Ever gotten your makeup done by someone and getting a massive break out on your face after? I'm pretty sure this ruins the entire experience for you and I personally, would feel very upset about it.
Before entering the makeup business, believe it or not, I was a registered nurse at Tan Tock Sent Hospital with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing. It has made me hyper aware of how easily tools and makeup products can get contaminated.
It totally irks me when things are not clean, and I'd be horrified if I were to be on the receiving end of any of these points I've listed below.
Let's get to it!
One - Washing Their Hands
A really simple yet something that gets overlooked sometimes. Hand hygiene is definitely the first thing that needs to be done before touching anyone's face. I always make it a point to wash my hands with soap and water using the steps I was taught in nursing school to totally sanitize my hands, not missing a spot. Then drying my hands with a tissue.
However if a water point is not readily available I will whip out a wet wipe to wipe my hands down, and then sanitize my hands with a non-sticky hand sanitizer solution.
Remedy - if your artist has overlooked this step you can gently remind them by asking - 'hey, just to check, have you managed to wash your hands before this?’ or you can gently say 'oh, by the way, there's a bathroom/sink just down the corridor where you can wash your hands'. They may have genuinely forgot about it so a gentle reminder is always appreciated.
Two - Asking for your Skin History/Type
As a nurse, before I administer any drugs, even if it's just a cream, I'm legally required to triple check the name, the NRIC number and if the patient has any drug allergies. This was drilled into me so deeply, it has become second nature to me to check with anyone in my chair if they have any allergies or sensitivities.
I've been really surprised the different things people have been sensitive to! Some examples of what my clients have been allergic/sensitive to - fragrances, MAC products, silicon, eye lash glue, certain lipsticks or specific ingredients found in makeup products. I always assume people have sensitive skin, especially here in Singapore tho.
Do voice up any allergies or sensitivities to your artist if they forget to ask you before they apply anything to your face!
Three - Keeping Brushes Off the Table
Makeup artist usually come along with a whole load of brushes that may amaze you! Brushes are essential tools to us and it's what touches my client’s face the most. It's of most importance to me that my brushes are clean and free from any dirt or contamination, lowering the risk of my client breaking out due to dirty brushes.
Sometimes when artist are pressed for time, they may forget and place brushes they used on the table (which may or may not be clean) and then reuse it on the client's face. I personally have experienced this and it horrified me, but I was too worried to call out this behavior and afraid I would offend my fellow artist.
I felt so uncomfortable the entire session and even though the makeup result was beautiful, I couldn't get the irk off my mind that dirty brushes that was put down on the table directly kept touching my face. It was awful.
I personally remedy this by using a brush stand that keeps brushes upright and organized in rows. I can see all my brushes at a glance and every brush has its own 'home'. No brush will ever touch the table for any reason. Also, another thing to note, if a brush has accidentally dropped on the floor/any surface, my first course of action would be to put away the brush so that I don't use it before I can sanitize and clean it throughly. I generally do not use the brush anymore until I've managed to deep clean it at home.
If you see any brush which has dropped, if it's going to be used on you again, a gentle reminder to the artist would be good if he/she forgot - 'oh, I think that brush you're about to use has dropped earlier, would you be able to use another brush instead?’
Four - Kit and Product Cleanliness
Makeup products gets dirty easily, from all the loose powder falling all over the place. Product is what goes onto your face hence it's important to ensure everything has a tight lid and gets kept away after it's use to prevent any contamination that could land on the products (eg. A sneeze or something random that one cannot predict).
Also nothing puts people off more than a dirty kit that's on full display for everyone to see. Any serious and professional artist will do our best to ensure a clean kit, even if it's messy from a crazy session of makeup.
Five - Product Contamination
This is absolutely essential to note especially for liquid products like lipsticks, mascara, concealers etc. I avoid, unless absolutely necessary or unless I'm gifting that product to my client, to use these products directly on my client. To avoid any cross contamination between clients, this is especially essential during the pandemic we are experiencing now, I will use a clean tool to bridge this. For lipsticks I will take what I need off on a metal spatula and use a brush (which has been designated to each individual client) to apply it. For mascara I will use a small metal comb to help me prevent any contamination. Tools can be easily cleaned and sanitized quickly between clients which makes them ideal for use.
For any other products which I'm unable to use a tool (eg. Eyeliner/ lipliner), I will use a medical grade alcohol swab to sanitize between each use.
If you're experiencing one or any of these, please don't freak out, but gently mention and remind the artist that you would like them to take note of your sensitive skin to dust/dirt. We are all human after all so it's possible that things can slip our minds as artist! A little gentle reminder will usually set us back on track and is usually greatly appreciated!
I hope this article helps you be more aware of standards of hygiene and that the chance of a reaction or an outbreak due to something preventable gets lowered! Unfortunately there's little to no regulation of makeup artist here in Singapore, and it's up to each individual artist's responsibility to ensure they provide the highest level of hygienic service to our clients. It's really important to uphold professional standards to keep our clients best interest first by taking the best care of them as we possibly can.
Xx
Marie