The Best Ways to Cover Up a Cold Sore Fast
– Luminance Red

When a cold sore develops around your mouth, it feels like the world may as well end. That unsightly, painful blister seems to turn heads every time you venture beyond your home.

While it’s best to allow cold sores to heal naturally, you’ll probably need to leave the house over the next week or two. In some situations, covering the blister can be the right call.

One effective option for covering a cold sore is using a bit of makeup. Let’s learn how to disguise a cold sore with makeup, along with a few ways to expedite the healing process.

Covering a Cold Sore: At What Stage Should You Cover?

You may be tempted to cover your cold sore the instant it becomes visible, but that isn’t the best choice. In its earliest stage, a cold sore is open and vulnerable. Applying makeup to a fresh cold sore lesion may slow the healing process or trigger an infection.

When a fluid-filled cold sore blister initially bursts, it’s very contagious and spreads easily to other people and even other areas of the body. To avoid contamination — and to keep the oozing sore from thwarting your cover-up techniques — wait until your cold sore has scabbed over before applying makeup.

Use These Tools for Covering a Cold Sore

A magician can’t perform magic without the right tools. The following three products can make your cold sore disappear — or at least become less noticeable.

Pigmented Liquid Lipstick

If your cold sore is on your lip, you’ll need a pigmented liquid lipstick capable of full-coverage and all-day wear. Choose a matte formula if you can — they last for hours and look more natural.

Pigmented Lip Liner

If your cold sore is just beyond your lips, use a pigmented lip liner. Carefully apply it just beyond the edge of your lips, far enough to cover the ulcer. Not only will you conceal the lesion, you’ll create the illusion of fuller lips.

Disposable Applicators

Disposable applicators make it easy to apply makeup without contaminating other areas of your skin (or your makeup!). Cotton swabs and Q-Tips make easy and accessible disposable applicators. Clean, dry fingers can also serve as applicators, as long as you wash them immediately after applying makeup.

Full-Coverage Foundation and Concealer

Full-coverage foundations and concealers can cover cold sores that form on the skin beyond the edge of the lips. Foundation creates the base of your look, and concealer keeps your cold sore covered. 

It’s important to select full-coverage products with staying power. These are more likely to remain on your skin through sweat, tears, and unexpected rain. The last thing you want is for your cold sore to reappear just before an afternoon meeting or halfway through a date.

How to Choose the Right Concealer for Your Skin Type

Let’s continue to explore concealer.

When it comes to covering a cold sore, concealer shoulders the biggest burden. Take your time and choose the right concealer for your skin type. The following tips will lead you in the right direction.

Match Your Skin Tone

Selecting the right shade of concealer is trickier than you might think. With so many colors available, it’s easy to select a shade too light or dark for your skin, which won’t conceal your cold sore blister as well. In fact, it could call attention to the spot instead.

Choose a concealer the same hue as your skin. Light-to-medium skin tones likely need a yellow-based concealer, while medium-to-dark skin tones need an orange base.

Effectively covering a cold sore also requires a good spot concealer. Choose one that’s slightly lighter than your skin tone for the best effect.

Find the Right Consistency

The most popular concealers come in liquid, balm, stick, and cream forms. In general, each type of concealer works best for certain conditions:

• Liquid concealer is versatile for every skin type and condition.
• Balm concealer is thick and sticks to the skin all day.
• Cream concealer is thick enough to cover breakouts but may irritate sensitive skin.
• Stick concealer is semisolid and heavy, so it may irritate oily skin.

Use a bit of trial-and-error to can find the best concealer consistency for you.

Steps for Covering a Cold Sore With Foundation and Concealer

Once you have the right products for your skin type, it’s time to start covering your cold sore. Follow these steps for optimal results:

Wash Your Face

Even when you aren’t covering a cold sore, you should always apply makeup to a fresh, clean face. A thorough cleansing removes all traces of bacteria, dirt, and debris.

Apply Cold Sore Medication

Before covering a cold sore with makeup, apply any medication you’re using. 

There are many different over-the-counter medications available that can actively treat cold sores. Each medication offers its own perks: numbing pain, hydrating skin, soothing irritation, etc. Select the medication that best meets your needs so you can stay comfortable all day long.

Not sure which over-the-counter medication is best for you? Your local pharmacist can help you determine which product is appropriate to treat your cold sore at its current stage.

Apply Foundation

Using a clean makeup brush or sponge, apply a layer of full-coverage foundation to your face. However, skip applying makeup directly to the blister for now.

Your foundation should appear light and natural-looking, with enough coverage to support the addition of concealer in the next step.

Apply Concealer

Now it’s time to cover the cold sore.

Use a disposable applicator (like a Q-tip or cotton swab, as mentioned earlier) to apply concealer over your cold sore. Apply lightly and in layers until your cold sore blends with the rest of your skin.

Be sure to avoid touching the applicator to your cold sore and then to another part of your face or to your makeup. Use a fresh cotton swab each time you need more makeup.

Powder the Cold Sore

Using a different disposable applicator, gently brush a loose powder over your cold sore. Powder sets your makeup in place and removes any shine or redness your concealer and foundation missed.

Once the powder effectively covers the blister, use a makeup brush to apply it to the rest of your face. Again, take care not to contaminate your powder container with the applicator that touched your cold sore.

Finish Your Look

Complete your look by applying your favorite makeup products — lipstick, mascara, eyeliner, blush, and any others you enjoy. You’ll feel like the best version of yourself and may even forget your cold sore is there at all!

Covering a Cold Sore Without Makeup

Makeup can be a good option if you’re giving a presentation, attending an important event, or know you’ll have your picture taken. That said, covering a cold sore with products that promote healing is still the best way to go when possible.

Since covering a cold sore with makeup isn’t always conducive to effective healing, you may prefer to focus more on healing than on hiding.

Here are a few options:

• Lip balm — Choose a lip balm specifically designed for covering a cold sore. 
• Moisturizer — Aquaphor is an excellent moisturizer to apply to a cold sore blister.
• Aloe vera — Pure aloe vera gel can soothe a cold sore and promote healing via its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties.
• Tea tree oil — This oil is both antiviral and anti-inflammatory, making it effective at treating cold sores. (Note that it should be diluted for use on skin.)
• Lemon balm — Lemon balm ointment is also antiviral and anti-inflammatory.
• Lysine — A lysine cream or ointment prevents the virus that causes cold sores from replicating and reduces the severity of existing ulcers.  

If you need something that will both heal and cover, it may be time to try over-the-counter cold sore patches.

Cold Sore Patches

A cold sore patch is another great treatment option. A cold sore patch both medicates your cold sore and covers it with a protective barrier. It may not conceal your cold sore as well as makeup, but it does offer some camouflage.

Here are a few types of over-the-counter cold sore patches available:

• Mederma Cold Sore Discreet Healing Patch
• Compeed Cold Sore Discreet Healing Patch
• Nexcare Tegaderm + Pad Transparent Dressing
• Quantum Health Lip Clear Invisible Cold Sore Bandage

If you’re not sure which patch to choose, talk to your local pharmacist or consult your doctor. You can also read reviews to see how the patches have worked for others.

Fortunately, cold sore patches are relatively inexpensive, so you can experiment with multiple types to find what works best for you.

Other Tips for Covering Cold Sores

Consider these other tips if you want to camouflage your cold sore like a pro.

1. Distract attention away from your cold sore with dramatic makeup around your eyes.
2. Apply a setting spray to ensure your makeup doesn’t wear away as the day continues.
3. Dab concealer onto your cold sore in layers and reapply throughout the day (with a clean applicator!) if needed.

If all else fails, you can talk to your doctor about prescription antiviral medications, which can help cold sores heal faster and occur less frequently.

As you wait for your prescription to be filled, you can cover your cold sore by wearing a face mask. This is a great option if you just need to run to the pharmacy to pick up some cold sore patches or aloe and only need temporary coverage. In our post-pandemic world, no one will bat an eye!

Just be sure to discard disposable masks after wearing them once with a cold sore, or wash reusable masks after one wear so you don’t spread the virus to other areas of your mouth.

Covering a Cold Sore: Final Thoughts

No matter how you decide to go about covering a cold sore, remember that you don’t have to cover it at all. This is a personal choice made for your own comfort. Cold sores are very common, and most people won’t judge you for them.

If you’re prone to cold sores, you can fight the symptoms with a natural treatment like the Luminance RED. This FDA-registered device administers safe, highly effective wavelengths of light that can cut healing time nearly in half and immediately reduce your cold sore discomfort.

The Guy’s Guide on How To Hide a Cold Sore
– Luminance Red

If you’ve ever had a cold sore, you know how embarrassing those blisters can be. Whether you’re meeting up with friends, going on a date, or just heading to the store, it’s hard not to wonder if everyone is staring at your lip!

So the question is, what’s the best way to hide a cold sore? Women often use makeup, but are there other options for men?

Men have a few options to cover up their cold sores, and yes, makeup is one of them. Explore your choices below to find the best way to hide even your worst cold sores. 

How To Hide a Cold Sore for Guys: the 3 Best Techniques

It’s tempting to cover up your cold sore as soon as it becomes visible, but that may not be the best choice. In their earliest stages, cold sores are open and vulnerable to infection. Applying products to a fresh cold sore may slow the healing process or trigger an infection. It’s important to use the right techniques at the right stages to keep from prolonging your cold sore’s healing.

Cold sores progress through five distinct stages during every outbreak:

1. An itching and burning feeling develops under the skin, indicating a cold sore is forming.
2. Fluid-filled cold sore blisters develop on or around the mouth.
3. The blister bursts or “weeps” and releases its fluids.
4. The cold sore dries up into a yellow and brown crust or scab.
5. Cold sore scabs heal and the skin looks healthy again.

Knowing where your cold sore is in this cycle can help you determine which method you should use to reduce or cover up its appearance.

Ice

In stages one through three, before a scab forms, try applying ice to your cold sore blister. Though ice can’t work miracles, it can alleviate swelling in order to reduce the appearance of cold sores.

This home remedy works best when done for 20 minutes, three times a day. If you begin applying ice at the first sign of that dreaded cold sore “tingle” (stage one), you may be able to significantly reduce the pain and swelling you experience in the first place.  

Cold Sore Patch Products

Cold sore patches may be used up to stage three of the cold sore cycle, before a scab forms. These patches are slightly opaque and designed to merge your skin tone with the red or yellow color of your cold sore. Many discreet cold sore patches also contain medications like hydrocolloid to accelerate healing. 

Makeup 

Starting in stage four of the cold sore cycle, makeup really is the best option for concealment, even for men. Many men are uncomfortable with the thought of using makeup, but it might be better to think of these products as tools of camouflage. They’re simply helping your cold sore blister blend in with its surroundings.

Fortunately, there are makeup brands formulated specifically for men. While women’s makeup highlights bold colors and trends, men’s makeup remains simple and streamlined. Once your cold sore finishes “weeping” and develops a scab, try one of these brands made specifically for men.

War Paint For Men offers a cream-based concealer that promises to hide under-eye circles, spots, scars and blemishes on the skin. It’s thicker than the foundation women use to cover imperfections, which makes it a good choice to cover up a cold sore.

Stryx is another popular brand for men. Stryx products such as concealer, tinted moisturizer, and bronzing gel are designed to blend seamlessly into the skin while covering blemishes like cold sores. 

Or consider Tom Ford For Men, a trusted brand that offers a concealing stick in three different shades. These allow you to quickly camouflage blemishes like cold sores and look and feel your best. 

How To Cover Cold Sores With Makeup

Not sure where to begin? Camouflaging a cold sore with makeup isn’t tricky. Follow these simple instructions to conceal your worst cold sores and get back to what matters most with confidence. 

Don’t Pick at Your Cold Sore!

Just like you shouldn’t pick at chickenpox spots, you shouldn’t pick at your cold sore! Every time you touch a cold sore, you risk spreading the virus that causes it to other parts of your body or to other people you contact.

Picking at your cold sore also increases the risk of infection and scarring. If you’re tempted to touch your blister, find a cotton swab and apply an ointment or medication for relief instead. And always make sure to wash your hands thoroughly if you do touch your blister.

Dry Out Your Cold Sore

If you pay attention to the life cycle of your cold sore, you can strategically dry out your cold sore during the right stages to prevent infection and speed up the healing process. Try the following ways to dry your cold sore during stages one through three and to reach the stage for makeup faster.

Toothpaste

According to the Infectious Disease Research Center, the toothpaste ingredient sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) suppresses the activity of the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), which causes cold sores. If you apply toothpaste over your skin at the earliest signs of a cold sore outbreak, your sore may not erupt so aggressively. 

This is as easy as applying a thin layer of white, non-gel toothpaste over your cold sore area. It’s best to do this before bed so that your cold sore can dry out as you sleep. 

Salt

Salt helps alleviate cold sore discomfort by drawing out the extra moisture that the herpes virus needs to thrive. Just moisten your index finger and apply salt directly to your cold sore. Gently press the salt against your sore for 30 seconds. Wash your hands thoroughly afterward.

Red Light

Red light therapy is clinically proven to gently, safely and effectively dry out cold sores. Medically optimized light from red light devices like the Luminance RED is absorbed and metabolized by the skin, then converted into cellular energy used to support the healing process. 

Start Applying Makeup

Now that your cold sore is prepped and ready to be concealed, you can begin the camouflaging process. 

First, it may help to apply cold sore medication like Abreva or Orajel. Each medication offers its own perks, such as numbing pain, hydrating dryness, or soothing irritation. Choose the medication that best meets your needs so that you can stay comfortable all day. 

Next, apply a full-coverage foundation until it’s well-blended with your skin. Your layer of foundation should be light and natural, but should provide enough coverage to support the addition of concealer in the next step. 

Finally, use a disposable applicator like a Q-tip or cotton ball to apply concealer over your cold sore. Apply lightly and in layers until your cold sore blends in with the rest of your skin and loses its angry appearance. It may take some experimenting, but you’ll be able to find the right blend of foundation and concealer fairly quickly.

Remember not to touch any makeup containers with your applicator or fingers again once you’ve used it. Instead, use a new applicator each time.

When you’re done, your cold sore will be disguised behind carefully layered makeup that looks as natural as your own skin. Depending on your routine, you may need to reapply concealer once or twice to stop your cold sore from making an uninvited appearance later during the day.

Permanent lip makeup and herpes

Article Author:

Soldatkina Ekaterina

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I want PM lips, but I’m afraid of herpes
Recently, lip perm has been in high demand among girls of any age. If earlier the main clients for the Lip PM procedure were girls 30+, now very young ladies want to improve their lips with the help of permanent makeup.

Lip permanent is designed to solve such problems as:

* dull lip color
* Thin lips
* Presence of asymmetry
* Fuzzy lip contour
* White cold marks
* Age-related changes or birth defects.
* Lip Augmentation Alternative
Modern methods of lip tattooing, combined with good strong painkillers, allow you to carry out the process of permanent lip makeup completely comfortably.

However, many are afraid of such an unpleasant phenomenon as herpes. Let’s understand a little what the point is.

The majority of the world’s population (more than 80%) has the Herpes virus, but not everyone has this virus. The thing is that he is in a dormant state and manifests itself only when the immune system is weakened.
During the PM procedure, microtraumas are made on the lips that can provoke this virus. And yet, to a greater extent, herpes will appear or not after permanent makeup depends on your immunity. Therefore, the best solution would be a general strengthening of immunity.
The probability that Herpes will be brought to you by a Permanent Makeup Master is negligible. the main way of infection with this virus is contact of any form with an infected person (household, airborne)

At the very beginning, a small red spot appears on the lips, and if you press it, it feels painful. After some time, itching or slight itching is felt in the area of ​​redness, and then bubbles appear, inside of which there is liquid. Further, these bubbles burst, exposing the skin, and after some time crusts form and after a certain time the crusts fall off.

Prevention of herpes before PM
If a cold is a frequent guest on your lips, then we advise our clients to start drinking antiviral agents 2-3 days before the permanent procedure.
Also, do not go for the procedure if you are sick. Immunity is reduced, so the likelihood of a cold on the lips is extremely high. Wait for a full recovery, it may be worth drinking immunomodulators.

herpes appeared after PM
However, if after the procedure of permanent lip makeup, herpes still appears, then you should not panic. It is important to take all the necessary measures for its speedy healing so that the cold does not “spread” on the lips.
It is necessary to continue to drink antiherpetic drugs, also use special ointments. Tablets are taken 3-4 times a day. On average, the virus passes in 4 days, but it can take longer if immunity is reduced.

Since the appearance of herpes disrupts the natural process of healing and engraftment of the pigment in the lips, then
Since the permanent makeup procedure is considered quite traumatic for the lips,
After the cold on the lips has healed, in place of the “cold” there may be light spots or, on the contrary, strongly pigmented spots. Luckily, this is easy to fix with a correction procedure, so don’t worry.

Proper make-up for a cold – disguise yourself!

Colds especially increase at the end of autumn. A red nose, swollen eyes, flaky lips give away your well-being. But if there is no high temperature, you have to perform your daily duties – go to work or study, meet business partners, buy groceries, and so on.

How can you disguise your cold appearance before leaving the house so as not to terrify others? We will give some simple but important tips:

Let’s start with the lips

The skin on the lips is especially delicate and vulnerable, and therefore peeling, cracks and even – oh horror! – herpes.

The first rule for lips in such a situation is moisturizing and nourishing in an enhanced mode. So put aside dry, long-wearing lipsticks and opt for a medicated lip balm. Avoid bright, juicy shades, because you do not want to draw attention to lips that do not look the best these days. Natural, pastel colors – pink, beige, peach – will come to the rescue. An excellent option is a transparent moisturizing gloss.

Evening out the tone

You are thrown into hot or cold, red spots or painful pallor may appear on your face, acne and inflammation come from somewhere … This is all natural for a cold, but is incompatible with beauty and attractiveness. And so we will fight!

Let’s start with a good moisturizer that will provide invaluable help to the skin of the face, refresh and revitalize. In addition, the use of such a cream is a guarantee that you will be able to protect the skin from drying out and dehydration.

It is understandable that a girl with a cold looks exhausted and tired, even if she slept like a woodchuck all night. To hide dark circles under the eyes, cosmetologists recommend using a peach-colored concealer. It is applied under powder. If you are too lazy to use it and just try to cover up the “bruises” with foundation, the effect will be the opposite, the circles under the eyes will be even more noticeable. Therefore, first of all, a concealer, and then a tone and powder!

As for the inflamed red areas near the wings of the nose, they also need to be taken care of. A concealer with a greenish or yellowish tint is perfect for this.

Thick make-up base – not for those cold days.

Such a base will make everyone around pay attention to the unevenness and roughness of an unhealthy face. For young ladies with a cold, the best option would be a light, almost transparent matting cream with a moisturizing effect, which is best applied to the entire face. The lighter the tone, the more attractive the face will look.

A word of warning: stay away from shimmery foundation!

Tidy up your cheekbones and cheeks

Even a cold can’t stop you from using your favorite blush! Just be careful: when you feel unwell, red spots often appear on your face that are difficult to disguise, and improper use of blush can only harm your appearance.

The main thing here is moderation. Blend just a little blush, and not on the cheekbones, but on the “apples” that appear when you smile. This will give a fresh, rested look, especially if you choose not red, but bronze, beige or pinkish brown shades.

Eye makeup

Reddened eyelids? So, down with catchy “evening” eye makeup! With a cold, we’ll get by with light makeup – we’ll give inflamed and watery eyes a break from cosmetics. Yes, and we will attract less attention to the red eyelids.

Dry eyeshadows are best replaced with creamy eyeshadows: they go on softly and look natural. In addition, such shadows are able to maintain their original appearance longer than dry ones, so even watery eyes will not damage your beauty.

Use golden brown (golden green) shadows to cover redness. An excellent choice – bronze, sunny and beige shades, but not the slightest hint of pink and purple tones!

You can’t do without an eyeliner either. Here a waterproof pencil will come to your aid, or you can use a gel eyeliner that lasts a long time and does not smudge.

Avoid black eyeliner! She looks too heavy and sharp, and we need to create a light, not attracting too much attention make-up. So, take a brown or gray pencil.

It is better not to color the lower eyelashes at all – who knows how they will behave when sneezing? It is enough to apply one thin layer of waterproof mascara on the upper cilia, this will make the eyes large and expressive.

Attention: herpes on the lips!

Yes, this show is not for the faint of heart. Disgusting sores on the lips can spoil even the most beautiful appearance. In addition, these sores deliver a lot of discomfort.

Therefore, it is best to resort to preventive measures to prevent this disgrace. If you feel that you are starting to catch a cold, if itching and burning begin to feel on your lips, immediately spread them with Zovirax or Acyclovir ointment. This procedure must be repeated every 4 hours.

Next step: buy a medicine that can suppress the symptoms of herpes at the pharmacy and take it regularly.

When starting to make up your lips, do the following: take a piece of ice from the freezer and wipe your lips with it. Gently blot them with a sterile wipe, then treat the affected areas with a cotton swab dipped in Corvalol or salicylic alcohol.

Now you can start painting your lips gently. A very important point: the lipstick that you used for herpes will then need to be thrown away. If it’s a pity, at least cut off its tip so as not to get infected with an unpleasant disease again. If you use a lip pencil, it will be enough to treat it with alcohol.

It happens that part of the sore protrudes beyond the lip contour. In this case, you can mask this area with foundation.

If the herpes has already completely taken over your lips and has become very noticeable, if the bubbles burst and get wet, it is better not to touch them at all and wait until the condition improves.