By Rita Chioma

There are certain special beauty products that should be very personal to you- and you alone!  Even though the person you are sharing these products with may not have a visible cold sore, they may have other bacteria that could be passed off to you.

Here are 5  products you should steer clear of sharing:

 1. Pressed foundation

 Dry powders don’t hold onto bacteria, but that doesn’t mean you can’t transfer bacteria from one person to another, this is possible if you’re using a sponge to touch up areas around your mouth or eyes. The only safe way to let your girlfriend use your pressed powder, should she need to touch up her shiny forehead in a ‘Selfie emergency’, is to spray the powder with an alcohol-based spray (like a cosmetic sanitizer mist) and then give her a clean makeup brush to use and have her swipe it over pressed powder once.

2. Make-up brushes

 It feels great to use your friend’s powder brush because it bring your make-up to perfection (Wrong!). While acne is an internal skin condition, you can get break-outs  by using someone else’s brushes and cross-contaminating bacteria. The only safe way to share your brushes, is to use a fresh brush or spray your used brush with alcohol to kill bacteria or shampoo them weekly (and then condition them so they last a long time).

3. Mascara

Do you use your mascara and sometimes feel like you are about to have a boil on your lid? What most ladies are not aware of is that, your favorite mascara can harbour bacteria and viruses that are easily transmissible, like conjunctivitis. Since your eyes don’t have the same layers of protection that your skin does, it is more susceptible to infections like pink eye (Commonly known as ‘Apollo”).

4. Razors

Shared razors will most likely give you infections. Most people know this already but for those who are not aware, it is totally wrong to share razors. Razors are important to not share, even though stainless steel doesn’t carry bacteria for very long, you can still transfer warts or genital herpes,if you or your friend has either by someone using your razor or by using someone else’s.

Even worse, razors can cut you and draw blood or fluids, which leave bacteria on the blade after rinsing, making you more vulnerable to a staph infection, hepatitis, or blood-borne viruses (like HIV, although it’s highly unlikely).

5. Lipstick or balm

Lipsticks and balms are the commonest beauty product shared but they are a hard no to sharing unless you stash an alcohol spray or wipe in your purse to sanitize them. So, it is so important to use your own lip products, because if you pass your favorite lipstick around from girl to girl and you or your friend has the virus, you could be transferring bacteria or HSV-1 and never know it. And then you won’t know if you have the capability to develop a cold sore of fever blister until you have it, which is unfortunately too late.