Model Pens Open Letter To Makeup Artists, Makeup Lovers After Contracting Eye Infection

Having a good hygiene is as important as eating the right food to protect yourself from infection. Whether it's in things you wear, touch or use, it is always important to make sure it's bacteria-free. Just recently, an Australian model took to her social media to share how a dirty makeup brush caused her to develop an eye infection and the importance of practicing good hygiene.

According to Teen Vogue, Anthea Page, recently posted a photo on her official Instagram that she contracted a staph infection of the eye after getting her makeup done at a fashion show, where makeup artists used brushes that were not properly cleaned.

She captioned her post on Instagram to call the attention of makeup artists about the importance of practicing proper hygiene. She wrote: "I have just been on a fashion show job for the past 4 days and unfortunately, even though I had observed unhygienic practices and confronted the qualified artists (who I will not name) I still ended up taking home a nasty eye infection from fashion weekend."

"My message is not intended to critique the women who I trusted with my eye and skin health but to raise awareness of the importance of hygiene practices amongst artists," Page continued. "If you are getting your makeup done or using any testers, check everything has been cleaned to your standard even if someone scoffs at your concerns."

Bethanee Schlosser, M.D., director of the Women's Skin Health Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, tells SELF that we all have bacteria, including staph, or Staphylococcus aureus, living on the surface of our skin and in our intestinal tract, mouth, and nose. But when we're exposed to other people's bacteria, it can cause an infection. "The risk is always greater if there's an open sore already, or an irritation of the skin," Schlosser says

Page penned the open letter as a wake-up call to all makeup artists and makeup lovers out there, whether testing brushes at a makeup counter or using your own to do your makeup, to make sure to keep things clean. Live Science reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning makeup artists as well as makeup enthusiasts against sharing makeup brushes, even with a good friend. "Another person's germs may be hazardous to you," the FDA says.

Meanwhile, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center, when two or more people share the same brushes or eyeliners, a process called "cross-contamination" can take place, meaning that bacteria from someone's skin can get on a brush, which could then infect another person. "The main danger with sharing makeup is passing on an infection like viral conjunctivitis or pink eye," Rochester says. "It's a horrible idea," Dr. Doris Day, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said about sharing brushes. "You shouldn't share makeup brushes or makeup even," Day said.

Day also said that if you get your makeup done, it is best to take your own tools with you, as well as your own makeup. If you are one who gets your makeup done by a makeup artist, you should make sure that the makeup artist is using the products only on you, and is cleaning the brushes in between.