Cleaning makeup brushes and blenders is an important step in any beauty routine. Makeup brushes and makeup blenders can be breeding grounds for bacteria, especially if they are not cleaned regularly or stored properly or, even worse, shared with a friend. Think about it: Even if you don’t have oily skin, the buildup of products and germs can contaminate your brushes and if you don’t clean them, then you’re just going to transfer that to your face.
If you scroll through the vast majority of beauty blogs they will tell you to use baby shampoo when cleaning makeup brushes, but I find this a poor solution for brush cleaning. Two things especially make this a less-than-stellar idea. One, baby shampoo is usually fragranced, and you don’t need fragrance deposited in your brushes. Two, baby shampoos contains lidocaine to achieve its tear-free claims, and you don’t need that in your brushes either.
A Prescriptives Cosmetics Education Executive once gave me the best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten for washing makeup brushes: “if you wouldn’t use it to clean your face, don’t use it to shampoo your brushes”. Rarely would any of use baby shampoo as a face cleanser, so don’t use it to clean your brushes. You might think soap washes away completely, but it leaves behind deposits of most of the ingredients contained in it, and that goes straight onto your face.
Properly cleaning your makeup brushes will save you time, money and even your face! You will save time because clean makeup brushes make application easier, so that loose powder goes where you want it instead of clinging to an oily brush. You won’t have to touch up as often because your makeup will be fresh – not contaminated with skin oils and old, oxidized colors.
You’ll save money by cleaning your makeup brushes because they will last longer so you won’t have to buy new ones. And you can save your face from breakouts associated with bacterial and oil build-up on grimy old brushes. Five minutes a week, a little sudsy water, and your makeup brushes will stay fresh and new much longer.
5 Steps for Cleaning Makeup Brushes and Blenders
Contents
The following steps should be followed when cleaning makeup brushes, whether they are brushes or blenders and anything in between.
Step 1 – Rinsing
As simple as this step is, one needs to be very careful to avoid water from running directly into the base of the brush. This is because the water weakens the glue and leads to the falling out of the bristles thus shortening the lifespan of the brush. The appropriate way to rinse a brush is to always rinse the bristles with water streaming down. However, the blender should be rinsed using warm water until it’s fully soaked.
Step 2 – Cleansing
When cleansing the brushes, using a brush cleaning solution, a gentle shampoo, or a daily facial cleanser can work perfectly to help break down the makeup or dirt that has caked onto the bristles over time. The shampoo should be worked into the brittles and rinsed with water until they become clean. You can also massage coconut oil into the bristles to get all stubborn products out of the brushes. Lather should be formed in the blender with the shampoo and thoroughly washed then rinsed until the water runs clear.
Step 3 – Disinfecting
Rinsing and cleansing the blender and bristle of the brush is sufficient to get rid of all forms of dirt on the brush but it isn’t sufficient to get rid of germs and bacteria. The only way to get rid of bacteria is to disinfect the bristles. This can be done by using a solution which contains two part water and one part Vinegar. The blender and brush bristle should be rinsed with water after disinfecting with the solution.
Steps 4 & 5 – Drying
The last step to follow when cleaning makeup brushes and blenders is to dry them. Squeeze the water gently from the brush, and store them flat to dry, or the excess water can be removed from them by using a dry towel. The bristles should be reshaped and the brush should be left to dry overnight. The blender should be air dry or if needed to be used damp, then it can be put to work immediately.
While it is important to keep your makeup brushes clean you should also take care that any other items that come in direct contact with your skin every day, are also kept clean. This includes things like the mascara you use. Making sure the makeup you use is clean will help prevent the breakout of acne, keeping your skin healthy. Wash your hands before applying makeup, and store your brushes in a closed container to keep off dust and allergens.
Whatever you do, don’t use the same makeup brushes day in and day out without washing them. Aside from harboring bacteria, makeup pigments bind with the oils from your skin, making brushes sticky and dirty. Makeup colors can change, becoming darker or more orange due to oxidation and to mixing with skin oils or dust, making a mess of your daily makeup routine. Clean your brushes once a week to keep them working properly, and if a brush becomes stained or misshapen, throw it out and get a new one.
