While it may seem harmless to try the new lipstick or apply a bit of the kajal from your friend or sister just for the sake of fun, trading makeup can not only lead to lethal infectious conditions but also cause the ongoing COVID-19 infection, or any other bacterial infections. Also Checkout: Coronavirus: All You Need To Know About This Deadly Virus – Infographic
With the continuous spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is of utmost importance for working women and stay at home ones to be extra careful about their daily beauty essentials. Although you might avoid sharing your makeup components with your colleagues or friends, it is necessary to maintain the same hygiene and stop sharing your makeup essentials with your mother, sister or other family members.
According to WHO, it is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems likely to behave like other coronaviruses. A recent review of the survival of human coronaviruses on surfaces found large variability, ranging from 2 hours to 9 days. The survival time depends on a number of factors, including the type of surface, temperature, relative humidity and a specific strain of the virus. Also Read: Coronavirus: Effective Ways To Prevent The Transmission Of This Deadly Virus
Best wash practices, particularly handwashing with soap and clean water, should be strictly applied and maintained because these provide an important additional barrier to COVID-19 transmission and the transmission of any other infectious diseases in general. Hence, even before starting your daily beauty regimen, make sure that your hands are perfectly cleaned and sanitised to prevent contamination.
Given Below Are Some Beauty Essentials That You Should Stop Sharing At Once:
Lipstick
It’s no secret that lipsticks are the favourite beauty product of most women out there. Over the day, we keep smacking our lips or touching them using our tongue to keep them hydrated. While doing that, a lot of saliva comes into contact which undoubtedly bears the microbes if any. If another person shares the same lip product, certainly the germs can get transferred in them. Hence make sure, that you are the sole user of the product.
Eye Makeup
Our eyes are the most sensitive part of our body and hence are prone to infections. While using these eye definers, one has to put in the brush and apply it over their eyes. In case of any kind of infection within the person’s body or some bacterial growth on the eyes, the germs or viruses easily get transferred when the product is shared with others. Also, since we keep putting the brush in and out, it is easier for the germs or viruses to thrive since they tend to get oxygen.
Facial Cleaning Tissue And Sponges
Facial tissues whether wet or dry should be used only once and disposed of immediately to prevent the spread of viruses. The cotton balls, tissue pads or even makeup sponges, when used by an asymptomatic person to cleanse or remove makeup or to apply the foundation, can pick up the virus that is present on their skin surface and can get easy access to a non-infected person when they come in contact of it.
Razors
Razors are one of the important things that all of us should keep in mind to dispose of or avoid sharing. Just like needles or sharp objects used in hospitals, these too come in contact with body fluids and more importantly to blood in case one suddenly gets a cut or a scratch while using it. And ultimately when the contaminated blade comes in contact to a healthy individual may lead to extremely dangerous infections.
Makeup Brushes
Similar to facial tissues and makeup sponges, usage of common brushes to apply that streak of blush or eye shadow onto your cheeks or eyes should be strictly prohibited. Apart from the COVID-19 infection which can easily get transferred even if the brush handle or the bristles have some viral nasal droplets from an infected person, one might just simply get in contact of the bacterial strain that is a cause of the other person’s skin infections.
Makeup In Open Containers
All beauty products don’t come in tubes or bottles, some of them are also packaged in jars which we generally take out using our fingers. Un-sanitised or unwashed hands can easily transfer the deadly viral strain or other germs into the cream or mousse and thereby spread onto others.
Combs
Apart from the beauty essentials that we directly apply to the skin, even combs should not be shared to prevent infections. Sharing of combs can easily transfer any scalp infections like dandruff, scaly skin or other viral infections from an infected person to a healthy one.
Conclusion
Hence, we must all keep in mind to avoid sharing any personal items be it makeup or otherwise and always wash or sanitise the hands before doing any kind of beauty regimen to prevent the spreading of deadly infections.
References:
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020 (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public, accessed 3 March 2020).
