5 Things That Happen When Falling Asleep in Makeup

We have always been told to cleanse off our face before going to bed because it’s ominous to keep impurities throughout the night. But, Rationally, have you ever wondered why and how those nasty things could become unexpectedly devastating during your sleep. Girls, I know you’re very tired after a long day, eager to lay yourself in bed and cuddle soft, relaxing pillows right away. But, your skin is exhausted too.

Top of all, it’s constantly working hard 24/7 as the largest organ to defend our body from the brutal invasion of microorganisms, bacteria or viruses. Also, admirably shield against external aggressors everyday, such as destructive UV rays, volatile climate and pollutants. So be kind with your skin!

Like such a bomb, there might be nothing serious on the first couple nights of falling asleep with makeup on. However, Boom, what a nightmare! This can be fraught with numerous skin ailments. We might have to take months or even, years to pursue an alluring, youthful complexion, so don’t let it wreak havoc on our dream.

1. Blocked, Enlarged Pores and Acnes

Going to bed without makeup removal means you risk your skin to harmful factors. Lots of makeup products, like foundations and concealers usually consist of thickening, conditioning, stabilizing or viscosity regulating agents. They are more likely to have heavy, dense consistency and be binding to skin for moisture retention, long lasting, waterproofing, high coverage and silky texture. Those ingredients tend to be persistent and obstruct the pores from releasing sebum and sweat.

“Sleeping in makeup can lead to clogged pores since many makeup products have ingredients like silicones that block the pores,” Debra Jaliman, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City and author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets From A Top New York Dermatologist. Oil based ones might be even more troublesome to increase greasiness and blocked pores.

Plus, after the day exposure to perils of environment, grime, debris and pollutants are clinging onto your skin surface. Makeup layers trap the impurities inside skin overnight, together with accumulating dead skin cells and hence, provoke countless clogged pores. At the same time, silently creates a “beneficial” condition for Propionibacterium acnes (P.acnes) to reside and breed into the pores. This refers to the early stage of acne vulgaris, microcomedone, at which the bacteria and infection still hide under skin layers and haven’t caused noticeable inflammation yet. Thus, you might be overconfident there would be nothing really scary about resting in makeup and unconsciously make it a habit.

The P.acnes consume sebum as nutrient to grow quickly in the pores and then, trigger overactive sebaceous glands. This spreads the infection to surrounding skin areas. After several nights of not cleansing, the congested skin arouses breakouts with bulging, blistering bumps, cysts, zits, whiteheads and blackheads. Dr. J. Matthew Knight, M.D., F.A.A.D., a board-certified dermatologist of Knight Dermatology Institute indicates that “pressing your face on a pillow while sleeping can grind makeup into hair follicles, resulting in clogged pores and acnes.”

Moreover, all of the pesky things stuck beneath also gradually enlarge the pore size. “Makeup can stretch the pore and make it look bigger,” notes Dr. David S. Orentreich, M.D., a dermatologist. Regarding folk who are already suffering breakout or have oily, acne-prone skin, wearing makeup on your bed can exacerbate the problem.

2. Dehydration, Sensitivity and Redness

Exerting your skin through daytime exposure can make it fatigue due to sunlight, temperature, humidity and pollution. These external forces are inclined to atrophy the lipid barrier function, known as the Stratum Corneum (the outermost layer of the epidermis). Designed with an inextricable “brick and mortar” structure, bricks are corneocytes or non-living, shedding skin cells and mortar is lipid intercellular matrix to connect the corneocytes. It’s effectively insoluble and impermeable to minimize the transepidermal water loss as well as maintain skin’s suppleness, firmness and smoothness.

Necessarily remove makeup, excessive sebum and pollutants prior to applying nutrient-rich moisturizers. It’s important to get rid off unwanted residues which preventing skin from absorbing the nourishment and self-recovering during sleep. Following your skincare regimen helps to revitalize skin cells and stimulate lipid regeneration. Leaving your glamorous day look throughout the night is meant to refuse reinforcing the barrier and let skin’s natural moisture be sucked out.

The dehydration can lead to overwhelming sebum production that speeds up the growth of P.acnes and aggravates the acne vulgaris. Furthermore, skin will have to devour a ton of chemicals and synthetic constituents for nearly 24 hours. That swiftly breaks down the lipid barrier and brings about allergic reaction. “Makeup products often contain irritants, such as dyes and perfumes, when left on skin for the long period of time, can cause inflammation,” Dr. Annie Chiu, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and founder of the Derm Institute.

The impaired barrier function and insufficient moisturizing result in flakiness, dullness, sagginess, cracks, scaling, redness, itchiness and high sensitivity. For sensitive folk, especially having psoriasis, rosacea or any chronic issues, washing makeup off before going to sleep is your must-do to keep flare-ups at bay. Plus, need to stay away from makeup products blended with harsh elements, like fragrances and colourants.

3. Premature Aging

Skin will age chronologically as the plan of mother nature. Also, it becomes weaker and damaged for its lifelong “battle” against environmental aggressors, which bring extrinsic aging to skin. In the nighttime, skin turns to repair mode, at which its restorability and cellular renewal are more active and accelerating. Skin is more receptive to the replenishment of skincare products.

Kendra Flockhart, an education executive at Darphin, shares that “while we’re sleeping, our body release Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which speeds up cell regeneration. The regeneration process can be up to three times faster than during the day.”

Then, a good night’s rest is very crucial for a bright, impeccable complexion. However, sleeping with thick makeup on substantially interrupts skin rejuvenation and lead to premature aging. As we mentioned earlier, makeup layers tend to hold dirt, debris and pollutants into skin after walking around. These factors insidiously prolong oxidative stress as well as sabotage the lipid barrier, collagen and elastin. That increases the appearance of aging signs, such as wrinkles, fine lines, discolouration and flaccidity.

Dr. Sue Ann Wee, M.D., a New York City based, board-certified dermatologist of Schweiger Dermatology Group adds that “makeup traps environmental pollutants and dirt inside skin and develops free-radicals, which cause DNA mutations, collagen degradation, and, overtime, can prematurely age skin.”

This toxic mess restrains skin from receiving replenishment, recovering and dampening the free-radicals. For those who have aging signs, necessarily refine your skin prior to moving forward to other skincare steps. At night, apply serum and ultra moisturizer extraordinarily infused with antioxidants, multivitamins, minerals and fatty acids. All of these effectively fortify collagen and cutaneous fat to energize the barrier but also deliver a resilient, intact complexion.

4. Eye infection and broken lashes

Your eyes will be not an exception of “sleeping in makeup” victims. Eyes are the most sensitive and easily get irritated. Being too lazy and tired to take off your mascara and eyeliners can painfully upset your eyes. Most of the eye makeup, like mascara, eyeshadow and eyeliner are made of artificial colourants and preservatives. Interacting with the chemicals for too long can end up with an allergic reaction to your eyes. Additionally, the makeup carries a bunch of outdoor impurities and dries out throughout the night. Rubbing or scrubbing your eyes on the pillow can make the eyeballs get injured, spread bacteria and lead to infection.

“Eye makeup, like mascara, shadows and liners, must be washed off completely before bed. Otherwise, debris, mixed with makeup will trigger our immune response to fight off any infection. That results in swollen, red, irritated and tired eyes,” says Elizabeth Maglieri Donat, a New York and internationally licensed esthetician.

Clumping, drying eyeliner can block the hair follicles overnight and provoke painful bumps, known as styes or hordeolums. Moreover, leaving mascara to dry down for the whole night can make the lashes stiff, brittle and then, fall off. Going to bed with eye makeup on also hurts badly your eyelids. Dr. Robin Evans, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist of Southern Connecticut Dermatology declares that “failing to cleanse off eye makeup can cause an irritant dermatitis, particularly eczema of the eyelid areas with a rash, scaliness, itching and sometimes, a burning sensation.”

5. Chapped Lips

Deep snoozing with lipsticks on tortures your lips to be extremely dehydrated and bear numerous chemical elements and pollutants during the night. That damages skin cells and make dull, dead cells build up. your pout will be terribly worn out with flaky, cracked and shabby look the following morning. “Going to bed with any types of lipstick will result in dryness and chapping,” notes Dr. Jeannette Graf, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY.

Definitely, wipe off your lipsticks at the end of the day for breathable lips. Then, exfoliate and moisturize your lips to deliver a plump, supple look.

I really hope the post is helpful and informative enough about the problems skin will struggle with when we sleep in makeup so casually. If you have any ideas or questions, please let me know your thoughts. I’d love to hear you out. Thank you so much for joining me!