I’m a makeup artist – here’s the major mistake beauty professionals make that can put YOUR health at risk

A make-up artist has warned of a compelling issue to be aware of when hiring a beauty professional for major events, revealing how it can 'compromise' a client's health and safety.

Carissa St. Claira makeup artist from Illinois, shared the video to her TikTok account, where she often posts content sharing her cosmetics expertise, as well as “day in the life” vlogs.

In the clipwhich was posted in October, St. Clair addressed the issue as she went through a list of things she would never do as a professional makeup artist, revealing why using dirty brushes and applicators is a serious health hazard.

“I would never, and I repeat, never use the same dirty brushes on every client or apply cream products directly to the face,” she said.

“This should go without saying, but you have no idea how many artists I've seen, on TikTok, or just in real life, doing things that absolutely drive me crazy.”

Makeup brushes used on the skin and in various products can transfer everything from bacteria to dead skin cells and oil.

This means that bacteria are transferred both into the product and onto the faces of others and can lead to irritation or even infection.

Another practice she called “absolutely disgusting” was when other makeup artists applied mascara straight from the tube to the client.

“If you're a makeup artist doing these things right now, please clean up your sanitation because you're putting the health and safety of your clients at risk, and it's also just extremely unprofessional and disgusting,” St. Clair said.

Like makeup brushes, mascara wands pick up dirt, skin cells and bacteria – so the same problem applies when reusing these tools between clients.

The third thing on her list of things she would never do as a makeup artist had to do with making sure you got a rock-solid contract before the big day.

“I would never book a bridal party without a deposit and a signed contract,” St. Clair said in the clip.

“If you have paid a deposit and signed a contract, it means you are committed to providing services on that date.”

St. Clair claimed that having this contract was not only beneficial for the makeup artist, but also for the client because they wanted to make sure you would show up on their special day.

“You have no idea how many times brides have canceled weddings and I can't rebook them because sometimes it's literally happened two weeks before the wedding,” she explained.

For example, the make-up artist admitted that she once had her lighting damaged by children during an event, but this was not included in her contract at the time.

Now she has it in writing, which means if it were to happen again, she would be reimbursed by the client.

Afterwards, St. Clair admitted that she had to teach herself not to do this.

“If a customer doesn't like their makeup, I would never take it personally,” she stated.

The makeup artist admitted that she took a client who was unhappy with his or her appearance “so personally” but is now learning how to get over it.

She said that when push came to shove, makeup artists could do a number of things to prevent this from happening in the first place.

“You want to have a full consultation, you want to ask as many questions as possible, you want to make sure they know it's okay for them to tell you that if they don't like something you can change it,” she explained.

“It's really no big deal, it's makeup, it comes off and if they don't like it, it's literally not the end of the world.” And it doesn't define you as an artist.'

The makeup artist added that sometimes it's not even your fault because some people will just never be happy with their appearance.

She used the example of a recent client she had, a mother of the bride who was unhappy with her foundation color, which St. Clair didn't take personally.

'Making sure your clients feel comfortable enough with you and not telling them anything they can say might hurt your feelings, that you want them to be happy, they will be more likely to say something and are more likely to tell you what they love, what they hate, what they want to change.”

“Because at the end of the day, my job is to make sure they're happy when they get out of my chair,” she continued. 'They are my walking marketing.'

And last but not least, the makeup artist revealed that she would never buy every product she saw on TikTok — although she admitted it was something she was still working on.

“It's so hard not to buy stuff for your equipment because you're always thinking, 'I miss this, oh my God, I need this,'” she explained.

'At the end of the day, I don't need another eyeshadow palette that's made up of a bunch of neutrals, because guess what? I already have it in my kit…'

She explained that if you always spent your money on new, viral products on social media, you wouldn't always make a profit.

In the comments section of her post, many fellow makeup artists and clients chimed in with their own experiences in the industry.

“I showed up at a wedding venue and there was no one there and when I called her she said there was no wedding anymore,” one make-up artist claimed.

Another shared: 'I had a client clean up her makeup and it really broke me. That was the first time since the beginning of my career that this happened to me.'

'My makeup artist canceled the appointment for me a month before my wedding and used her assistant to cancel for me. And she lied about why she canceled,” one customer complained.

In another video Posted in September, St. Clair revealed a list of things makeup artists wish they could tell their clients.

One of these secrets was that there was 'no such thing' as a 'crease-free concealer' or under-eye concealer.

“If you have wrinkles under your eyes before you put on makeup, like me, they will be there after you put on makeup,” St. Clair said.

'Don't be fooled by social media and companies that advertise otherwise.'