Categories: Beauty

Eyeshadow for Sensitive Eyes: How to Find Makeup that Works for You

If you have sensitive eyes, you know the struggle involved in finding an eyeshadow that does not cause your eyes discomfort. Sensitive eyes can react badly to many ingredients which are common in everyday makeup. Those with sensitive eyes who do not heed the ingredients on the packaging can find themselves with eyes that are itchy, swollen, bloodshot, or worse and some can even have a reaction so strong that they need to seek a doctor’s attention for the damage to their sensitive eye areas.

An important point to consider if you are experiencing eye irritation or allergy is to make sure that your makeup is no more than three months old and that your brushes and applicators are clean and sterilized at least weekly. Eyeshadow and brushes are a breeding ground for bacteria that can give you an infection with irritation and symptoms very similar to a bad allergic reaction.

One of the most common sources of allergic eye irritation is Talc. A lot of companies will tell you that their products are hypoallergenic because they are a mineral eyeshadow. This is a dubious claim at best; Talc is a mineral, and due to talc’s high level of allergic reaction, it is not considered to be a very hypo-allergenic material. Talc is a known mucous membrane irritant and has shown to have a carcinogenic affect on the lungs of laboratory rats.

When it comes to eyeshadow, you simply cannot get away with going cheap. Even upper-level grocery store brands like Maybelline and Cover Girl have caused my eyes serious distress. Here are some tips for buying eyeshadow that doesn’t freak your eyes out.

1. Always buy your makeup at a place that will accept returns.
2. Have your makeup applied by a professional at the store if one is available to you.
3. If your eyeshadow doesn’t go on smoothly or flakes off into your eye, chuck it. There are plenty of cheap eyeshadow on the market that are made with subpar products that cause irritation. A good rule of thumb to remember is that if it doesn’t work well as it is intended, you probably can’t count on them to supply a healthy product either.
4. Don’t be afraid to return a product that doesn’t suit you. Don’t let the makeup companies get away with supplying unhealthy makeup. If an eyeshadow irritates your sensitive eyes, make sure you write down the offending ingredient or the whole ingredient list if you don’t know, and return the junk.

I have already mentioned that I have had problems with eye irritation from every Maybelline and Cover Girl eyeshadow I have tried. The companies with which I have experienced minimal eye irritation from eyeshadow have been the following, in order of the best: Origins, Lancome, Clinique, Almay and MAC. I am a bargain hunter from head to toe, but believe me when I say that you must upgrade your eyeshadow to protect your eyes. Going budget with your eyesight is a bad plan.

In addition to affecting your eyeball and its surrounding mucous membranes directly, there are also a number of chemical irritants in many eyeshadow products that can cause you to have flaky, itchy skin around your eyes and eyelid area. This damaged, flaky skin can also open you up to a host of eye infections.

Helpful resources I used. Please visit for more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talc

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12616290?dopt=Abstract

http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/general_cosmeceutical.html