{"id":29681,"date":"2024-03-02T01:49:48","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T08:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blinkbargain.com\/blog\/wearing-makeup-with-blepharitis-dry-eye-and-mgd\/"},"modified":"2024-03-02T01:49:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T08:49:48","slug":"wearing-makeup-with-blepharitis-dry-eye-and-mgd","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/blinkbargain.com\/blog\/wearing-makeup-with-blepharitis-dry-eye-and-mgd\/","title":{"rendered":"wearing makeup with blepharitis, dry eye, and MGD"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Sharing how I got back to wearing makeup after being diagnosed with dry eye, blepharitis and MGD, as well as my favorite brands. This is not medical advice; I\u2019m just sharing my experience!<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you\u2019re having a wonderful morning! We\u2019re finishing up Rodeo break (wah) so the kids are back to school and it\u2019s back to the swing of things around here. I hope you have a great day!<\/p>\n

For today\u2019s post, I wanted to do a reader\u2019s request after a comment I received last week. Ever since I posted<\/a> about my eye issues,<\/a> I\u2019ve been overwhelmed by amazing messages and comments, but also saddened to hear that so many of you have found yourselves in a similar boat with sudden flares, autoimmune issues, and painful, red eyes. \u00a0While I was in the depths of all of this last year, I was so frustrated and sad. I couldn\u2019t see myself ever wearing contacts or eye makeup again. (I have no foresight whatsoever, so in my mind, what is happening now means it will be happening forever.)<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t wear makeup for many months and slowly made my way back to contacts and eye makeup. It\u2019s taken a lot of work and healing \u2013 I\u2019ll share more on my healing journey and everything I\u2019ve done to decrease my histamine responses and inflammation in an upcoming post \u2013 but *knock on wood* I can finally make it through the day without constantly thinking about my eyes. Just putting that hope out there for my dry eye friends \u2014 it can and will get better. This won\u2019t be forever. Hang in there, friends.<\/p>\n

Please remember that I\u2019m not a doctor and this isn\u2019t medical advice. At the same time, many traditional eye doctors were mystified by my situation and didn\u2019t know how to help me. I was determined to get to the root cause and improve the issue, and have done a lot of research and experiments on myself along the way. Shout out to my beloved dry eye specialist who gave me some answers and guidance! Also shout out to the beauty of functional testing<\/a>, because I learned so much about how stress was affecting me, my gut imbalances, toxicities, and deficiencies.<\/p>\n

wearing makeup with blepharitis, dry eye, and MGD<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s the comment I received:<\/p>\n

\n

I was recently diagnosed with Dry Eye, MGD and Blepharitis and found your post so incredibly helpful! I am using a heat mask twice daily, the wipes and spray you have recommended (a variety of different kinds of wipes) and have ordered the disposable masks you use as well. I also use Optase drops several times a day and before bed as well. Questions for you \u2013 do you wear any eye makeup at all? If so, what kind? (I have refrained and am trying not to put anything else on or around my eyes or on my lids such as pressed powder or bronzer.) My other question is under eye cream for wrinkles, circles and puffiness\u2026is there anything you use that you would recommend? At this point, I have stopped using that as well in an effort to put the least amount of anything on or around my eyes not associated with the treatment, but my eyes looks so worn and tired and I really don\u2019t want to stop using my eye cream, at least under my eyes. Any suggestions or products you might recommend? Thanks so much!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Can you wear eye makeup with blepharitis?<\/h3>\n

Soooo here\u2019s the deal: you can\u2019t wear eye makeup when your eyes are flaring and when you have active blepharitis.<\/strong> (I learned this the hard and expensive way lol.) Blepharitis is an overgrowth of bacteria on the eyelids and in the eyelashes, so you\u2019re contaminating your brushes, eyeliner, face cream, and makeup if you try to wear wear makeup during this time. The first step is to get the blepharitis OUT OF THERE and under control! I did ZocuZest cleaning at the dry eye specialist and this made a huge difference. Every day, I also clean my eyelids in the morning and before bed to make sure they stay clean and healthy. My go-to eyelid cleaning products are in this post.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Once I had my blepharitis under control and was given permission to wear contacts again, I waited many weeks to make sure I wasn\u2019t having flares. (I still had eye flares from histamine response, which wasn\u2019t related to this. It made it super confusing and a pain! It was a huge lightbulb moment when I decreased my histamine response.) I made sure my eyes were clear and not dry or itching all day when I harnessed the bravery to add makeup back into my life.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my makeup strategy:<\/h4>\n

\u2013 Make sure eyelids are clean before starting. (I love Cliradex<\/a>. It burns a little, especially at first, but it works the best.) I\u2019ll wait about 15 minutes and the pop in my contacts (contacts in before makeup).<\/p>\n

\u2013 Use an eyeshadow primer. Thrive Causmetics is my favorite.<\/a> You want the eyeshadow to stick on the primer so it\u2019s less likely to fall into the eye, get trapped, and cause inflammation.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Use gentle eyeshadows.<\/a> Tarte has been always the best for my sensitive eyes. (These are two palettes I use daily and it\u2019s $40 for both<\/a>!) \u00a0I don\u2019t use a ton of the glittery shadows as the glitter can get in your eyes, but the shimmery neutrals are all perfect.<\/p>\n

\"\"

\u2013 Tarte pencil eyeliner.<\/a> The liquid started making my eyes itch after using it for years! It\u2019s a double-sided eyeliner, so I only use the pencil side<\/p>\n

\u2013 Tarte mascara primer<\/a> and mascara<\/a>, only on special occasions, only on the edges.<\/p>\n

\u2013 No more eyelash glue. When I have to take blog photos, I attach eyelash clusters on the outer portion<\/a> of my eyes using the adhesive that\u2019s already on them. They don\u2019t last super long, but it\u2019s better than trying to get glue out of my eyelashes later, or flaring from the ingredients.<\/p>\n

\u2013 At the end of the night, I use a makeup eraser towel, clean my face and eyes with Fresh cleanser,<\/a> and then use Oasis Lid and Lash cleaner<\/a> to remove the remaining makeup. It\u2019s wild to see how much the Lid and Lash cleanser will remove, especially when you think you got it all. I basically went 37 years without properly removing every bit of makeup from my eyes. Yikes. Sanitize brushes often, too.<\/p>\n

* Makeup and contact breaks: I don\u2019t wear eye makeup everyday anymore. I\u2019m usually wearing sunglasses at school pickup, so I only wear makeup on the nights we have something going on, I\u2019m filming blog content, or I\u2019ll be out in public for an extended amount of time. During the day, I wear glasses while I\u2019m working at the computer and put my contacts in around noon. I have at least 1-2 days each week that I solely wear glasses now.<\/p>\n

Skincare with blepharitis and dry eye<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve simplified my skincare routine because I wanted to make sure that it wasn\u2019t contributing to my allergy responses. I used the Glow Blueberry Bounce cleanser \u2013 a new bottle and one of my old favorites \u2013 and both eyes swelled almost completely shut. I contacted the company and they couldn\u2019t tell me what changed with the formula, so no more Glow products for me.<\/p>\n

Right now, here\u2019s what works on a daily basis:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 Fresh cleanser<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013 NOW serum<\/a>\u00a0(use FITNESSISTA)<\/p>\n

\u2013 NOW eye cream<\/a>\u00a0(use FITNESSISTA)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Beautycounter Supreme Cream<\/a><\/p>\n

Occasionally:<\/strong><\/p>\n

All Bright C serum<\/a> or overnight peel<\/a><\/p>\n

Masks:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eminence turmeric mask<\/a><\/p>\n

AHA mask<\/a> or Charcoal mask<\/a><\/p>\n

Red light face mask<\/a> (use FITNESSISTA15). There are promising studies coming out about the benefits of red light for dry eyes, but I still wear eye protection when I use this mask.<\/p>\n

\"LED

I think that\u2019s it! If you have any questions, or anything I can share in my upcoming post, please let me know. If you\u2019re going through this, pleeeeease \u00a0don\u2019t take \u201cI don\u2019t know, here\u2019s your steroid drop\u201d as an answer. Find another doctor, seek alternate opinions, look for a dry eye specialist in your area with good reviews. If you can swing it budget-wise, functional testing can give amazing perspective on what\u2019s going on in your unique body, too. I\u2019m always happy to help with the testing side of things \u2013 just send me an email gina@fitnessista.com subject TESTING. <\/p>\n

Hope you have an amazing day and I\u2019ll see ya soon!
xoxo<\/p>\n

Gina<\/p>\n

\n