Kim Kardashian Sleeps In Her Makeup – So Is It Really That Bad For You?

Kim Kardashian is known for both breaking and making beauty rules. Case in point: she recently told* The Cut*, that she regularly commits a cardinal beauty sin - she sleeps in her makeup.

"Charlotte Tilbury is my hero because she has never let her husband see her without makeup on. She sleeps with her makeup on. She's my idol," Kim said.

"She's inspired me when I am really lazy and I can't do my makeup the next day, so I'll sleep in my makeup. I know that's probably the worst advice, but she has all the magic creams to put on the next day to make up for it."

She's not wrong, sleeping in your makeup is a terrible idea - not in the least because it'll ruin your pillows. But she's not alone - a quick Google shows that there are plenty of us wondering just how bad it is to sleep in your makeup, and some people even claim it has skincare benefits.

One theory is that sleeping in your makeup will help when you've got a spot, because it will help bring the spot to the surface of your skin, and so you can extract it more easily. Which is about a good an idea as a chocolate teapot.

For the record, sleeping in your makeup firstly means your face isn't clean. A dirty face isn't a happy face. The makeup will block your pores, so any oil your skin produces will get trapped, so spots. Also, the exfoliation that happens when you cleanse won't occur, so dead skin cells will also clog your pores, as well as the makeup itself.

Then, we're assuming if you're not cleansing your face, you aren't moisturising it either. Which means your skin will be dry, and in panic mode will produce more oil to try and compensate. Lou Riby, MD of Elemental Herbology, added "All day your skin has been fighting environmental factors such as pollution and weather and so needs a neutral environment to help repair itself. Wearing make-up hinders this process."

As for the whole idea that sleeping in makeup draws out spots? "It really is much better to cleanse the skin, apply a blemish product or a deep cleanse mask." There you have it.

If you really can't be bothered to take your makeup off in the evenings with a three-step-routine (and really, few of us can) at the very least give it a cursory once-over with a face wipe. Your future skin (and pillowcases) will thank you.

There probably won’t be any drastic effects if you sleep in your make-up as a one off. However it’s important to remember that all the grime and toxins from the day are still sitting on your face and so cleansing before bed will not only have a brightening effect to the skin it will also help you sleep as you incorporate it into your evening routine.

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