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Thursday, May 19, 2011

MYTH: Foundation is good for your skin

Foundation is actually not good for your skin. It acts as an occlusive covering over the skin. Its purpose is to remain on the surface, not to penetrate like a moisturizer. So it stays on top, just sitting there. 

As you now know, your skin doesn’t breathe from the outside, so foundation doesn’t keep your skin from breathing. It does, however, inhibit elimination. And your skin will absorb some of the foundation. After all, it’s just sitting there all day long. Undoubtedly some of it will seep into your pores. And when this happens, the pores can enlarge. 

Foundation can cause congestion as well, especially if you have an oily skin type. If you have breakout and are using foundation, you are just fueling the very problem the foundation is attempting to cover up.

Foundation serves no beneficial purpose to the skin. Or rather, any benefits you may derive from wearing foundation (shielding you from the environment and possibly adding some SPF to your skin) is totally outweighed by the detrimental effects (clogging, congestion, enlarging the pores, inhibiting elimination).

If you want to cover up your skin, my recommendation is to try mineral makeup. Most brands give good coverage, contain SPF, and are much easier to remove during cleansing. Just say “no” to liquid foundation!

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