Cleaning your makeup brushes

One of the most important rules about wearing makeup is knowing how to be hygienic with our makeup tools. When I was in High School, I had terrible acne and thinking back, I am almost 100% certain that it was because I never cleaned my makeup brushes properly. I used to use my foundation and powder brushes repeatedly over and over again and it never occurred to me that bacteria , dirt, debris, dead skin cells and oil were building up on my brushes. Gross! Our makeup brushes are like petri dishes because they are practically the breeding ground for bacteria. I will be demonstrating how I clean my makeup tools. I’m sure everybody has their own preferences so I’m not saying this is THE best way to clean makeup brushes. I just happen to have followed the same routine for years and works pretty darn well for me.

How often should you clean your brushes?
I personally like to clean every brush I use before makeup application because my skin is extremely sensitive. Yes, it does take quite a lot of effort but is it worth it? Definitely! Your skin deserves the best. I rather pick up a good habit than suffer from eye infections or skin breakouts. I’m not saying you have to clean your entire selection of makeup brushes every night. That will just take forever and nobody has time for this! Maybe just the ones you use on daily basis (e.g. your foundation , powder, eyeliner brushes etc). I personally like to clean them at night so by the time I wake up, they’re fresh and ready to be used again. I guess everybody is different because they have their own preferences but definitely try to clean your (most often used) brushes at least once a week.

Brand new brushes will still need to be cleaned beforehand too. Why? Because during production, they collect dust, dirt, debris and bacteria. 

What I use
I like to use baby shampoo to clean all of my makeup brushes. A huge bottle of this baby has lasted me for so long. It’s affordable and can be found in your local supermarket. It removes ALL the makeup, dirt and oil from my brushes (even waterproof) effectively. While it is strong enough to kill germs/bacteria, it won’t dry out the hair bristles.

I use the same method on all of my makeup brushes (face, eyes and lips) but for this demo, I’ll demonstrate with an eyeshadow brush. Ok, let’s get started!

First, I soak the brush bristles with a little warm water. Remember, the temperature of the water only has to be 40 degrees to kill germs.

Next, I pour a little baby shampoo into a little dish. Remember, you don’t have to use a dish, you can just use the palm of your hand instead. Dipping my brush into the baby shampoo, I tap and swirl the makeup brush to remove the residue from the bristles. Don’t be vigorous, be gentle. The bristles will foam up into a murky colour.

You can run it under a tap but I don’t like to waste water so I fill up a dish of water and tap my brush in to rinse off the dirt. I would repeat this process about 2-3 times until the water is completely clear. I then flick the brush forward a few times to shake off excess water. I never squeeze the bristles dry because it can misshapen the brush.

Drying the brushes
I learnt this little trick from Beauty Vlogger ‘BeautyQQ’ (check her out guys! I love her). Basically take a little towel and roll one end inwards so it forms a ‘roll’. Now you can lay your brushes on the towel but make sure the brush ends are rested on the ‘roll’. This allows the brushes to dry at an angle helping the brush to remove excess water. For dual end brushes, simply lay them flat on a towel.

In a hurry?
There are a lot of brush cleansers in the market. They’re handy for makeup artists because they can disinfectant and clean brushes instantly. However, I don’t use them because it can get pretty expensive and I still feel that my brushes are cleanest when washed with water. Some brush cleansers can also ‘dry out’ the hair bristles. If you’re really in a hurry and you just don’t have the time to clean your brushes before application, you can use a makeup cleanser or even wipe them clean with a makeup wipe.

Okay, so I hope this post is helpful for you guys. Until next time, take care guys!

ctto photos and article by bubzbeauty