How do you find clean makeup when you have allergies? Truth is, cleaning your makeup routine can be pretty hit or miss. This is because a lot of people aren’t aware of what their allergies are until they run into a problem.
Clean makeup is also a hard to define term, and it doesn’t account for allergies. Here are some common allergies you might run into while choosing clean makeup, and how to work around them.
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Metal allergies
The most common allergy I see in people choosing clean makeup is metal allergies. Nickel is probably the most common, but did you know the following metal allergies are also pretty common?
According to MedBroadcast, the above metal allergies can also be an issue for jewelry, watches and phone cases. Even clothing items can contain high levels of some metals.
To get around this, choose mineral makeup that has a matte finish. Look for pigments made from iron oxides to avoid a lot of dyes and minerals like bismuth that, like metals, create a shimmer in your makeup products, but also cause frequent cases of dermatitis. Mica is less likely to cause you problems, so that’s another great alternative.
Fruit and vegetable allergies
Believe it or not, one of the biggest problems you might run into when switching to clean makeup is fruit and vegetable allergies to natural ingredients. These natural ingredients can be wonderful alternatives to synthetic petroleum-based alternatives. That is, unless you’re allergic to them. Here are some common allergies to fruit and vegetable products found in clean makeup you might want to test one at a time:
- – Strawberry
- – Tomato
- – Avocado oil
- – Cocoa
- – Nuts or nut oils
- – Peach and plum
- – Melons
- – Zucchini and pumpkin squashes
- – Apples and pears
- – Kiwi
According to a government health site from Australia, the above ingredients are common triggers of allergic reactions. Really you can be allergic to almost anything, but you might also want to watch out for nightshade vegetables, which are also a common allergy trigger because they contain these inflammatory chemicals:
- – Potato starch
- – Eggplant
- – Tomato
- – Peppers
Keep in mind that peppers can include bell peppers or hot peppers, and many topical pain relief rubs contain capsaicin from hot peppers also used in local anesthesia. If you have sensitive skin, you might not need to be allergic to react to fruit enzyme peels like apple and pineapple face scrubs or retinol alternatives in makeup and moisturizers. They’re just too harsh for some skin types and leave redness and peeling beyond what is intended to refresh your skin.
Preservative allergies
Finally, preservative allergies are a common cause of allergic reactions. Preservatives that cause frequent allergic reactions include the following, according to a dermatology site called Dermanet from New Zealand.
- – Sulfites/sulfates
- – Benzoates
- – Antioxidants
If you can’t tolerate preservatives, one workaround is to look for natural products that use citric acid as a harmless preservative. Alternatively, buy oil-based formulas instead of water-based because these don’t need preservatives as often to stay fresh.
Keep in mind that you might have a reaction that goes beyond the skin rashes and redness we all could recognize. If you have shortness of breath, tongue or throat swelling, racing pulse or digestive upset and confusion, these are all symptoms of multi-systemic anaphylaxis and could require medical attention.
And remember, many brands claim their makeup is clean, but you might want to research ingredients on the Skin Deep database or read up on company websites about what makes their products truly clean before buying. There is no current industry standard for clean makeup, so for starters you will want to make sure the ingredient list is a dozen ingredients or less, and you can pronounce them.
Personally, my favorite clean makeup brands are the following, but remember they contain many fruit and vegetable ingredients, as well as a few metals and preservatives you might want to check or test one by one:
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