What Happens When You Wear Too Much Makeup?
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Dolling up and stepping out is more than a daily morning ritual for us girls. It’s a lifestyle. But when putting on makeup, one question that often pops into the mind is:
How much makeup is too much makeup?
To put it bluntly, too much makeup is a totally subjective issue and generally varies from woman to woman. However, no matter what your definition may be, caking up more than you usually do comes with its own set of ‘effects,’ which can either be positive, negative or neutral.
So, let’s dive into what happens when you wear too much makeup!
1. Clogged Pores
Clogged pores are an eventuality you cannot evade if you wear too much makeup. The cosmetics you use will cover your existing pores, not allowing them space to breathe. This, in turn, causes problems such as breakouts, skin irritations, and allergies. Additionally, most makeup products are highly comedogenic (read: blackheads), and their ingredients when coupled with bacteria and dirt, clog your pores and lead to more breakouts (1). Hence, a proper cleaning regime is necessary.
2. Infections
Cleaning your face is not enough to save yourself from the ill-effects of makeup. Cleaning your makeup bag is crucial as well! From the very first use, your makeup and tools can start harboring bacteria, especially your eye makeup (2). And the moment you use these, you become susceptible to a bacterial infection. The only way you can stop this is by discarding old cosmetics and not sharing your makeup kit with anyone.
3. Way Worse Wrinkles
The side effects just keep rolling! Jessica Weiser, a dermatologist, told Glamour magazine in an interview that, “Rubbing and pulling on the delicate skin around your eyes causes eyelids to lose elasticity and become more wrinkled.” Since the skin around the eyes is very fine, your capillaries can break easily and there can be collagen damage when you tug and pull. Hence, keep your eye makeup to the bare minimum if you don’t want these early wrinkles.
4. Increased Toxins In Your Body
Makeup products are made up of tons of chemicals, which means your exposure to toxic elements increases by leaps and bounds! In fact, the more cosmetics you use daily, the more toxins enter your body. As a result of this exposure, health problems become increasingly common among those who use a lot of makeup. In fact, according to a study published in the US Food and Drug Administration, there have been 5,144 health complaints due to cosmetics (3)!
5. Need For Makeup Remover
This one is a no-brainer. You’d obviously need a lot of makeup remover if you use too many cosmetic products on your face! However, the problem is not just an increase in the monthly bill. Most makeup cleansers contain very strong ingredients that build-up on your skin until you remove them thoroughly (4). And if you don’t, chances are you’ll end up with dry and irritated skin. The solution? Either cleanse thoroughly or use less makeup.
6. Increased Self-Consciousness
Makeup is meant to make you look and feel beautiful. But if you start depending on it to always make you feel good, you’ve gone over to the dark side. Relying on makeup to get the feel-good factor can make you very self-conscious without it. A study published in the journal Society for Personality and Social Psychology revealed that women who are self-conscious and worried about their appearance are likely to wear more makeup than those who have more self-confidence (5).
7. Or A Boost In Self-Confidence
You already know makeup’s what’s taken you on a high when you’ve hit rock bottom. And science backs this up! According to a study published in the Journal of Social Psychology, college girls gave themselves a higher body image rating when they had makeup on as compared to when they did not, stating that being decked up made them feel good (6).
8. Sign Of Ovulation
Notice yourself putting on more makeup during a particular time of the month? You might be ovulating! According to a study from the journal, The Psychological Record, there’s a strong link between your menstrual cycle and how you use your makeup (7). Experts say you use a lot of it when you’re ovulating.
9. The Grown-Up Feeling
It’s not all bad in the makeup world. Standing in front of the washroom mirror at high school and touching up before the prom commences, has all been a major milestone in each and every one of our lives! So, then what if you wear a lot of makeup during your tween and teen years? Well, a study in the Journal of Consumer Behavior says that makeup helps in bringing about a transition from childhood to adulthood (8).
10. Being Judged
It’s crazy but when has the world not been judge-y about the way you look? Wearing too much makeup can have people saying that you’re “fake” and “deceptive.” Two words, which, sadly, have been extensively used to describe celebrities and models. While we’d tell you not to care about the haters, at the same time, if that’s not something you want to face, show off your natural beauty too. It’s just as good.
Despite the 10 things given above, another thing can happen when you wear too much makeup: nothing at all! When it comes to long-lasting effects of makeup, there almost aren’t any. So, doll up as much as you want, as long as you feel good!
