The FDA has not tested make-up, for safety; nor has the FDA tested the products used to remove make-up, for safety. Make-up is sold under a grandfather clause, from the 1930’s; and continues to be sold as “similar” enough to not require safety testing. Eye make-up is of particular concern.
Eye make-up is applied to the soft tissue around the eye and at the eyelid margins, critical for eye health. Eye make-up with sparkles contains indigestible particles that are particularly dangerous. Products used to remove eye make-up contain carcinogens and other harmful products that can disrupt protective mechanisms in and around the eye. Mascara and eyeliner can harbor bacteria, and foster transmission of pathogens from the make-up and hands, onto the eyelid margins and into the eye. Chlamydia trachoma, chlamydia psittacosis, h-pylori, Demodex, and other pathogens can infect eyelid margins and shed onto the cornea and into the eye, causing eye diseases.
Eye make-up is one reason chronic dry eye is more prevalent in women. Eye make-up can lead to blepharitis and chronic dry eye; and loss of protective mechanisms, and shedding of the pathogens from the eyelid margin onto the cornea. Pathogens can be harbored in make-up, and transmitted by make-up or recurrent hand-to-eye contact. Stopping eye make-up is an easily modifiable risk to protect eye health, and eye make-up should be discontinued in anyone with eye disease.