Germs are everywhere. And while winter is winding down, we still see runny noses, sneezing fits, and uncovered coughs that spread germs quicker than you can say, “Gesundheit.” And the problem isn’t just airborne; knobs, handles, phones, and computer keyboards contain and spread germs, too. So can your beauty products if you’re not careful! Fortunately, with a little effort, you can help prevent illness-inducing microorganisms from invading your makeup and body products. Consider the following tips for keeping your skincare products clean and bacteria-free.

How to Keep Bacteria Out of Your Beauty Products

1. Wash Your Hands Often

Unwashed hands can harbor germs that cause various respiratory and diarrheal infections. Ick! The CDC warns that bacteria can get onto hands after people use the toilet or handle raw meat. Contaminated hands also happen when someone touches an object after a person coughed or sneezed on it or because another unclean object came in contact with it. When germs get onto our hands and we don’t wash them away, we can pass them from person to person, person to product, and product to product. 

Our contaminated hands contaminate everything we touch, including our skincare and beauty products. So before using any makeup or body product, wash your hands to prevent spreading bacteria to your favorite skincare staples.

2. Use Spatulas In More Than the Kitchen

Instead of putting your fingers into your body butter jar or liquid foundation bottle, scoop or pour your cosmetics onto the palm of your hand with a plastic spatula. Doing so will help prevent the spread of bacteria into your products. 

The less you touch your products, the less risk you’ll run of introducing bacteria into them. Also, your beauty products will last longer if you keep them free of germs.

 3. Don’t Touch Your Skin

Concealer is one of the most widely used cosmetic products. Whether using it to minimize dark circles or hide blemishes, never touch a liquid concealer wand directly to the skin. 

Imagine a Petri dish in a lab inoculated with different strains of bacteria. Well, that’s basically what happens to your concealer when you directly touch a makeup applicator on your face. Even freshly washed skin can contain bacteria from acne or other irritations. And those microorganisms can be transferred from your skin into your makeup. Yuck! So, always apply liquid concealer to a clean finger or brush and never apply it directly from the wand to prevent contamination.

4. Keep Your Beauty Tools Clean

How often do you wash your makeup brushes or replace application sponges? 

Once a month? Once a year? Too long ago to give a reasonable estimate? 

Like our hands, the tools we use to apply our makeup can harbor dangerous bacteria. We should clean beauty tools regularly to help ensure they’re safe to use. 

Many experts suggest cleaning makeup brushes once a month. Consider using a drop of baby shampoo instead of harsh soap, which can damage brushes. After hand-washing brushes, rinse them well and let them air dry on a flat surface. If you don’t want to go to the manual effort of cleaning your brushes, you can find many brands of mechanized brush cleaners online that wash and dry brushes in record time.

Protect Your Beauty Product Investment — And Your Well-Being

The suggestions above will help prevent germs from invading your prize skincare and makeup collection. Make them a part of your beauty routine to protect your cosmetics investment — and your health!