Can your lipstick give you herpes? Most test lipstick is filled with bacteria

Can your lipstick give you herpes? Most test lipstick is filled with bacteria

From Healthy Black Women

Starkeema Greenidge is suing Makeup Artist Cosmetics (MAC) because she says that she contracted herpes from applying one of their lipsticks that was endorsed by Rihanna at one of her concerts.

Apparently Greenidge, 28, went to a MAC pop-up counter in Brooklyn, New York, where a representative applied the lipstick “RiRi Woo” to her top lip.

Greenidge said she asked the assistant if the lipstick tester was clean and the woman said that it was. The assistant then apparently told Greenidge to “press her lips together and spread the lipstick around.”

However, two days later, Greenidge went to the doctor because she had a cold sore on her lip and the doctor said she had herpes.  Greenidge, who couldn’t work for two weeks because of the infection, is now suing MAC, for emotional distress and loss of earnings.

MAC Cosmetics was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo in 1984. It launched its “Rihanna” lipstick in May this year.

Apparently testers are a dangerous way of trying out some new lipstick or eye shadow that you like because they could have been used by thousands of people. If a previous customer had some kind of disease and you tried the same tester after-wards, then you run the risk of catching that disease.

According to experts, more than 50 percent of all testers are contaminated with bacteria such as: staph, strep and E. coli bacteria from feces and some have the virus that causes herpes.

This means that when you try a tester you are putting yourself at risk of getting infections like pink eye, herpes or even hepatitis.

So what’s the safest way to try out a new lipstick or eye shadow?

First of all, make sure that the tester has been properly cleaned. If its lipstick, make sure it has been dipped in alcohol and the top layer has been scraped off.

For lip or eyeliners, make sure that the pencil has been sharpened, because the potential virus will be on the surface layer.

According to experts, most contamination is found on Saturdays so make sure you try it out on a weekday. Apparently the least contaminated times are Friday and Wednesday morning.

Stay away from open jars or pots that people could have put their dirty fingers in.

Unless you’re absolutely positive that the sample you’re trying is clean, always try it on the back of your hands and not your eyes or lips.