[Routine Help] Skin damage caused by expired makeup - solutions for when new products aren't feasible?
Almost 3 weeks ago, I had an incident where (possibly expired, not entirely certain) makeup was used on me to do a full face look, for a practical lesson we had at the beauty school I've been attending since the beginning of the year.
I'm not sure what caused it exactly, seeing as we used a primer, concealer and setting spray that the girl i was partnered with brought from her own makeup kit (she said she bought it specifically for that class bc she was running on her own things)
regardless, (even though I'd used the same makeup decanted from the classroom several times before then for several weeks,) when I got home 4 hours later, my skin was red, itchy, hurt to put pressure on, my eyes slightly swollen and my lips cracked and flaking under the makeup.
I took pictures and confirmed with several friends who are also at the same beauty school, but in a different course more focused on skincare/dermatology, that I'd definitely suffered from a "skin barrier breakdown"
since then, I've tried being gentle with my skin because i can't afford to shell out money for all kinds of sensitive skincare products or a dermatologist visit.
every area on my face besides my mouth, eyes and the corners of my nose is still its regularly oily-Ness, but everything else is almost painfully dry now, no matter how much hydration i try to put back in with Vaseline, aloe Vera and Shea butter skin products we have laying around the house.
I've stopped exfoliating and using a toner entirely since the incident, and at most I wash my face with my usual oil control cleanser, but focus more on hydrating products and SPF use, since i heard its important to keep the skin as sun protected as possible because its extra sensitive now.
I also can't wash my face twice a day anymore because its simply gets too painfully tight/dry afterwards, and itches a LOT (i could double cleanse daily with no issues before this happened)
I'm mostly just incredibly confused abt what to do because the internet naturally gave me both too much information and yet not enough, and I just want my old skin back, being so dry and sensitive fucking SUCKS 😭😩
Posted Apr 5, 2026, 2:55 AM UTC