So I thought I would stop in today and chat about the importance of keeping your makeup brushes clean, the endless options of how to do so and how I do it. If you are not a makeup person, my apologies.. come back tomorrow as I promise to switch it up.. but if you are interested then please keep reading!
It is so important to keep your makeup brushes clean, I know you are probably thinking it doesn't REALLY matter if you clean them regularly as you are the only one that uses them and so if they only touch your face why bother? Not to mention you are using them in the same products all the time so who cares? Let me tell you why its just as important as washing your face.
Your brushes collect just as much dirt, oil and bacteria as they do pigment of your make up. The build up of all this is put right back on your face everyday when using your brushes, we don't want that. This can often cause break outs as well as skin irritation and we get enough of that from other things beyond our control. It is especially important when you're sick or have things such as pink eye to make sure everything is cleaned as that is not something you want to continue to spread around.
Not to mention you want your brushes to have a long life and maintain their effectiveness and therefore like anything else you need to take care of them.
So how can we keep our brushes clean without taking an hour out of our busy schedule? I have a few tips and tricks. First let me just say, it honestly doesn't take that long to clean your brushes at all, and it is really important to do this but if you are having a busy week or two and don't get the chance to give them a good wash there are a few ways to maintain them until you get some time.
There are TONS of sprays out there that you can use quickly after using your brushes in the morning and then leave them to dry.
ELF Daily Brush cleaner
I have this stuff as I really do love ELF products, you can buy it at Target for $3.00! After using your brushes everyday give them a spritz and let them dry until the next morning. Super easy right? Right.
Pretty much everyone out there has a spray or cleaner than you can use on a regular basis if you do not have time to actually wash your brushes thoroughly, if you have a brand that you life to use I would bet they have a brush cleaner so I would highly recommend checking it out, like I said its an easy way to keep your brushes clean and sanitary in between washes.
Now lets get down to it shall we? The real cleaning of make up brushes!
I have done it a couple of ways and really all of them are good, so I will share a few including my go to.
First I have to say when you are cleaning your brushes try to keep them facing down when you have them in the water, bristles facing the drain and not up. Yes they are going to get wet but if you can avoid getting a ton of water in where the glue is that is probably a good idea.
You will want to rinse you brushes and then you have some choices as to what you are going to use to clean them.
1. You can use Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo.
This is a really great option, especially if you have kids and the shampoo is already laying around the house. Its gentle and smells great but also has great cleaning power.
2. Dish Soap/ Hand Soap & Olive Oil
This just happens to be my go to. You are probably wondering why you would be using olive oil and its basically acting as a conditioner. Think about washing your hair, you use shampoo which in this case is the dish soap, its cleaning your hair, stripping it of all that bacteria and basically crap. Then you use conditioner, in this case the olive oil which softens and puts the moisture back into your hair (the bristles of your brushes). You are going to mix the two (your basic two in one shampoo, conditioner combo - which I encourage you not to use on your real hair).
3. You can also go out and buy one of the many cleaners provided that you are going to use basically the same way only you are buying a product specifically made for this purpose. If you are considering this option I would recommend checking out your local Target, Sephora, Ulta or Mac. (Those links are directly to the section of each store and their brush cleaning products).
Now you can buy one of these handy dandy brush cleaning mitts which have details as to what section to use in which phase of cleaning you are in, and that's obviously fantastic!
Isn't it fancy? Its also a little expensive, which is honestly fine if you aren't cheap like I am because it really will last forever. But there is an alternative because lets be honest, I don't really believe the mitt is the only thing that works, what they are doing is using texture on the brush to make sure the cleaning product is evenly distributed and you get a more thorough clean. But if you don't want to spend the money on this pretty little brush cleaning mitt a great alternative is a rubber pot holder or oven mitt.
Go ahead and laugh but its basically the same thing isn't it? You can pick these up at the dollar store, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and most likely find a coupon online for any one of those store (OK maybe not the dollar store) if you are really looking to save. Its the exact same thing.
Now if you don't care to purchase any of these products then use your hand and it might take a few extra minute but let me tell you it gets the job done.
If you are using the mix of hand soap/ dish soap and olive oil you are going to mix approximately 3 tablespoons of of soap to one tablespoon of olive oil. After dampening your brush give it a swirl in the mixture, then you are going to swish it around in your hand or on your mitt, whatever you are working with. You are going to continue to swish and rinse until when rinsing your water is clear. This shouldn't take long, the brushes you use for your foundation and concealer are going to be a little more saturated and probably take the longest.
Once you have successfully washed all of the makeup out of your brush and are getting clean rinse water you are going to take out the excess water just like you would your hair after the shower. Put pressure on the brush where the bristles begin and gently pull towards the end of the bristles. See picture below.
This is basically what your brush should look like at this point.
When you are finished with the brush lay it on a flat surface with a paper towel or clean towel underneath. Generally if you wash your brush in the morning after using it there should be no reason why it won't be dry and ready the next morning for use.
So there you have it! I am thinking I may have done a blog similar to this before but this is more of an updated and more in depth version. If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I would be happy to answer. I am by no means a make up expert but I follow a ton of make up blogs and vlogs and would at least like to think I am educated!
Hope you are all having a great day.
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