Eye makeup irritation

elpgal

Eye make up (primer, concealer, and mascara) is making my eyes itch. I have used the same products before with no issue. With my dark under eye circles, I can’t skip the primer and concealer without looking very ill!

If you have similar issues, can you recommend your pet products. I realize sensitivities are highly individual but I am hoping to minimize returns.

1 year ago

General

18 replies

Latest reply was from Greyscale

lisaflex

Veteran

same thing here! trial and error........I did stop the cetaphil under eye cream with hydrolauronic and eye itch/tearing stopped. had another primer with hydro in it - stopped that one too!

I use Clinique all about eyes roller and then cream. no irritation at all. hope you find what helps/works for you!

1 year ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Oh, I hope you find a good solution! I’m prone to itchy eyes, but product is not my issue. I have it on days even when I’m wearing no makeup. Last night it was definitely an issue of air quality — we are getting bad smoke from the Canadian wildfires again, sadly.

1 year ago

Dee

Veteran

Sometimes for whatever reason you can just start to develop a sensitivity to one or more ingredients in these products or they may have changed the formulations just a bit and that could suddenly cause problems.

I ended up with the eye eczema after awhile, so there’s not much I can put around my eyes anymore. However, Clinique does tend to have a reputation for being good for people who are sensitive, so maybe they could be worth a try.

1 year ago

Helena

Veteran

I was going to say what Janet said
... Perhaps it's the air quality and time of heat, vs the products? I did once spend a long time trying different products when all I needed was an antihistamine for a couple of weeks in the spring and fall

That said, for me, I use cerave and cetaphil products for skin care, and drugstore brands for eye makeup ... For some reason I find the high end brands tend to be on average worse for my particular sensitivities. L'Oreal mascara, L'Oreal eye shadow, MAC concealer. (I know that's not drugstore but it has never bothered my skin).

Good luck working it out ... Frustrating!

1 year ago

Roberta

Veteran

I've had this trouble when skipping eye makeup did not seem to help. A friend recommended baby shampoo and Q-tips or baby washcloths, to give your eyelashes a gentle scrub (with your eyes open). Pardon me if this is icky, but lashes can get bacteria down in the root of the lash, and that can be hard to get rid of. The baby shampoo scrub worked a treat, and didn't bother my eyes at all. I bought new mascara too, of course.

1 year ago

LJP

Veteran

I have the same thoughts as Helena re an antihistamine. Histamine is also in a lot of food (also wine) , which is another whole issue. Once again, on behalf of all Cdns, I apologize for the smoke and air conditions . It's gross here too some days and I'm not even in wildfire country .

1 year ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

No further suggestions at this point, but wish you luck! Eye irritations are not fun

1 year ago

Anne

Active Member

This happens to me occasionally. Here are the things I look at:

1) Age of makeup
2) Brush/applicator cleanliness
3) Environmental factors at play
4) Dry eyes

I clean my brushes and applicators well, cut down on the eye make-up in general, then I start a routine of eye-cleansing, like Roberta suggested. This can be done with baby shampoo and a warm washcloth, or you can buy an antibacterial eye wash at a drugstore (found by the eye care stuff). I use Theratears for dry eyes, too, just in case. Antihistamine if nothing else seems to be working 100%.

I can't say it's ever been *just one* of the things listed above. I'm usually able go back to using my regular eye products, too, eventually, without having to replace them (because of infection or something). I'm never really sure what the underlying cause is, but addressing all these areas alleviates symptoms and gets me back on track eventually.

Also, I recommend Avene eye creams during these sensitive times, too.

1 year ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I went through this recently, as well. In my case, it turned out to be a condition called blepharitis, which really isn't/ wasn't related to the cosmetics, but the cosmetics might have made it feel worse. I spent weeks getting rid of stuff and trying elimination tests -- none of which revealed anything, since the makeup wasn't really the problem! I do have sensitivities to a lot of cosmetics, though -- so I was already using Clinique.

Blepharitis is more common in older people (like me) but can happen to anyone. I used eyelid wipes called Ocusoft (as well as regular eye makeup remover if I was wearing eye makeup) and warm compresses. It eventually went away. Then returned, briefly My eye doctor told me to go back to warm compresses any time it threatens to occur again -- I can usually tell. They do the trick. You can use warm washcloths or get a microwavable mask. It's a bit of a nuisance, but I am relieved to be able to wear my cosmetics again, sans fear or concern.

1 year ago

cat2

Veteran

I would check in with your optometrist.

1 year ago

SarahD8

Veteran

You are getting good advice here but I'll add my anecdata: I have found that I have become sensitive to titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. It's in a whole lot of eye primer/concealer products, especially those for fair skin (I am not sure what your skin tone is). I haven't found a workaround, largely because of the same "want to minimize returns" issue that you mention.

1 year ago

elpgal

Veteran

Thank you all for these suggestion and helping me troubleshoot. All I have figured out so far is that I don’t have issues when I WFH and don’t wear eye makeup or sunscreen. I brought this up to the optometrist, they didn’t check anything but pointed me to my eye makeup but it’s worth getting a second opinion. This spring has been odd (well as has this summer) weather-wise, so I am not ruling out new allergies. I already take an OTC anti-histamine but that’s worth rethinking. I’ll come back and update if I find a solution.

1 year ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, if it doesn't happen when you're not wearing makeup, that does tend to point to the cosmetics! I ruled that out, myself, because mine happened even if I didn't wear makeup.

I hope you find the culprit!

1 year ago

SarahD8

Veteran

Re: sunscreen -- if you are wearing mineral sunscreens their active ingredients are zinc/titanium oxides of course. Sunscreen was actually what first alerted me to my sensitivity to those compounds

1 year ago

lisaflex

Veteran

I too have blepharitis. and use ocusoft wipes and the drops if my eyes are really bothering me ie feeling gritty.

1 year ago

elpgal

Veteran

SarahD8, that’s a good point. Sunscreen should be easy to rule out.

Lisaflex, mine feel like I got soap into my eyes. Or like I am having allergies. When I am at home, I don’t tend to go out at all during the workday, so my top 3 suspects are allergies, sunscreen or eye makeup.

1 year ago

Joy

Veteran

I can use the same product for about a year. Then I suddenly become sensitive to it and have to quickly find a new product, so I can relate. I have given up on eye products except for very special occasions. At first I could use a product for 2 years before I had to change. Now the time period is shorter. It has caused me to look for cheaper brands because I don't use it up. Right now I use No.7, but soon I will develop an allergy to it and need to find something else.

1 year ago

Greyscale

Veteran

I use Clinique because I react to too many things. So far so good with Clinique but I only rarely wear eye makeup.

1 year ago

Category