Why Make-Up Removal Is A Must

Many of us have had the odd slip up when it comes to removing our make-up before bed, but a recent study has had us all at Green People making sure we use our Gentle Cleanse before we go to sleep.

In a recent survey a shocking one third of the women questioned said that they sleep with their make-up on at least twice a week. Often this is to do with the long list of priorities that many women have of an evening before they can even think about their skin care routine.

Despite many of them knowing that leaving your make-up on can cause adverse effects for your skin the question is often asked: but what damage can it really do?

No make-up removal for one month

The Daily Mail Life and Style reporter Anna Pursglove took up the challenge to leave her make-up on for not just one night, but for a whole month, and the results were shocking. Pursglove shunned her usual cleansers and reapplied new make-up over the old each day. Anna Pursglove's usual make-up bag of products contained many big name high street beauty brands.

Itchy eyes were the first symptom but by day three Anna had noticed a group of tiny white cysts around her eyelashes, and her skin felt dry and taut and the surface became lumpy and flaky. Her mascara laden eyelashes became so clumped she could no longer apply it and her lips became dry and cracked at the corner of her mouth.

The biological skin effects:
The experiment caused:

• her skin to age by approximately 10 years
• 10% worse skin surface texture on her forehead
• 20% worse skin surface texture on the side of her face she slept on
• 5% larger pores
• Wrinkles to be more visible due to the dryness of skin

For already sensitive skin, sleeping in make-up also causes a barrier over the skin's surface which locks in irritants and exacerbates allergic reactions.

Gentle, natural cleansers and make-up removers
The results show the importance of removing make-up, and the damage that many of the ingredients in high street make-up brands can do to your skin. Although you should always have a good cleansing routine with a gentle and soothing cleanser such as our Gentle Cleanse (available in 150ml and a handy 50ml travel size) to allow the skin to breathe naturally and repair, using our organic and natural make-up with nourishing ingredients such as Beeswax, Jojoba oil and vitamin E can help to soothe, care for and protect the skin.