A quarter of women risking their eye health for vanity
There are items in every womans make-up bag that never see the light of day. They stay there year after year in case they are ever needed, but a new health warning calls for those items to be binned or risk damaging your eyes.
While millions of pounds are spent on beauty products every year, it seems that hygiene is not a priority for British women: 1 in 4 is putting their eye health at risk by using bacteria-infected eye make-up that is over four years old!
Mascara in particular is a breeding ground for bacteria and can cause itchy, swelling and watery eyes. But despite recommendations that eye make-up should be thrown away after six months, 92% of women admit to keeping their mascara for longer than that, and nearly two-thirds of women use eye make-up that is over two years old.
A quarter of the women surveyed by The College of Optometrists also confessed to sharing eye make-up with friends, family and colleagues, despite 1 in 10 admitting to frequently suffering from bacterial eye infections such as conjunctivitis.
Dr. Susan Blakeney, Optometric Adviser, says, Its not surprising that our survey shows that nearly half of women suffer from itchy, watery and red eyes when women are holding onto their eye make-up for so long and sharing it among their friends. Mascara can be a hotbed for bacteria, and most women are either unaware of or simply ignoring manufacturers recommended use-by-dates. Ultimately, for the sake of vanity and economy, millions of women are risking the health of their eyes.
Tagged in makeup