After yesterday’s WEB WATCH post about the percentage of herpes infections in the US, we received a few questions about one of the CDC’s survey results that stated that more women than men suffered from herpes.
The question? “Why?”
While we know some men can be sleeping around with more than one partner, that certainly doesn’t mean that men are the sole means that the herpes virus can get spread around.
Leave it to more scientific studies to help Web Watch out when we need to know more about herpes in just a few days than we ever thought was reasonable.
That’s right – doctors spent a weekend afternoon at busy mall shops and drugstores to observe what women do at the cosmetics counters. And what did the women do? They stuck their hands and faces all over the sample makeup displays and tried out the various makeup and cosmetic products.
At the end of the day, the doctors tested those samples and found that MAKEUP SAMPLES AT COSMETICS COUNTERS WERE FILLED WITH E. COLI, HERPES, and STAPH.
Yes, women were purposefully applying a healthy amount of the herpes virus directly to their hands, eyes, and faces via the commonly-used makeup testers. Most women have difficulty sharing their own makeup with their friends, yet have no problem applying a commonly-used lipstick right on their own kisser.
The study showed that 100% of the sample makeups that were tested contained bacteria that could lead to infections. As one doctor said after seeing E. Coli in the test makeup sample: “E. Coli equals feces. That means someone went to the bathroom, didn’t wash their hands and then stuck their fingers in that moisturizer.”
See, ladies? Don’t go blaming men as being the only ones who don’t wash their hands after using the restroom.
So what should you do if you just have to try out that new MAC shade or Clinique mascara? Simple – do at the mall just as you would do at home, and sterlize anything that you think may have germs. Dipping a lipstick in some alcohol should do the trick, or insist on a single application tester or a disposable cotton swab.