Have Acne? 3 Tips for Wearing Face Paint and Costume Makeup This Halloween

If you have sensitive or acne-prone skin, nothing can be quite as spooky as putting on oil-based face paint or makeup for Halloween. Notorious for causing rashes and further breakouts, face paint and costume makeup can make you want to hide inside from the trick or treaters. To help you enjoy the holiday without damaging your skin in the process, we have created a list of three tips for wearing face paint and costume makeup.
 
Wear a Primer
Makeup primers can be found at department stores, beauty stores, the grocery store, or even online. The number one reason to wear a makeup primer before applying face paint or costume makeup is to create a barrier between your skin and the product, which will reduce the likelihood that you’ll break out. Additionally, a primer will help your makeup and paint last longer, so you won’t have to reapply.

Don’t Share
You may think that you only need one face paint pallet to share between you and all your friends, but you should reconsider this idea. Just like regular makeup, face paint and costume makeup may harbor germs and bacteria which can spread from person to person during application— ultimately leading to acne breakouts. As a suggestion, we either encourage our patients not to share makeup at all or to clean their makeup with rubbing alcohol in between each use.

Wash It All the Way Off
If you are the type of person that rarely remembers to wash off makeup before bed, this tip may be especially hard for you to hear. Make sure that you wash your face paint and costume makeup all the way off before you hop into bed. The longer it sits on your skin, the more likely it will be to break you out.

Halloween shouldn’t be about your acne— it should be about having fun. Go all out this year and dress up as your favorite character— face paint included— but make sure that you follow the suggestions listed above to prevent against breakouts. To learn more about how you can fight acne or to schedule an appointment, contact Dermatology Institute & Skin Care Center.