“Foundation, when applied, causes dry skin and clogged pores, potentially leading to acne and other problems. People with dry skin are most at risk,” said Dr. Suho Lee, a professor in the Department of Counseling, Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University in San Antonio, Texas.
We did not expect to see the huge impact of one layer of foundation on the skin after only 20 minutes of exercise
There is a growing trend for people to wear makeup while exercising, but little research has been done on this topic.
A recent private sector survey of 2,201 people in the UK reported that up to 60 percent of gym-goers wear make-up on their face to the gym.
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The researchers hypothesized that cosmetics could partially or completely block pores and—because pores aid evaporation, perspiration, and ridding the skin of debris—that makeup would negatively affect skin health.
They were interested in studying college teens because they don’t have to remove makeup before exercising.
The research team recruited 43 healthy college students, 20 men and 23 women.
The participants first washed their faces with a cleanser before the researchers measured skin variables in different areas of their faces, including pore size and sebum production.
They then applied the chemist brand’s creme foundation to their foreheads and under-eye areas. The lower half of the face was left without makeup as a control.
The students then ran on a treadmill for 20 minutes – five minutes at 4.8 km/h (3 mph), 10 minutes at 6.4 km/h and five minutes at 8 km/h.
Before and after the exercise, a scanning device records skin moisture levels, oil levels and pore sizes on different parts of the face.
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The results were surprising.
“We didn’t expect to see the huge impact of one layer of foundation on the skin after just 20 minutes of exercise,” says Lee.
Increased post-workout moisture in both non-makeup and make-up areas; but there was a greater increase in moisture in the make-up areas.
“A higher level of moisture on the makeup side of the skin is evidence of poor evaporation,” he says.
Allowing pores to expand to allow sweat to escape is important for helping the body regulate temperature during exercise, especially when heart rate and metabolism are elevated. Therefore, the skin plays an important role in releasing excess body heat.
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Another notable finding was that pore size increased in makeup-free skin after exercise, but not significantly in makeup-wearing skin. This suggests that wearing makeup can block pores.
Oil levels also increased in make-up-free areas and decreased in make-up areas, suggesting that it may be difficult to maintain appropriate oil levels on the skin when make-up is worn.
Lee says the foundation may have interfered with the skin’s ability to regulate oil levels.
“For skin health, it’s best to exercise without makeup,” said corresponding author Dr. Dongsun Park of the Korea National University of Education.
The team now hopes to expand the study to include other types of foundation that contain different ingredients – such as oil-free formulas – as well as sunscreens to determine their effects on the skin during exercise.
