July 20, 2017

Cleansing My Face and Avoiding Contact With Eyes is An Impossible Task

I’d just like to take a moment to rant over all the new cleansers releasing lately that have warnings on the back of the bottles that say, “Avoid Contact With Eyes” or “Do Not Get Into Eyes”.

This is me:

via GIPHY

What the hell are you talking about?!?!? Avoid contact with eyes? WHAT!?

Ok, so about freaking 80% of the latest cleansers I’ve tried and reviewed on Musings of a Muse all have some sort of warning about using the item near your eyes. Listen, we only have two eyes and I’m not willing to cause damage to them so, when they say avoid contact with eyes I do.

So, why am I ranting?

BECAUSE CLEANSING YOUR FACE AND AVOIDING YOUR EYES IS HARD!

All facial cleansers should be eye safe. It’s just logic that you’re going to wash around your eye area when cleansing your face. I use an eye makeup remover prior to washing my face but I tend to gently wash around my eyes to remove excess mascara or eye makeup that my remover might have missed. And sure, sometimes some of the cleanser gets in my eye at the time. I expect (and hope) that I’m not doing any long term damage to my eyes by using a simple facial cleanser around this area.

Now, some of us are too damn busy to read the back of a bottle and we just assume we can use our facial cleanser safely around our eyes. Others are as anal as I am and read the back of the bottle like our very lives depend upon it. I’m always rather disappointed to see warnings about eye use. I admit it kind of squeaks me out a bit. Even Garnier’s Micellar Water has a warning about avoiding contact with eyes.

What in the hell?

How do you create a product to remove waterproof mascara but tell people to avoid contact with eyes?!

It’s all so damn confusing.

So, please, skincare world, if you’re listening, please make sure our cleansers are eye safe.

Thank you!

How do you feel about this?

Do you take the warnings serious or just ignore them?

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • kjh

    You said it all. That is patently ridiculous. I think it comes out of a cover-your-ass manouevre (sp?) on the part of the cos. There is probably a threshold of reactions that the FDA looks for in order to deem an ingredient eye safe vs. not, as well as certain ‘banned’ ingredients. The EU and Asia are playing by a totally different set of rules, which only muddies the matter. (Benzyl salicylate, 7 safety on cosdna and I know I say this all too often…is unacceptable in EU, but fine here. WTF?) Cos don’t want lawsuits, so they post a warning. You might as well put a ‘use at your own risk’ on everything. Garnier blue top is not eye safe? Since forever? Doubt that. If it is not eye safe, then what the expletive deleted good is it anyway? IDK what the suspect ingredients are, but will cosdna that one. It took me 2 years to find a remover that worked and I could tolerate. And let’s not get into color pigments….

    • Isabella Muse

      Yeah, blue garnier, waterproof which says on the bottle “removes even waterproof mascara” has a warning on the back of the bottle. It’s like REALLY? I agree. It is the cover your ass movement! A lot of it stems from all these lawsuits popping up lately like the WEN, Apricot Scrub, etc ones!

  • kjh

    So, I cosdna’d garnier blue top. It has one safety = 3, cyclopentasiloxane (sp?) which is an emollient and a solvent. The rest is ‘fine.’ Not that 3 is bad. So, by all means let us continue to use the fragrance modifier and/or chemical sunscreen BS that is a known immune disrupter and gets a 7 safety warning. But slap a warning on a micellar water. Maybe we all need those cloths. Never be ‘too damn busy.’ This is a caveat emptor (buyer beware) world. Remember, they have far better lawyers (who told them to put the warning on there) than we peons do, anyway.

  • kimkats

    I never bother to use “regular” cleansers on my eye area b/c I always use eye MU remover to get that stuff off, but yeah… WTH is it with cleansers that can’t be used all over the face?? that’s just nuts. I suspect there are some ingredients that might be irritating to the eyes, so they put that warning on there, but a face cleanser is supposed to clean your face, of which your eyes are a part. So why use the ingredients that are problematic? Prolly cos not using them would cost 2 cents a gallon more… =:-x

  • Michelle

    It’s all liability stuff. If you got a small amount into eyes I’m sure you’d be safe, but they have to state it on labels. If someone assumed it was okay to dump a ton of stuff in their eyes and then sue after they burn their eyes out – because nothing was stated on the label, they’d be out a fortune. Protection against stupid people is all.

    • Sonia

      It burns like hell. I did not dump any in my eye, just lathered on my hands, but somehow…it did get in my right eye. Nothings removed the sting. No water, no visine, noting works. Suffering….hope it doesn’t cause permanent damage.

  • Carol

    This is exactly why I switched to cleansing oils and never looked back. I want a cleanser that can take off ALL my makeup, not just the stuff on my face and then having to use a different one for your eyes? No thanks! Such a waste of time and money. With oils, you can use them on your eyes no problem and they dissolve waterproof mascara like a dream. This is a great post because I’m sure everyone feels this way! Why put out a product you can’t use in your eyes? Makes you wonder if it is safe for your face, ya know?

  • Andi

    As already stated it’s the litigatious nature of our current society. They have to put the warnings on as a CYA. I used to make soap and bath products, which I sold at craft fairs. When it got to the point I had to put warnings that “bath oil” could make the tub slippery I stopped. There was no point in getting sued if someone slipped.

    • Isabella Muse

      jeez. that’s horrible. I mean seriously, slipping when using oil is common sense. Be careful duh!

  • Jane

    I’m getting rid of Britta
    I’m getting rid of the B
    (She’s a GD B)

    I hate this caveat. Why don’t they say something with greater specificity, like, “incidental contact is safe, but try not to get too much in your eyes” or something like that. I occasionally use Johnson’s baby soap in my eyes as I have a history of eye infections, but I like to use cleansers like Glossier’s Milky Jelly so I don’t have to worry at all.

  • susan tunis

    I use purity by philosophy on my eyes, It takes off mascara eyeliner, everything, All makeup comes off with this. I feel it is the best ever.

  • Denise

    I don’t use facial cleanser on my eyes, so it’s really not an issue for me. I use a separate cleanser that completely removes my eye makeup.

  • Nuri

    You typically avoid the eye area with a face wash because the area around the eyes are more delicate than the rest of your face. It’s better to use a make-up wipe or make-up remover for your eye area, then cleanse the rest of your face with a face wash. Also might be because.. if you get that stuff in your eye, it burns like a mother. Just my 2 cents.

  • Gabriel A. DeBONILLA

    Great post and I totally understand where you’re coming from! I would like to add my thoughts on this annoying thing.

    First of all, I don’t think reaching for a specific, dedicated eye make-up, or even regular make-up remover for that matter is at all necessary. I’m a big believer in all-in-one products and I believe people have been led to believe to buy more products than they need. Eye make-up remover as a first step is an option, not a necessity, and just comes down to personal preference for some people.

    Eye make-up can and should be removed with a regular facial cleanser. Water when used with a water-soluble cleanser reduces friction/surface tension, and the hands slip and glide over the face and eye area quickly and seamlessly, so there is no swiping, pulling, or tugging involved which is what happens when you use an eye-makeup remover/regular make-up remover on a cotton pad, tissue or a disposable wipe. Wiping over the eye area with make-up remover no matter how gently stretches and pulls at the delicate elastin in the skin. This is not good in the long run and in my opinion, quickens the pace for collagen/elastin loss in this delicate area.

    Water-soluble cleansers completely do away with the need to wipe off ANY makeup. That is their inherent function AND convenience!

    First of all, all facial cleansers should be mild, gentle, AND thorough! There are only so many ingredients that can cleanse the skin and remove make-up and the mild cleansing agents/surfactants in most facial cleansers don’t affect the eyes any differently than eye make-up/ regular make-up removers do. So technically you absolutely CAN use facial cleansers, and face washes over the eye area and that includes removing eye make-up. This is why I personally think water-soluble cleansing oils/balms that splash off with water ( you don’t need to wipe it off) are a saving grace because everything can be gently dissolved and then rinsed off the skin at the basin or shower. So convenient & QUICK!

    What should be avoided near the eye area understandably are the kind of cleansers that contain scrubbing particles, usually found in exfoliating cleansers, facial scrubs, etc. Also, cleansers containing strong actives like AHAs, BHAs, LHAs, PHAs, Benzoyl Peroxide, and fruit acids like Lemon extract for example can all sting the eye area. Cleansers that contain irritating ingredients like Menthol, Peppermint Oil, Eucalyptus, and a plethora of essential oils also can have the potential to sting or aggravate the delicate eye area and should be avoided.

    In Summary, you absolutely can use a facial cleanser or a face wash over the eye area, just be sure it is a mild & gentle formula that doesn’t contain needless irritants that sting!

    • Anjum Malhotra

      Gabriel, since you mention using a gentle face wash for all parts of the face, do you know of any brands you would recommend that you can safely use on your eyes, too?

      Thanks!

  • Cat

    Yes!! Even when not washing off eye makeup and keeping eyes closed, some residue inevitably gets in and burns like the Dickens! I always try to get leaping bunny products to save defenseless creatures from being tortured, but every single one hurts my eyes. I use fractionated coconut oil to remove eye makeup. It works wonderfully, but the only facial cleanser I have found is sadly made by Galderma – a company that hires out for testing so can claim it doesn’t do animal testing.