The importance of hygiene when it comes to being a MUA

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How many times have you seen makeup artists using a dusty and messy makeup kit and brush belt? I believe some of you will say that you practically never encountered a neat makeup artist because being messy in this field of work is considered ‘’normal’’?! BIG NO!

Being messy and being dirty are two different things but, believe me, when it comes to this profession, a messy makeup artist is often a dirty one as well.  Ensuring proper hygiene for your tools and makeup kit, along with high quality products, is the most important thing in the work of a makeup artist.  A hectic weekend filled with brides and clients that need to be beautified is no rarity. Lack of time is not an excuse for not taking care of properly disinfecting your equipment. After all, these tools are in direct contact with facial skin and mucous membrane of the eyes and lips.

These are some of the golden rules when it comes to hygiene that I religiously follow in my practice and would recommend other makeup artists to do the same, as well as my clients whilst choosing the right MUA for themselves.

  • Frequent hand washing (especially if you’re a smoker) and use of hand sanitizer
  • Products stored in tubes such as mascara, brow gel, liquid lipsticks, liquid concealer etc. can NEVER be applied on more than one client without using disposable brush sticks/wands. The same brush should never be dipped in product twice. For instance, if you use the original mascara wand on a particular client, returning that same wand back in the tube contaminates the content of the mascara with bacteria that is later on transferred to other clients, creating the risk of developing conjunctivitis and similar infections.
  • Never place your fingers directly on products stored in containers in order to distribute them, for example – lip balms, primers, moisturizers
  • Never use false eyelashes on more than one client.
  • Brushes used in between different clients MUST BE cleaned with brush cleaning solution and disinfected with high percentage alcohol. Beauty blenders should be used only once!
  • If a particular area needs to be fixed or redone after applying make up, never use your own saliva or finger. That’s what Q-tips, cotton pads and micellar water are for.
  • Always use a  spatula/knife and a metal palette case to extract creamy products from their casing (foundation, concealer, gel liner, lipstick…). This way, there is no risk of a dirty product full of bacteria.
  • Do not blow into your brush in order to get rid of excess product, rather shake it off by patting the brush stick against your arm
  • Since pressed powder products (eyeshadow, compact foundation…) can’t be extracted onto a palette, they have to be disinfected by alcohol mist spray

Some of these things may sound like common sense (such as not using your own saliva and reapplying used false eyelashes), but you know what they say – common sense is not that common and I have truly seen it all. The purpose of this post is to draw attention to setting high standards of hygiene and cleanliness that should be expected from a makeup artist in the same way you would expect it from a doctor because, trust me, you do not want to catch somebody’s herpes or conjunctivitis.

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