How important it is to remove eye make up

Once you have mastered the art of make up, there's no looking back. It's great to rock new and different eye make up every now and then. However, removing the same can be quite a task. Losing eyelashes in the process can give anyone a fright. Sleeping with any make up on is a cardinal sin and can leave you with itchy, blood-shot eyes. That surely is not a pretty sight to wake up to.

Eye make up tends to become infected quickly and when you sleep with such make up on, the chances of catching the infection is higher. Most people love to sleep on their tummy, which means sleeping with your face on the pillow.

Rubbing against the pillow all night long means pushing the bacteria further into your eyes. Mascara, especially when it's waterproof, is the most difficult to take off. Tugging at your lashes will only lead to breakage and create other problems. Here's a little help:

How to remove make up:

1. The first and most important step: be gentle. The skin around your eyes is delicate and thinner than the rest of the face.

2. Dip a cotton ball in rose water or make up remover and place it on the eyes. Rose water is a coolant. You need to soak your lashes to loosen up the product. Do not start rubbing your lashes with the cotton ball immediately.

3. Wait for two to five minutes and then start rubbing the eyelids and eyelashes in small circular motions. Be gentle and do not put too much pressure.4. Now that the product has loosened up completely, use another cotton ball dipped in rose water or remover to wipe off the make up.

5. If you are an ardent fan of water proof make up then use a cotton ball dipped in olive oil as it's gentle yet strong enough to remove eye make up.

6. After removing the make up, wet your eyes with water and gently wash the area with tear-free baby shampoo. Baby shampoo is very gentle and will not make the eyes burn. Do not rub the eyes vigorously though and rub the lashes in the outward direction.

Dr Himanshu Mehta, opthalmologist

It's important to remember that make up consists of chemicals. So if you sleep with make up on, you might end up with a sty, pain and/ or infection. When the eye is exposed to chemicals over a prolonged period of time, the body will not tolerate it. Like everywhere else in the body, the eye too have pores that need to breath freely.

Keeping make up overnight clogs pores. When the pores get choked, the meibomian glands that line the eyelids (there are around 50 glands on the upper eyelid and 25 on the lower) can't secrete lipids. Meibomian glands are sebaceous glands that helps in keeping the eye's tear film intact.

The tear film is not mere water but is made up of three compounds namely: mucin, lipids and aqueous, which are necessary to maintain the tear film's stability. The meibomian glands are unable to secrete lipids that help in preventing the tear film from evaporating due to choked pores. This in turn results in sty formation and an infection.

Women who sleep without cleaning up mascara can risk staining the inner layer of their eye permanently. Another drawback of sleeping with your make up on is concretions in the conjunctiva. Concretions are calcium deposits and can cause irritation to the eye.

Mickey Contractor, make up artist

You need to remove your eye make up because firstly you are going to wake up looking like a raccoon. You will also notice that your lashes stick together if you have slept with your mascara on. Eye make up products are safe since their chemical content is minimal. If it's okay to put on your eye then obviously it's safe. However, sleeping with any make up on is bad be it lipstick, foundation or anything else.

Bharat Godambe, make up artist

Mascara, eyeliner and the likes have wax that can go inside the eyes. So you have to make sure to get it off 100 per cent. You must remove eye make up with a remover especially meant for the eyes. Cleansing milk does not remove eye make up completely. You can also use a few drops of Johnson's baby oil on a cotton pad to clean eye make up.