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Ooops! My sensitive eyelids have rebelled

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Hi, all -- looking for some help/ suggestions here.

As I mentioned in Angie's recent blog post, I've been using Clinique mascaras and eyeliner pencils for at least a decade after having developed sensitivities to other brands. Up until this week, I never had a problem with Clinique and I have been very pleased with the products. (I also use some of their other products like a nighttime moisturizer and it is not creating any difficulties for me as yet.)

Alas, I seem to have developed a contact dermatitis to the mascara (High Impact) or the eyepencil (quickliner intense) -- or both. I'm in the process of experimenting -- going from no makeup to trying one or the other of these to see if both are actually causing problems or if it is only one. But I'm pretty confident it is both.

So. Any suggestions for another hypoallergenic mascara and/ or eye pencil I could try? I wear black mascara and usually a grey or blue pencil just on the outside corner of my top eyelid -- not a cat eye or tightline or anything fancy -- just a bit of emphasis.

Thank you in advance!

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19 replies

Latest reply was from DonnaF

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Oh, I'm sorry! That sucks, Suz

And I switched to this exact Clinique mascara precisely because it worked with my allergies after a rigorous 3 days of patch testing with a highly acclaimed but not so nice dermatologist.

This was recommended too:

https://www.ulta.com/p/no-make.....e!Product_

Helena

Veteran

Suz, I end up with eyelid eczema a few times a year ... it's horrid I avoid eye makeup when it's really bad, but find L'Oreal Telescopic mascara works great for me (I have to avoid anything waterproof though) - funny enough, the really long-standing drugstore brands are the best for my allergies, because they lack the natural ingredients that can cause them! But that is different for everyone. Mine is environmental more than product caused, so ymmv.

I also use a cold pack in the a.m. to reduce any swelling, and use Cerave eye cream to keep my lids moisturized and will do a thin layer of Aquaphor at night, take Reactine daily until everything calms down a little, and use the teeny-tiniest bit of a really weak cortisone cream if needed - which I know they say you are absolutely NOT supposed to do on your eyelids, but my doctor said it's fine if you are extremely sparing in both amount and frequency - but that's probably one to check with the doc about.

Good luck with it! x

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Thank you both so much! Helena, that is really interesting and valuable info. Maybe it is eczema -- that's possible! And very interesting that you find drugstore brands work best for you. I just went out and bought a Cover Girl one to try -- free of parabens, sulfates, talc and mineral oil -- all of which are the common irritants, I gather. But I'm going to go without for a few days at least to see if things calm down. I am using a cold pack, too --which feels nice -- and that is interesting about the hydrocortisone. I might get some if things continue. I used to get little patches around my nose that benefitted from a dab of that -- the problem would clear up immediately.

Angie, thank you. I think these sensitivities sometimes develop out of the blue and also sometimes calm down after a while. I am going to follow up on your link as well.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Helena, I'm with you. Natural products can be far from fab for your skin.

Suz, I've had eczema around my eyes before. Not make-up related. It's seasonal. I also put the tiniest bit of prescription strength cortisone cream on the eye area and it goes away.

Bijou

Veteran

Suz, it is probably worth seeing a dermatologist if this persists. I had a rash on my chest, which my GP gave me some cream to treat, the situation just got worse. One visit to the dermatologist, he knew exactly what the problem was and it was sorted asap and luckily not something that is likely to recurr.

DonnaF

Veteran

My one eyelid developed sensitivity, but I was thinking it had to do with eye makeup remover or primer. I don’t mascara but I wear eyeliner and shadow.

anchie

Veteran

Similarly as Bijou, couple months ago I developed nasty rash around my mouth. My GP prescribed cortisone that made it 10 times worse. So I went to dermatologist and he prescribed some other cream that resolved rash in just a couple of days never to come back. So I recommend checking with dermatologist.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I’m with the others. Go to a dermatologist if it persists. All my actions were dermie-approved.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I also developed a huge allergy to cortisone cream. Ironic! It’s dangerous stuff. You have to use it VERY SPARINGLY, if at all.

slim cat

Veteran

For my sensitive eye lids no mascara at all - liquid eye liner at the most gentle option. No black - something less dramatic ( ALMAY brown-ish, or purple color when it was still available ). ALMAY mascara was the only one I was able to use in the past - others gave me itchy feeling, redness and tears.

em

I have had the most awful nasty reaction to Clinique's take the day off eye, lip, and face bi-facial remover. Consistently, I might add, before I realized that THAT was the culprit.

The balm, though, is amazing.

Dee

Veteran

Oh I feel for you Suz and anyone else who suffers from this.
I’m no longer able to wear anything on my eyes at all. I have tried most mascaras including Clinique, I think its likely the waxes/oils in their ingredients that my skin no longer tolerates, but there are host of other ingredients that could be suspect too.
I also suffer from seborrheic dermatitis, so I even wear a plastic visor when I wash my hair to prevent any shampoo from migrating into my eyes. I’m careful about my moisturizers too, especially around my eyes. I’ve been using La Roche Posay Toleriane products for a couple of years and they have been great so far.
I’d be curious to see what a dermatologist would recommend for you, more often that not by the time I’d get an appointment with a dermatologist my eye would be doing better and they’d just suggest not using any eye products.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Yes, I suspect the wait for a dermatologist will be endless where I live. But I will begin the process!

Dee, that sounds like a really frustrating set of circumstances -- a lot of sensitivities! Ugh. Quite often, I've heard, they can build up over time...and other times they come up mysteriously and depart with the same mystery.

Em and Donna -- good tip -- I use that eye makeup remover so maybe it is the culprit! I guess I will have to test separately. I am not wearing any eye makeup today and the skin around my eyes is still complaining, so who knows. Maybe it's the moisturizer. OY.

slim cat -- thank you. Good information -- although I'm sorry you have sensitivities!

Anchie, Bijou, thanks for chiming in with that recommendation.

Peri

Veteran

I've definitely been through this so I have to say it might well be a problem you won't solve on your own. If it's really a sensitivity you will be reacting almost as soon as you put a thing on, and reacting in the place where you put it. You'll know it's happening.

But...there is a difference between that and Allergic Contact Dermatitis, which is an immune system response, not an immediate one. In that case the reaction can be anywhere from 3 days to two weeks and it is impossible to track everything you have touched within such a time frame. It is also extremely likely you could be reacting to a specific ingredient that is in multiple products, so you'll never be able to track what that one...or multiple...ingredient is. You can't say, oh X brand bothers me but Y brand doesn't. It's a much bigger mystery than that. Third and most significant issue...for ACD you might not even react in the place the culprit touches. The reaction tends to concentrate and keep coming back in the place where you first had the problem, even if you contact it on another body part. Weird, but fact. My eyes are where I always react, but the things I am allergic to were never in eye products. They were in hand soap, dishwashing detergent and hair products. My hands and scalp did not react to them, only my eyes.

See what I mean...ACD can't be figured out. Patch testing is the only way to get answers. For your sake, I hope this is "only" a sensitivity!

L'Abeille

Veteran

I recall being taught that skin reactions around the eyes can often be related to something on the hands, because we touch our eyes far more often than we realize (and the skin is more sensitive there). A new nail polish, for example, or a new scent in the dish soap.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Ok, this is all wisdom and excellent information.

And also confusing!

So, it's not a sensitivity in the sense that Peri used the word because whatever is causing it doesn't seem to be causing it immediately -- I mean, these are products I have used without trouble for years and suddenly my skin is acting up?

Much more likely to be the more confusing (and difficult to trace) problem of a reaction in a sensitive spot (around my eyes) to some other, unrelated product. Hmmmm.

I don't wear nail polish. So it's not that. I'm not using a new soap. So I doubt if it is that....although, again, I have read that you can develop reactions to things years after using them. So.

But here is another wrinkle (so to speak). After Helena's talk of eczema, my kid gave me some (non prescription) eczema balm -- "medicinal" ingredient appears to be zinc oxide -- anyway, I put a little dab on and it calmed things right down in the area. Feels totally fine now. I am not wearing any eye makeup at the moment, of course.

I'll keep you all posted. Thank you so much for your thoughts!

Peri

Veteran

Suz, I meant immediately as in soon after application. That doesn't mean it couldn't be happening to something you've used for years. People's sensitivity can vary over time and build up, and we can totally react to an old faithful product. And never forget, manufacturers can change ingredients any time they want, without letting anyone know about it. So that product you've used for years maybe be different now and you won't know at all unless you've kept past packaging to compare ingredient lists. ACD people learn to recheck ingredient lists with each purchase.

So when I said sensitivity is a fast reaction I meant:

Feeling fine, putting on a product, and then within 30 minutes or so feeling not so fine anymore. Seeing redness, reacting to it, feeling the irritation. This can get worse and quicker over time, just like an allergy.

That's why it's so hard to figure out. If this keeps up for you, I really encourage patch testing.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Peri, thank you. That makes sense. It sounds like what you describe. I put the stuff on, it gets dry, red, itchy. Worse on one eyelid/ lash area than the other, but weepy eyes esp. in the wind and red/ dry / scaly skin in the area. But I'm still not sure which product it is. Hmmmm.

I'm going to let the whole area calm down for a few days and use this cream to help it (as it does seem to be helping) and then go from there. One thing at a time.

DonnaF

Veteran

My primary care doctor also said that stuff not near the eyes like moisturizer can migrate and thus be irritating. I think she likes Vaseline. I need to experiment to identify the culprit since I like to wear eye makeup at least twice a week.