Quick Guide: How To Clean Make-up Brushes
.It might seem boring, but cleaning makeup brushes is actually just as important for your skin care as it is for your make up application. Used makeup brushes lock in oil and bacteria from your skin, and over time, that will cause breakouts and blemishes. Clean makeup brushes not only save you in the makeup application process, they also save your skin. But to someone new to the makeup world, the idea of cleaning make up brushes might seem foreign.
This is exactly how I clean my makeup brushes. Cleaning my brushes regularly is how I avoid accidently putting the wrong color on my eyelid (nothing like going to an important business meeting and accidently giving yourself glitter eyes), and how I avoid most breakouts (not all, but most).
Cleaning makeup brushes may seem like a simple enough task, but here are a few tips and tricks on how to clean your brushes thoroughly, and help to keep them in your collection for a long time.
This post is all about cleaning makeup brushes.
Cleaning Your Make-Up Brushes
This is what you need to clean your brushes; a brush cleaning pad or palette , brush shampoo, water, and your make-up brushes. I tagged in the brush cleaning pad I bought from Ulta Beauty, but you can buy something similar at stores like Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx (don’t forget to check the clearance section), five below, and most Dollar Stores. You don’t have to purchase the exact one I have, just find something that you think you would be comfortable with. The purple brush cleaner pictured is what I started off with before I was fully confident in my brush cleaning abilities.
Apply Water
I try to conserve as much water as possible, so the first thing I do run a handful of brushes (between 5-6) under some warm water for a few seconds, just to get them wet. Place your brushes on the side of the sink, and then grab your cleaning pad and apply some brush shampoo on the center of the pad. Then, take each brush and dip it into the cleaner. Depending on the size of the brush, rub it along its’ matching grooves at the bottom of the cleaning pad. If it’s a small bristle brush, I would use the section with the smallest ridges, if its a medium sized brush, use the section with the medium sized groves, and if it is a larger brush, use the biggest section on the cleaning pad.
Gently Scrub
Run your brush back and forth over the ridges until most of the makeup seems to be out of the brush. Repeat that step for the next two brushes, and then rinse your soapy brushes out, rubbing the brushes bristles with your fingers to make sure that all of the makeup and shampoo is out.
If the water doesn’t run clean, redo the process of running the bristles against the bottom of the pad, until the brush looks clean. Please note, some eyeshadows can stain the bristles on your brush. So if you are shampooing and rinsing and everything looks clear, but the bristles are still the same color as that eyeshadow you were trying out, the bristles are more than likely clean, but stained.
Rinse
Please rinse out your brush with the bristles pointed downward. The middle, usually metal, part of the brush is called the ferrule, and in that part is where they glue the bristles of the brush, to the handle.
Getting the glue wet could cause your brush to shed bristles prematurely. To ensure the life and longevity of your brush, please avoid getting water in the center of the brush.
Air dry
So, after everything is rinsed of soap, shake out the excess water, then try to reshape the bristles. Lay your brushes out to dry at an angle, so there is no worry about water sitting in the brush. There are make-up brush drying racks, that you can place your brushes in to air dry, but if you are not in the mood to purchase that, don’t be afraid to do what I do. I put a hand towel on top of a old college textbook, on top of a box. The textbook gives the leverage that the brushes need, and the towel catches all of the extra water. I usually let my brushes stay like that overnight, and the next day, I have dry, clean, make-up brushes!
This post was all about cleaning make-up brushes. Hopefully this is not too tedious, and will help you to stay on top of your brush cleanings!
