon waking and can lead to eye infections. Especially when you think of how dirty a mascara wand can be. Long term you can even damage your vision or get damaged lashes that break off and are brittle. Clogged pores and oil glands around the lashes can also lead to styes. Lipsticks and lip glosses dry the lips because they contain wax to make them stay on longer. So leaving it on causes dryness and chapping.

Have you heard the trick about antiaging the skin as you sleep? It has to do with the friction against the pillow case and the type of material it is made of. So this brings me on to  makeup coming off on the pillow. This residue will create bacteria and continue to infect your face each time you sleep, so it’s best to just wash it off! This is a problem if you are acne prone because bacteria is the last thing you want in your pores! 

So the next time you find yourself too tired to wash your face properly remember this blog post! If you keep forgetting then I am happy to help you with some chemical peels and facials to clean things out and encourage exfoliation.

Come in and see us at Invigorate Advanced Aesthetics in Centennial, Colorado to start your skincare and beauty regimen.