Removing eye makeup: Part I

What’s the best thing to remove eye makeup with?

Your facial cleanser will probably adequately remove your eye makeup. However if you are wearing waterproof mascara (and some non-waterproof brands), you will need to use an oil to remove this “glue” from your lashes. Baby oil is an inexpensive option. (Make sure not to get that or any oil in your eyes.) I don’t recommend Vaseline® (petroleum jelly), however. It might take off a lot of the makeup, but because of its gooey nature, you might inadvertently pull the delicate undereye tissue when using it to remove your eye makeup or when trying to remove the Vaseline from your skin.

You can use your fingers to apply your cleanser around the eye area. If your eye makeup doesn’t come off that way or if you are using makeup that is meant to “last all day” aka: stick to your skin, you might want to put some cleanser on a cotton pad. Wet the pad first, squeeze the excess water out, then apply some cleanser. I’d wet the cotton first so it is softer as it goes on your skin. The cleanser will actually grab onto the cotton better when it’s wet, as well.

  

Obviously you want to be careful not to use anything that will irritate your eyes. Also you really want to be sure not to rub or pull the skin around your eyes when removing your eye makeup. Assuming you wear makeup every day, you can really do a lot of damage day in and day out with excess pulling and tugging at this tissue in order to remove makeup. So, be careful!

For more information, see:

• Removing eye makeup: Part II (this goes over how to remove mascara specifically)
• Eye makeup removal with Vaseline question
• Makeup De-Cluttering Quick Tip

This is not how you want to remove eye makeup! It may not look like it, but this young lady is pulling her eyelid as she is removing her makeup. Over time (day after day, year after year) this pulling will have an effect on the delicate tissue of the eye area.