Have you ever had the need to go out without makeup on? Was it because of a lack of time or was it a necessity? And if yes, how did you feel about it? Did you feel comfortable or very conscious and shy?
Many women say that they were lighter makeup daily to work or to run errands, but only very few actually go out with no makeup on. Until 2 years ago, I was one of these women. I would go to school (even to university) with nothing on my face and not worry about it. It was easy for me since I had never tried foundation, bronzer and blush. I only used a little eye shadow and pencil liner plus some lip-gloss every now and then for the evening. One year ago I finally discovered concealer and my world changed (obviously it's just a metaphor). But truly, I realized how much makeup could make you feel better about yourself, more put together and therefore much more confident. So I started looking for foundations, blushes (a god bless for me since I am so pale) and so on..........
Nowadays, I have realized that I might actually have a serious allergy to some chemicals and fragrances found in most skincare and makeup products. In fact, I normally get watery eyes and stuffed nose whenever I apply makeup. I also get severe breathing difficulties after using certain products (even fragrance free ones).......So could it be that makeup has actually changes my world but made it worse? When you feel terribly sick because of something that is supposed to make you look and feel better it really seems an unfair joke. However, every illness is unfair. Isn't it?
So what should we do if we have an allergy or intolerance to makeup and skincare products?
- First of all, try to track when you allergy symptoms started and try to connect them to certain products you might have started using at that time.
- Then try those products individually, ideally in the morning so if you feel sick you get slightly better by night which is very important when your breathing is being affected.
- Try to find out which product is doing you harm and eliminate it from your routine.
- If you feel better that's great!
- But if you don't go to your doctor and ask for advice.
- In the meantime you might want to use hypoallergenic dermatologically tested skincare products which are soap free, fragrance free, alcohol and parabens free and are allergy screened. Examples might be Euecerin, QV, Cetaphil and many others which can be found in pharmacies.
What about makeup? Do I have to go out with no foundation, blush ......on?
Yes, you do especially initially while your symptoms are strong. If you have just watery eyes and stuffed nose you may simply reduce makeup application to few staples and try new skincare products. However, if you have more serious symptoms like bad rashes or breathing difficulties you should avoid most products which have fragrance, parabens and alcohol. This happened to me recently. I can tell you that it wasn't easy to go out with no makeup on but I made it and I felt good about myself. I just wore some concealer for under eye circles, black pencil eyeliner and a lip balm. I had my hair slightly curled to create more volume. And wore a nice casual outfit with some black skinny jeans, a white tank top and a cream cardigan plus some flat shoes and simple accessories. The key here was to push the attention towards my hair rather than my face. And through the added hair volume I felt better because my face was less exposed than it would have been in a ponytail or sleek bun.
Keep in mind that this is just my opinion based on my recent and present experiences. I am not a doctor or a nurse. I just want to help out those people who are feeling the same and are searching some help though the internet and finding none, since there is no information available on skincare and makeup when it causes non topical allergies. So I really hope this can be useful.
Please leave comments about your experiences. I would really appreciate any advice on how you cope with this and which products you are using now.
AlessiaPearl.
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