Why Your Cosmetic Bag Is Contaminated

The cosmetic you so love, could actually be contaminated and causing your grave damage 

Photo courtesy: IFL Science & My Kind Of Sweet

Would you be surprised to know that your makeup is already the home to several bugs and thrives there, while you happily dress yourself up? According to research done at the Aston University, nine out of 10 cosmetics in your makeup bag, contains deadly viruses.

After testing some odd 400 plus cosmetics donated by various users in the UK, it was found out that lipsticks, mascaras and eyeliners contained significant traces of bacterium and fungal contamination. Except beauty blenders that have an average of a million bacteria, most other items had between 100 and 1,000 individual bacteria in which, as few as 100 cells of some bacteria can cause infection.

Most of the lip glosses and mascaras contained either strain of Staphylococciand E-coli viruses. Tested makeup samples have in fact shown a whopping 90 percent of them containing some or the other kind of virus that could be life threatening if gone unchecked and used for longer durations.

The bacterium and fungal contaminators are usually responsible for diseases like eye flu or commonly known as pink eye and conjunctivitis, as determined by the Society for Applied Microbiology. Further, lip glosses and lipsticks surprisingly contain contaminating agents found in faecal matter. Symptoms include, irritation, inflammation and redness of lips. But research shows that constant and persistent use can lead to bacteria entering the blood stream and becoming life threatening.

Also, some strains of Staphylococci, such as Staphylococcus aureus, have become more resistant to antibiotics. S aureus is fairly contagious and can cause skin infections, including impetigo. Researchers are asking women to keep clear of beauty blenders too.  These include popular foundation blending and contouring sponge. A big rage in the western countries, these products are particularly susceptible to contamination as they are often left damp after use, which creates an ideal breeding ground for harmful bacteria.

Most (93%) of the beauty blenders tested, it is confirmed had never been cleaned, despite two-thirds (64%) of those we surveyed admitting that they had dropped them on the floor.