We’ve all been there — you come home from a late night out, stuff your face with the pizza you probably shouldn’t have ordered and cozy up into your bed right after. Next thing you know, it’s noon, and you have a full face of last night’s makeup on. You may not notice the damage right away, but if you start making it a habit, you will.
Now I’m not going to say that I’ve never fallen asleep with my makeup on, but I rarely do. I had horrible acne until my first year of college, so I try to do anything in my power to make it stay away. I mean seriously, who enjoys waking up to a foundation-filled pillow and their eyes sewn shut by crusty mascara residue? Definitely not this girl. A late night can bring me to impulsive fatty-food snacking, but I will never not wash my face. My grandmother taught me many reasons why.
It can lead to eye infections.
As if going to sleep with makeup isn’t already horrible enough, I once fell asleep with both makeup and my contacts on. The next morning, I couldn’t open my eyes and had blurry vision for about an hour after I woke up. After going to a doctor, I found out that the combination of doing both can lead to eyesight damage and even blindness. Medication, warm water, soap and two styes later, I was fine. Lesson learned.
It can cause premature aging and acne.
If keeping your makeup on so you have less work to do in the morning sounds like a good idea to you, think again. Cosmetics may make your skin look pretty, but at the end of the day, it’s only meant to be worn for a few hours. By wearing makeup all day, every day, we are not giving our skin a chance to breathe. This causes the collagen in our skin to weaken and eventually lead to wrinkles and aged skin. Opt for less-heavy makeup for all-day use if necessary. BB Cream and loose powder is the way to go! Other things that can cause premature aging? Not wearing sunscreen, aggressively removing your makeup and smoking.
You’ll be sleeping in last night’s makeup until the next time you clean your pillowcase.
You may have washed your face before bed this time, but if you didn’t clean your pillowcase you did nothing. If you went out for a night on the town, you also brought car exhaust, smoke and just straight-up pollution to your pillow as well. This is especially true for me at the moment since I walk to and from work every day. So even if you didn’t leave residue behind, wash that pillow!
Here’s the bottom line: Wash your face right when you wake up and right before you go to bed. No excuses. No exceptions. No ifs, ands or buts. Just wash your face!
So to all my girls Snapping me last night’s makeup looks the next morning, this PSA is dedicated to you.