HOW TO CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES

 It can seem like such a daunting task. THERE’S SO MANY OF THEM! But it’s so important to keep your brushes clean! And we all know the reasons we should – keeping them bacteria free, to avoid mixing colors (I know I’VE made that mistake – hello bruised looking shadow!), to keep them in good condition and extend their life – the list goes on and on. But doing it PROPERLY is just as important as doing it at all!

Today I bring you two different methods – spot cleaning, and deep cleaning. And no, you don’t need to go out and buy fancy brush shampoos and sprays for this. You can do this with stuff you have in your bathroom already! Yay for saving $$! Let’s get started!

---

SPOT CLEANING YOUR BRUSHES

Here’s what you’ll need :

• a spray bottle
• witch hazel
• isopropyl alcohol
• tea tree oil
• water
• dirty brushes
• a clean cloth or paper towel

I found the basic recipe on Pinterest, but decided to add the tea tree oil for it’s additional antibacterial properties, and to kind of detract from the smell of the alcohol. So here’s what I do :

1. Mix your brush cleaner as follows : 3 parts water, 1 part witch hazel, 1 part alcohol, and a few small drops of tea tree oil.
2. Shake up your mixture, and spray onto a clean cloth (I used old flannel receiving blankets) or a paper towel.
3. One brush at a time, swirl it in a clockwise motion, then counterclockwise, repeating in different spots until all of your pigment is gone.
4. Gently reshape and lay flat to dry.

It’s super simple! Because of the alcohol and the fact that you’re not spraying the brush directly, they tend to dry very quickly, making this great for makeup artists having to use the same brushes on multiple clients.

I like to spot clean after two or three uses, especially things like foundation and concealer brushes, so the bacteria doesn’t cause breakouts. Eye brushes, since I use them less frequently, I typically only spot clean when I’ll be needing the same brush for a different shadow.

---

DEEP CLEANING YOUR BRUSHES

Here’s what you’ll need :

• baby shampoo
• a clean towel
• dirty brushes
• a small plate or bowl

This can be quite time consuming, at least it is for me. Baby shampoo ( I use Johnson’s and Johnson’s Baby Wash ) is super gentle on the bristles. A common mistake is using a face cleanser or acne cleanser, with the theory that it’ll get your brushes SUPER clean because it’s mean to keep your SKIN clear – DON’T DO THAT, WHATEVER YOU DO! The acne medicine in those cleansers can deteriorate your brushes, and frankly it won’t get them any cleaner than baby shampoo would. Here’s how I deep clean my brushes:

1. Put some baby shampoo on a small plate or in a small bowl – you don’t need a lot, start with a little and add more as necessary.
2. Taking a dirty brush, one at a time, dip it in the baby shampoo, and then swirl it back and forth in the palm of your hand, clockwise, then counterclockwise, until you see the bristles coming cleaner.
3. Continue the motion from step 2 while running them under water (I do mine in the kitchen so I have more room to lay them out) but be sure you’re holding them with the bristles DOWNWARD – you don’t want the water to get into the ferule – the part where the bristles meet the handle inside that metal piece – because over time it will wear the glue down and the brush will start to shed and eventually just fall apart.
4. After you rinse and the water runs clear, check the middle of the bristles to be sure there’s no soap left inside – sometimes the denser the brush (i.e. foundation brushes or anything tightly packed like a kabuki brush) can hold onto soap in the middle, and that will break the bristles, much like not washing all the shampoo out of your hair.
5. Gently squeeze or shake any excess water out, then gently reshape the brushes so they dry back to their natural shape.
6. Lay them flat to dry on a clean towel, or if you have the time and patience, hang them to dry on a towel rod, upside down, using hair ties – loop a hair tie around the towel rod, pull it through, and stick your brushes in the the loop.

Obviously this method will take up to 24 hours for the brushes to dry completely. I usually do mine on a Sunday morning and let them dry all day, and sometimes overnight. I recommend a deep clean, depending on how often you use them, every week to two weeks. I use mine daily, so I try to do them every Sunday.

Before

After

---

There you have it! Keeping your brushes clean is one of the best tips I can offer to keep your SKIN clear as well, it’s just as important as any skin care routine I could offer you! I hope you found some helpful tips in this post! Leave me a comment below and let me know if this was useful to you, or if you have any other tips and tricks that maybe I missed!

And as always, go follow me on Twitter and Instagram @dlynnesposito

LOTS OF LOVE (and squeaky clean brushes!) ❤

XOXO – DONNA