I’ll be the first to admit that makeup wipes were always in my bathroom and on my dresser as a way to ‘clean’ my skin from a full face of makeup. From scented makeup wipes, to sensitive makeup wipes to makeup wipes with microbeads; I didn’t realize at the time that I was destroying my skin and not even cleaning my face. If you think about it, when we use a makeup wipes, we put a lot of pressure on our skin. Wiping so aggressively, rubbing a rough wipe on the skin can tear up the skin without us realizing it. Even after using a makeup wipe, our skin is still not clean. To me, that is the most frustrating part.
Let’s Break It Down
Fact: Makeup wipes don’t really clean your skin, they smear around whatever makeup, dirt, and dead skin is on top off your skin, leaving behind irritated skin; which is no fun and not healthy for your skin. Then there’s the mechanics of scrubbing your face with makeup wipes, which can also leave you with red, angry skin. Did you know that rubbing your skin can cause inflammation that, over time, can cause skin pigmentation and/or pre-mature aging? It’s true.
If you need more convincing – Makeup wipes are full of harsh and harmful chemicals that disrupt the pH balance of your skin and its acid mantle. The acid mantle is a protective layer of your skin that keeps out the dirt and impurities, and seals in the moisture and natural oils. The layer is extremely important for the health of your skin, and is removed when you use makeup wipes, it also strips the skin off its natural oils.
Important Fact: Makeup wipes are not formulated to actually clean your skin. They are formulated to break down makeup. Your face might look makeup free when you’re done, but these wipes don’t actually cleanse your skin and tend to leave behind a residue that isn’t doing your skin any favours. It’s always best to cleanse your skin at the end of the day. So if you’re wiping your face with a makeup wipe, the chances are that a considerable amount of residue from makeup and pollutants will still remain in your pores and clog them.
Side Note : Makeup wipes is absolutely terrible for the environment! The global climate crisis is at a point where we’re way past the stage of recycling everything, and have reached where we should all be trying to reduce our waste as much as possible. Unfortunately, single-use products cause much more harm than we can imagine. It can take at least one hundred years for a single makeup wipe to decompose.
Don’t believe everything you hear about the efficacy of makeup wipes. Though they’re not all made the same, at the end of the day they’re still not the best for your skin. Many makeup wipes have harmful ingredients like alcohol which can cause long term damage to the face such as destroying that protective barrier on the surface of the skin.
Using a makeup wipe is like a mechanical exfoliant, most people have an exfoliator in their skin care which means there’s a strong chance of over exfoliating your skin. Though exfoliating is good for the skin, over exfoliating is not. It’s best to use proper skin care products for safe exfoliation.
So No To Makeup Wipes, What Can We Use?
In order to achieve a fresh clean face, always cleanse your skin with an appropriate cleanser for your skin type. Double cleansing is infinitely more gentle. Using a cleansing oil rather than a makeup remover or a makeup wipe has its benefits, it is a way to cleanse your face without exfoliating, which is extremely important for those of us who use exfoliants on a weekly or daily basis. Alternatively, you can you your regular cleanser as a ‘makeup remover’ and double cleanse. When double cleansing you can use a cleansing oil, a bamboo based facial sponge and always, always use a clean face towel to pat dry your skin.
I personally have ditched the makeup wipes. I’d rather spend the extra five minutes to double cleanse for the longterm health of my skin. If you have any questions or need some advice, drop a comment or email me.