It’s late, and you’ve just come home from a party. Or, you’re exhausted after back to back parent-teacher conferences, and an entire day of watching the kids. Instead of washing your makeup off and cleansing your face, you pop out a makeup wipe and rubbing the days look off into the little towel. 

Or you’re like me, and you fall asleep in your makeup regularly, which is definitely not recommended.

But you’re not actually doing your precious face a favor when you use our drugstore or big brand makeup remover to clean your face. In fact, your face isn’t even getting cleaned. Think of it more like smearing your makeup into oblivion, but your face is now coated in leftover makeup reside and a ton of chemicals (most likely the ones listed below):

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate– a cleansing agent that is found in plenty of household consumer goods that creates foam. The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database (a go-to list for anyone concerned about chemical ingredients) lists SLS as a hazard linked to neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption.

Diazolidinyl Urea-  this is a chemical preservative that is known to cause contact allergies on the skin. It also releases toxic formaldehyde, so regulatory agents have limited this ingredient to a concentration of less than 0.5% in products for this reason. Still…formaldehyde?!

Benzalkonium Chloride– this is a chemical surfactant and preservative hiding away in your wipes. It is a known allergen, and has been shown to cause immune and respiratory issues. This ingredient is especially dangerous to individuals with asthma.