Can You Wear Mascara With A Stye?

black girl touching her eye, suffering from a stye

Can you wear mascara with a stye? The short answer is, no. You should not wear mascara with a stye. A stye can form on your upper or lower eyelid. It is caused by inflammation and infection.

A stye usually goes away within a few days even without doing anything to it. Applying a compress on it can help relieve the pain. If you get a stye, you may be wondering if you can wear mascara and other eye makeup with it, well we are going to answer that today!

Can Mascara Cause A Stye?

A stye can come from many different things, including makeup. Makeup tends to grow bacteria over time, especially mascara. Your lashes and skin have bacteria already on them, so using the mascara and placing it on your lashes, then back in, will cause more build-up of bacteria with every use.

Bacteria grow in warm moist places and mascara is the perfect living space for them. If you use a mascara that happens to expire then you can cause a stye that way. If you use a mascara that has bacteria, then you put it to your eye, then the bacteria will immediately travel to your eye and can cause irritation and infection.

This usually causes a stye. Be sure to pay attention to expiration dates on products. There will be a little symbol on all products that show the life of them once they’ve been opened. Be sure to replace your makeup items once they’ve expired.

Can I Wear Eye Makeup With A Stye?

Can you wear makeup with a stye? No, I wouldn’t risk it. I would recommend waiting until the stye goes away. Typically a stye is caused by bacteria entering the eye and getting infected.

This can be caused by eye makeup, including mascara. When you get a stye, you may not know exactly which product is expired and caused the stye.

You should be safe and discontinue use of all eye makeup including eyeshadows, eyeliners, and mascaras. Give your eyes time to recover and get rid of the infection, because you never know, you might apply the product again that gave you the stye.

Can I Wear Mascara If I Have A Stye?

If you have a stye, you should not wear mascara. Mascara is the top makeup product that can cause styes in your eye, or other infections. Bacteria can build up in the mascara tube and then when applied, it will expose your eye to the bacteria.

If you already have a stye, then you could infect it more by continuing to use mascara or any eye makeup. You should check your product’s expiration date and try to figure out which product may have caused the stye. Continuing usage of the product could cause further damage.

Can I Wear Mascara If I Have A Chalazion?

A chalazion is a red infected bump on the eyelid. Chalazions can start as styes, so they are much worse. You may have redness, tenderness, swelling, and blurry vision.

A chalazion is caused by a clogged oil gland. If you have a chalazion then you need to be careful with the area and don’t irritate it. You should discontinue use of any mascara while you have a chalazion.

The application of any products to the infected area could make it much worse. Do not use mascaras or any eye products while you have a chalazion.

What’s The Difference Between A Stye And A Chalazion?

Most of us know of a stye more than a chalazion. We often assume that a little bump around our eyelid is a stye, but it could be a chalazion. They look quite similar to each other, however, they are different.

A stye is typically caused by bacteria entering into the eye and causing an infection. It is usually on the edge of your eyelid and it is very painful. It can swell up and cause a lot of redness and discomfort.

It can sometimes cause the entire eyelid to swell up. You could experience a scratchy feeling or crustiness around the eye. A chalazion is not usually painful, however, the physical bump of it will be much larger than a stye would be.

It is caused by a clogged oil gland and is usually farther back in the eye than a stye is. You will rarely have an entire swollen eyelid. You may experience blurry vision if the chalazion is pushing too much on the eye.

How Do You Get Rid Of A Stye Or Chalazion?

The main thing you can do to get rid of a stye or chalazion is a warm compress. Use a warm washcloth and place it on the eye for 10-1 5 minutes and repeat this 3-5 times per day.

This will help alleviate the swelling which will help bring down the pain and tenderness. You can get antibiotics prescribed for it as well if you find that the pain is too uncomfortable.

If a chalazion is too swollen then a doctor may recommend giving you a steroid shot to help bring down the swelling, which will fix your blurry vision if this was a symptom you were having.

In a similar instance, a doctor may drain the area if needed. Usually, this will happen if the stye or chalazion will not go away or if the blurry vision lasts for an extended time. This will also alleviate swelling and pressure which can cause pain and blurry vision.

How Long After A Stye Can I Wear Mascara?

You can wear mascara as soon as the stye is gone. We would recommend waiting a few days and taking some precautions before starting to use eye makeup again.

You should check all expiration dates of your products to ensure you will not use the product again that caused the stye. You can throw out your old mascaras and replace them with fresh new ones.

You can also disinfect any of your makeup products to ensure that there isn’t any bacteria present. The consensus is that you can continue usage of mascara after getting rid of a stye but you should pay attention and take precautions to prevent further infection.

How Do I Know When A Stye Is Healed?

Without treatment, a stye tends to last for 1 to 2 weeks, until it resolves on its own. However, treatment makes it possible to get rid of a stye in 2 to 4 days.

To help speed up recovery, refrain from using eye makeup or contact lenses until the stye is gone. Typically if a stye is starting to heal then it’s because the bump that was there has popped and released pressure.

When this happens, there will be a lot less pain and discomfort. There will be no swelling or redness. Overall you will feel a lot more comfort in the area where the stye was.

What’s The Best Way To Prevent Styes?

To prevent a stye you have to be sure you are disinfecting and keeping bacteria away from your eye. If you wear makeup you should always pay attention to the expiration date.

If you are not sure about the expiration date do not use it. Every product has a little symbol on the packaging that tells you the lifespan of the product, so you should get a new product when that one expires.

This will ensure that bacteria will not grow and the ingredients used in the product do not go bad. You should make sure not to share any makeup products with another person.

Sharing makeup products can transfer bacteria from one person to the other. Be sure to disinfect any items if they were used by someone else. Remember to always remove your makeup fully at the end of the night.

Leaving makeup on your eyes overnight can cause a buildup of bacteria in your eye, causing a stye. Be sure to pay attention to expiration dates, taking your makeup off at night, and not sharing products. Following these tips will help prevent styes or chalazions.

Final Thoughts: Can You Wear Mascara With A Stye?

If you are currently suffering from a stye, do not wear eye makeup. Do yourself a favor and just toss all of the eye makeup you were using when the infection appeared.

That makeup is more than likely harboring more of the same bacteria. To avoid another nasty infection, get rid of it and replace it with new, clean eye makeup.

Don’t squeeze! Everyone wants to get rid of a stye as quickly as possible, and while we understand the temptation to squeeze, don’t give in. Squeezing your stye can push the infection further into your eye and cause additional damage.

To avoid this, avoid touching your eyes until your stye has gone away completely. Instead, use warm compresses (washcloths soaked in hot water) to keep your eyes lubricated and reduce pain. Your stye should heal after about a week.

Until then, you might feel like it’s always there and not going away. But trust us: It will go away! If the stye doesn’t heal on its own, use antibiotic-containing eyedrops or steroid eye ointment. You should also see a doctor about any pain that lingers.

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Categorized as Makeup

By Cierra Tolentino

Cierra Tolentino is a beauty writer at Kintegra Research. She loves keeping people up-to-date with the latest beauty trends in skincare, hair care, and makeup. Finding answers to tough questions is her thing. When she has free time you can find her chasing down a clumsy toddler and obsessively drinking tea.