Have you ever heard of the term makeup hardpan? Chances are this might be your first time hearing anything about this or if you’re familiar with what it means; you probably know everything about this thing already. Makeup hardpan is a situation where your powder-based products like blush, bronzer, setting powder, or eyeshadow palette get hardened and feature a shiny, plastic-like film on the top. Although this might come across a bit bizarre to you, this thing is quite common, and yet so many people happen to have no clue about it. This situation makes it difficult or almost next to impossible to pick the product on the brush, and although tossing that product in the dustbin might be your first instinct, we wouldn’t recommend doing it because that’s not the way how you fix this thing.
While this is quite an annoying problem, it isn’t exactly tricky or difficult to deal with. No, we are not kidding, it’s actually true that you can fix this problem, and it doesn’t really take much. You can find more about makeup hardpan in the article below where we have talked about everything, including what causes it, how you can deal with it, and how you can prevent it from happening in the future.
What exactly is makeup hardpan?
It’s very important to understand what makeup hardpan actually is because it can happen with any powder-based products you possess, including blushes, pressed powder, eyeshadow, etc. If you are unable to pick the product on your brush, and the top layer of the product seems to have hardened while featuring a shiny plastic-like film on the top, you should take it as a sign that you are in the makeup hardpan situation. In addition to forming a plastic-like layer on the top, the surface of the product also appears a bit dirty and greasy.
What causes it?
The first question you must be having is what causes this situation to arise in the first place? Well, to answer your question, this thing has everything to do with the oil present on the surface of your skin. Every time you use the product, the oil sitting on the surface of your skin gets transferred on the surface of the product, and that ends up creating a plastic-like film or layer on the surface of the product, which makes it difficult to be used effectively. This issue mostly arises with blushes and pressed powder, but it can happen with eyeshadow palettes too, especially if you use the wet application technique very often.
Hack to fix this problem
Tossing the product into the dustbin is the first instinct we have whenever this situation arises. Some people also scrape off the top layer of the product, which might solve the problem, but it results in too much wastage. You don’t have to do either of the two things, there’s a way to fix this problem, and it doesn’t involve trashing the product or scraping the top layer off. For this hack, you will require a scotch tape that needs to be cut into pieces. Take one piece at a time and press it over the hardened part of the product, just make sure to be very gentle or you’ll end up breaking the product. Peeling the tape off will reveal fresh powder underneath, repeat this step for every hardened part of the product.
How to prevent it from happening
By taking a few precautions beforehand, you can easily avoid this annoying problem in the first place. Make it a habit to wash your makeup brushes thoroughly every week to get rid of dirt, makeup reside or impurities sitting on the bristles. If you always use your fingers to apply the products, make sure to wash your hands first with soap to remove excess oil and dirt from them. Additionally, you can also keep the products clean and free of build-up by wiping off the surface with a clean facial wipe every few days.