Makeup is something generally thought of as making you look pretty, but did you know there are many reasons you shouldn’t wear makeup? It’s true, and you can still look gorgeous by letting your natural and inner beauty shine.

That said, there are many people out there who think makeup is the only way you can be beautiful. This may come down to personal opinion, but from what I have found to be true for me, makeup is not a good thing.

Here are some surprising reasons you shouldn’t wear makeup, especially if you have acne-prone skin.

Most types of makeup are highly allergenic and contain many ingredients that shouldn’t be put on skin.

Ingredients such as sodium benzoate, propylene glycol, and anything ending in "acid" have been known to cause allergies in sensitive individuals. Even if you don’t have sensitive skin, you may have a reaction over time from excessive exposure.

As if these weren’t enough reasons you shouldn’t wear makeup, did you know makeup can actually cause acne? Applying makeup actually clogs your pores, creating more acne than what you were trying to hide.

If you treat the acne instead of hiding it, you won’t be creating a worse situation.

I already established that you are actually making your acne situation worse by wearing makeup. This means you are certainly not allowing it to heal!

All you are doing is hiding what is inevitably there and even creating more acne. This goes against the philosophy of your body’s ability to heal itself, because you are not getting to the root cause of the acne.

That is why it’s so important that you try to find the true cause of your blemishes instead of trying to cover them up.

There are many women in the world who do not have great self-esteem. You may think that wearing makeup would make you more accepting of yourself, but the opposite is true.

This is because you aren’t accepting your natural beauty, just the makeup. I will admit that some women feel more confident wearing makeup, but it is still not helping you love yourself, flaws and all.

The point is you should try and show yourself more forgiveness, instead of covering up a part of yourself. Embrace yourself!

If you ever read the back of a makeup container, you will find a huge list of unidentifiable ingredients. Or, maybe you will find no ingredients list at all!

This is a warning sign because if the ingredients list isn’t readily available, do you think the company is proud of the ingredients they put in there? Probably not.

The product is likely loaded with chemicals, parabens, and carcinogens that you don’t want to be putting on the largest organ of your body, your skin.

There are some people I know who spend an hour every morning on their beauty routine. They think every piece of their makeup has to look "perfect" before they are presentable enough to go out.

This is just plain ridiculous, because imagine how much more productive you can be without wasting this much time! You will have 365 more hours every year to spend time with your kids before school in the morning, make a healthy breakfast, or even sleep in.

These options sound a lot more meaningful to your health and life in the end than applying makeup.

What is the point of buying makeup when you can be spending that money on something else? If you really think about it, makeup can cost a lot of money! In fact, the average woman spends about $300 a year on makeup.

Even if it is cheap, you still have to be cautious because it is probably poor quality and loaded with chemicals. It is so much easier just to let your skin breathe without pore-clogging makeup, if you ask me.

You know how some products advertise "No Animal Testing" on the container? While this may be true, many products still contain ingredients with animal products. The most common one is beeswax.

There are some products that don’t even say "No Animal Testing" on them. This could mean that they have harmed an animal to test their product! If you love animals as much as I do, you will want to consider this important factor in wearing makeup.

As you now know, makeup is not something you need to wear – at least not every day. If you still choose to wear makeup, seek out high quality products without animal products in them. Some good brands include Nvey Eco, Burt’s Bees, Organic Wear, and Ecco Bella.

Do you wear makeup? Why or why not?