The biggest news at the moment is Coronavirus or Covid-19. Along with Coronavirus, Good Hygiene that has always been very important but somewhere taken for granted, is in news again. We have never been more conscious about hand washing, face touching or hand shaking than now.

It seems to be an appropriate time to revisit some points on sanitation and hygiene for professional makeup artists and other beauty professionals. Every beauty professional should be following these guidelines at all times, and not just when there is a global epidemic like this.

Courses for makeup artists are taught about proper sanitation and hygiene as part of their curriculum. However, all makeup courses are not officially accredited by an educational awarding body, so they may or may not cover these areas. Also, there are many self makeup artist, and they may not be aware of key hygiene practices.

Sadly, but the makeup artist can harm your health if they are not adhering to the proper hygiene practices.

There are many cases of unhygienic practices being followed in the makeup industry like using dirty brushes, gloss/mascara being applied straight from the wand, directly applying bullet lipsticks on the lips and even the recycling of false lashes. It’s very unethical and unprofessional to ignore hygiene and passing on of germs and viruses from one person to other. Nobody likes to catch a cold sore or a conjunctivitis, and possibly catching a nasty virus like Corona virus is definitely not cool. Makeup hygiene is the best way to keep unpleasant skin infections away. If you don’t practice makeup hygiene, then no amount of cleansing, toning and moisturizing will keeping your skin clear.

It is not worth to be at risk for any number of infections. A qualified and experienced best Makeup Artist will always be trained properly and will know the importance of keeping a clean and hygienic kit.

Key hygiene practices that a Makeup Artist must follow:

• Always wash or sanitize your hand prior to touching your client’s face. We all have natural oils in the palms of our hands that attract dust and germs that are easily transferred to the face and to makeup products & tools. For ease of use, keep a sanitizer in your makeup kit!
  

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• Try using disposable applicators to apply lip gloss and mascara. This ensures there’s no cross contamination or product mixing since they have to be dipped only once and then thrown away. NO double dipping!

• Once or twice a week, clean / shampoo your makeup brushes. Cleaning your makeup brushes is one of the most tedious tasks ever but also one of the most important things among hygiene tips. Especially, brushes that are dipped in liquid and cream products attract bacteria and should be cleaned every few days.

• Clean or Sanitize the brush between clients, or always use a clean brush on your next client. This point is absolutely crucial! Using dirty brushes on clients is an absolute NO-NO. Use brush sanitizer/ cleanser to quickly clean your brushes between use or keep spare brushes with you when you know you have multiple clients to be done.

• Wash your makeup sponges after every use and replace them at regular intervals. Since sponges are wet and are used to blend liquid or cream products, much like your brushes they also attract dust and bacteria.

• Toss out your makeup (check for the expiry date) at regular intervals. All makeup and skincare products have expiry dates. Mascaras expire in 6 months, Eyeliner in 12 months, Pressed powder (eyeshadow, blush, contour, highlighter etc.) in 2-3 years and Foundation in 12 months.

• Use mixing palettes and spatulas to decant wax, cream and liquid products. Stainless steel palette and spatulas are available in the market for this purpose. These are used to take product out on and to mix colours since dipping your brushes or sponges again & again directly into these products is not hygienic.

• Always sharpen eye and lip pencil between each use. Do this using a clean sharpener. It removes the part that has the bacteria. Also, sanitize the sharpener using rubbing alcohol once a week.

• Use a fresh pair of false lashes on every new client, avoid recycling it. If recycling, remember to sanitize it properly. Lashes can be sanitized by peeling off the glue first and then taking a cotton pad and pour some makeup remover and clean the residue.

• Clean the makeup kit on a regular basis and sanitize the palettes. This is supremely important because this ensures general hygiene of the kit. To sanitize your pressed powder palettes, also spray some rubbing alcohol from a distance on them and then clean the sides with a tissue paper.

• Do not leave your makeup container open for long. This will prevent any dust particles from settling into the products and will also prevent your gel products from drying out too quickly.

• Try keeping your nails short and clean because longer fingernails can possess more dirt & bacteria as compared to short fingernails, basically increasing the risk on spreading infection.

• Be weary of body odor and smell pleasant when going for an assignment by appropriate use of deodorants. This is a part of basic hygiene since we live in such warm climatic conditions where one tends to sweat often we must ensure that we smell good at all times.

• Keep a mint with you to avoid bad breath. Do not chew chewing gum while working. Just as your body should smell pleasant, your breath should also smell good because you will be working in close proximity with the client.