It’s christmas party seasons so it’s that time of year that people put on their party clothes. For females that also includes make-up. This and a recent makeup mark on my gi has inspired me to put onto paper one of my biggest BJJ pet hates. Wearing makeup whilst doing BJJ! Advanced warning that this one things that always annoys me so this might be a slightly ranting post!

I would like to say as a partial disclaimer that I understand the need to look good on the mats and feel comfortable as a female but when it comes to makeup I really struggle to get it! There are two main (and pretty obvious) reasons why you should avoid it:

It’s actually not good for your skin!
Don’t just take my word for it even the beauty bible that is Vogue magazine says that wearing makeup to work out is bad for your skin! When you exercise you get hot and start sweating. When we sweat the pores of our skin relax and get a little larger. Now sweat and makeup at best will lead to more than panda eyes and streaky foundation as if you mix in sweat, heat, open pores and make up gunk then ultimately your skin will get blocked up. This leads to either a spot our break, blackheads or just dull rough looking skin. Seriously our skin has enough to deal with thanks to all that lovely sweat and close body contact. You don’t need to give it any more work!

It’s disrespectful
It’s bad enough to get makeup on your gi when it’s your own but it’s really disrespectful to your training partners. Sweat imprints are one things but leaving an imprint of your face on their gi in makeup just isn’t on. At competition is even worse. One of the main reasons I have two competitions gis with me isn’t just for the IBJJF gi checking but in case I end up with makeup on my gi. If your gi isn’t clean then you can be asked to change it or risk being disqualified and I have seen girls have to change their gi because of makeup marks. Whilst it might be the ultimate revenge move on an opponent who beat you it’s not exactly good sportsmanship.

So onto the solutions…….

Quick and easy make-up removal
To be fair not everyone deliberately keeps their makeup on. Sometimes it’s just the rush post work. So this isn’t about the best way to remove makeup but speed and convenience. Now I’m not a big makeup type of person so my advice is pretty basic.

Makeup Wipes – I try to keep a small packet of these in gym bag anyway. They’re useful for removing make up quickly (although you may have to use 2 or 3 to ensure a thorough job) but they’re also useful as body wipes if you need to freshen up a little bit between work and training. Let’s be honest not all gyms have female showers!

Micellar Water Cleansers – not quite as convenient as wipes as you’ll need to use cotton pads or tissue to apply it but it is simply a case of wipe and go. Micellar water essentially has tiny round balls of cleansing molecules that float in the water. Its those that do the cleaning magic. Its claimed to be a great all in one option although I’ll be honest it more something i use at home but it widely claimed to be a great travel option with a range of sizes and type available.

Makeup Removal from gis and clothing
Realistically I’ve found you’ll get two types of makeup marks. Mascara or the main offender of foundation. Often some these are some of the worst type of stain to get out a gi a they tend to get ground in more than others (including blood).

First of all don’t rub it in. Rubbing to see if it comes off can actually make it worse.Makeup is either powder based or oil based and rubbing doesn’t really help in either case!

Secondly try and treat it as soon as possible, this is the worst time to leave your gi in your bag overnight no matter how tired you are! Use stain remover on the affected area. If it’s a small areas such as mascara stains you can double whammy it by treating it, leaving it for 10-15 minutes, rinsing in cold water and then treating it again before washing. If it’s a larger area then you may just have to treat and wash (I still wash my gis on a cool wash). My remover of choice is Vanish liquid as I’ve found it works well on blood and most stains without bleaching my gi.

Finally if you don’t have a stain remover at home then don’t panic there is alternatives. In an emergency you have a few options:-

• Makeup remover – particularly good for powder foundation. Use as a stain treater but remember to work it inwards and not outwards which can spread the stain! Wash as normal.
• Shaving Foam or shampoo – For oil based foundations and mascaras. If remover isn’t available or doesn’t work. They work best if the stain hasn’t dried – apply it using a clean nail brush (working in again) and then pop it in the wash.

So apologies for the slight rant but I hope you found this blog or at least some of the solutions useful! Feel free to share any other tips you’ve come across as a clean gi equals a happy grappler!

Photo Credit – Mako