Why Makeup Wipes Aren’t the Best Choice for Makeup Removal

woman with heavy eye makeup in need of makeup wipes
Photo by yunona uritsky on Unsplash
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When makeup wipes first appeared on the market, they seemed like a gift sent from heaven. They made removing makeup seem so easy. They did not require rinsing the face with water after using them, and all the dirt remained on the wipe, without making any additional mess, so this seemed like the cleanest way to remove makeup.

In a minute all the makeup was removed and you could continue with the rest of your skincare. Sounds perfect, right? Well… it would if any of this were true! But as we know better in 2021, we need to do better and learn how to remove makeup properly.

If you are still not familiar with this topic, here is why even the best wipes for removing makeup may not be the best choice for your skincare routine.

What are makeup wipes?

Makeup wipes are products intended for removing makeup and cleansing the face. Each wipe is soaked in cleansers that remove dirt from the face and their use does not require additional rinsing the face with water, which makes them very practical. You can carry them everywhere with you in your bag and simply wipe your face quickly before your skincare.

All of these are benefits that makeup wipes manufacturers talk about when they want to make them attractive to users. However, keep in mind that using makeup wipes remover is not the best choice on how to remove makeup for many different reasons.

Why should you avoid using makeup wipes in your skincare?

For starters, let’s take a look at how thoroughly makeup wipes manage to remove makeup. Although they are soaked in cleansers, even the best wipes for removing makeup cannot completely remove all impurities from the face.

One of the reasons is that the skin is not rinsed with water after them, and it is the water that allows the impurities to be removed from the skin. Second, not all makeup is soluble in the cleansers present in wipes. In order for everything to go off the skin, it is necessary to have both an oil and an aqueous phase that will dissolve different substances and help to remove them from the skin.

The various makeup wipes remover on the market have different effectiveness, and some of them are so weak that they mostly smear makeup on the skin, and that’s it. Even the best wipes for removing makeup may also not achieve the most ideal results.

Imagine applying your skincare products over these impurities resting on your skin. We don’t know about you, but we got chills. The skin will not be able to absorb any of these products, but all the ingredients will sit on the surface of the skin, together with the impurities: the perfect base for bacterial growth and breakouts. More chills.

Another thing about the makeup wipes…

Another disadvantage of makeup wipes remover is that they require us to be rough on our skin. And that’s never good. When we use them, we mostly pull and push the skin in different directions to thoroughly remove makeup. Not to mention the eye region in which the skin is particularly thin and requires us to be especially gentle. And that mascara sometimes just doesn’t want to go away! It may not seem like something important to you now, but think about how your skin will look in 20 or 30 years. If we treat our skin this way, it can contribute to the appearance of wrinkles and saggy skin over the years. So if you’re working on anti-aging, stay away from makeup wipes removers.

How to remove makeup: What should we use instead of makeup wipes?

If you want to know how to remove makeup thoroughly, clean your skin, and prepare it perfectly for the rest of your skincare, we suggest that you incorporate the double cleansing method into your routine. Instead of just using makeup wipes remover, this method involves cleansing the skin with two different products. 

It would be best if one of these is oil-based (cleansing oil or balm). You can do a cosmetic ingredients check first if you like.

The role of this product is to start the cleansing process, and then you should continue with the product based on water (foam, gel, micellar water) in order to remove oil residues and completely clean the skin from all impurities. You can choose any two products that work for you, but it is crucial that they together have the power to remove all makeup, sebum, and impurities so that the skin is perfectly cleansed and ready for hydration and care.

Recommended article: REVIEW: What makes the Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm a Bestseller?

What will happen to the skin if we sometimes use makeup wipes remover?

Of course, we do not want to go to extremes and tell you that it is a sin to use makeup wipes remover from time to time. 

If you decide to never use them — good for you, that would be our recommendation. However, if you came home late and do not feel rested enough to do a complete skincare routine, make wipes could come in handy. Better something than nothing, right? If you do this once or twice a week, and on all other days you have a skincare routine that suits you, your skin will not suffer.

In case you believe you’ve personally found one of the best wipes for removing makeup, you can use it occasionally. But make sure that you understand the basics of how to remove makeup — you must take care that all other steps ensure complete makeup removal, from thorough skin cleansing to the preparation of the rest of the skincare products.

Conclusion

Although makeup wipes are a very practical product that most busy people like, we hope this article has helped you understand why you should still consider some new makeup removal products. The double cleansing method can help you perfectly clean your skin, as well as get rid of pimples that have formed as a result of inadequate facial cleansing.

Besides, thoroughly cleansed skin will embrace all these phenomenal skincare ingredients much better and look more radiant and beautiful. You can still use makeup wipes remover from time to time, but we recommend that you gradually eliminate them from your skincare routine, until you are ready to tell them bye-bye forever.