Allure.com had an interesting article recently that inspired me to reassess my daily routine. According to their report, doctors are taking off their makeup or giving it a complete pass so that their masks can be disinfected and reused.

I've noticed my lipstick smudged on the inside of my mask and didn't think much about it. After all I just throw it in the washing machine, but the more you wash your cloth face mask, scarf or bandana, the weaker the fibers can become and that leads to the mask becoming less effective at protecting you. I'm going to throw in a reminder for you to wash your reusable cloth masks after every use in your washing machine at the highest temperature you can, then dry it in the dryer on high. Got to kill those germs. If you don't have a washing machine and dryer, ironing the cloth masks on high will disinfect them.

The bigger issue for health care workers is conserving masks. Many hospitals collect used N95's and surgical masks to sterilize and reuse them, however if they have makeup, sunscreen, cologne, moisturizer or anything like that on them, the masks can not be disinfected because they are contaminated.

I get it, think about that waxy lipstick smear inside a papery mask. It can't be washed off, so the mask can't be reused. That makeup also interferes with the masks ability to filter out nasty pathogens in the air. If you need to apply anything on your face in the mask area, make sure that it absorbs into your skin completely.

That said, go wild with the mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow and brow product if you want. It might give you a little boost and you won't be soiling a mask. Eew, that sounds gross.

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