If we have become accustomed to monitoring the expiry dates of cosmetic products, it seems that we still have a lot of progress to make on the hygiene side of make-up tools. A study by the University of Birmingham (Great Britain) has just shown that 70 to 90% of our beauty products harbor potentially dangerous bacteria.
For this study, published in the Journal of applied microbiology, the researchers collected makeup products and materials from volunteers: eyeliners, lipsticks, mascaras and foundation sponges). Their research showed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus (staphylococcus aureus), Escherichia coli and Citrobacter freundii, bacteria respectively associated with skin infections, food poisoning and urinary tract infections, in all beauty products but with a high prevalence in make-up sponges. “These sponges also have the highest rate of contamination by fungi, at 56.96%,” said Professor Amreen Bashir, lead author of the study.
For the researchers, the explanation is simple: only 6.4% of these makeup tools had already been cleaned. And no mascara user had ever thought to clean the brush, even after dropping it on the bathroom floor or the sink, which is crawling with bacteria.
Read also :
- Disinfect your skin well
- Make-up: how to keep your products longer
- Organic make-up: in progress
