Your Halloween Skin Survival Guide: The Dos and Don'ts of Halloween Makeup

If you’re planning an epic Halloween costume that involves applying layers of makeup to your face, take a moment to consider your skin.

Most of the makeup sold for Halloween is made by costume companies, not cosmetic companies. They tend to be far more concerned with cost than with quality. The cheaper varieties available at those pop-up costume superstores often use colors that are not FDA-approved and they can be loaded with waxes and oils that can seriously clog pores. Some can even be toxic.

Theater makeup, which is made from higher quality ingredients and designed to sit on skin for long periods, is a good option. If you’re prone to breakouts, mineral makeup is a great choice because it sits on top of skin rather than being absorbed into the skin. Drugstore makeup is an option as well. Look for water-based, oil-free, non-comedogenic varieties.

Don’t even think of using paint. Actor Buddy Ebsen was hospitalized after the studio used silver paint on his skin rather than cosmetic products for his role as the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz.”

And if your costume requires gluing something to your face, maybe you should come up with a different costume. This writer once used rubber cement to glue a beard to her face. Needless to say, this was a terrible, terrible mistake that resulted in a rashy, bumpy mess for days. If you aren’t willing to change your brilliant costume idea, be sure to look for theatrical glue designed for use on skin.

And whatever you do, don’t go to bed without washing your face. We highly recommend following your cleanse with a few swipes of Normalizing Tonic to remove any residual makeup and restore your skin’s pH level. Finish up with a soothing application of Allantoin Sedating and Hydrating lotion with revitalizing grape seed oil, aloe and zinc peptides to calm irritation and inflammation and boost cellular repair.

One more reminder, since Halloween is basically a macabre celebration of death and sugar, don’t overdo the candy or the alcohol. Remember that excess sugar is the cause of glycation, that ugly little process that happens when the sugar in your bloodstream binds with protein causing collagen breakdown that leads to wrinkles and sagging skin. That may just be the scariest part of Halloween.