How do I safely remove eye makeup after Lasik?

Removing makeup can result in injury to the eye in two ways. The first is chemical injury, often times the chemicals used to remove makeup can be caustic to the ocular surface. Most of theses chemicals are not exceedingly dangerous and would result in mild to moderate surface irritation and injury. However, unlike more harsh chemicals such as bleach or acid, the effects are often short lived and ultimately resolve with lubrication and treatment. The second form of injury from makeup removal is mechanical. Often times makeup scrubs are made with fabrics or paper products that can scratch the eye if they come in contact. Furthermore, this type of mechanical stress can also potentially disrupt a LASIK flap if it is not fully healed. This can even happen over a closed lid (although less likely), so being gentle with your scrubbing motion is important.Typically, I recommend to my patients that they wait at least one week before resuming eye makeup. I also recommend that when wearing eye makeup over the first several weeks, they exercise care to be gentle in both application and removal of eye makeup. If you do have concerns, or think you may have injured the flap, seek care immediately so that if the flap is damaged, it can be evaluated and treated appropriately and quickly.