Your makeup brushes and sponges have a super important role in making your makeup application flawless, and as they say, an artist is only as good as the tools they use. As important as your tools are, so is keeping them clean in between use, which prevents the spread of bacteria while also helping keep your makeup application as flawless as possible.
Why You Need To Clean Your Makeup Brushes & Sponges
Whether you're applying makeup to yourself or somebody else, clean brushes and sponges are the key to achieving flawless makeup application, prevents mixing shades/products together and also prevents a build up of bacteria within your makeup brushes and sponges.
Just like we wash our face, we need to ensure our brushes and sponges are clean and don’t have a build up of makeup and product within them. Not cleaning your brushes regularly can result in acne breakouts, black heads and whiteheads, irritation and even possibly infection! This is caused by a build up of the bacteria, dead skin and oil from your face and products sitting within the brush bristles.
How To Deep Clean Your Makeup Brushes
Spot cleaning your brushes is important, but so is deep cleaning your brushes. There are multiple things you can use to clean your brushes and sponges and this comes down to personal preference and time!
This method uses a foaming cleanser and water to thoroughly remove all product buildup. You don't need to go out and buy special makeup brush cleanser, as there are plenty of household items you can use instead!
What You'll Need:
- Cleanser: makeup brush cleanser, mild washing-up liquid, gentle shampoo, face wash.
- Warm Water
Instructions
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Wet the Bristles: Hold the brush with the bristles facing downwards under warm running water. Avoid getting the handles or the metal ferrule (the part that connects the bristles to the handle) wet, as this can loosen the glue.
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Lather and Foam: Apply your chosen cleanser directly to the bristles or to the palm of your hand/a cleaning mat. Work the cleanser into the bristles using circular motions to create a rich foam.
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Rinse and Repeat: Rinse the brush under warm water. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the water runs completely clear, ensuring all dirt and makeup residue have been removed.
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Reshape and Position: Gently squeeze out any excess water. Reshape the bristles back to their original form.
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Dry Properly: Lay your brushes flat on a towel or prop them at an angle with the bristles facing down. This allows the water to run to the tip of the bristles and prevents it from seeping into the handle, which can cause damage and weaken the glue.
How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes Quickly
Haven't got the time for a full deep clean but need them sprucing up a bit? We've got you. This method is quick, easy and only requires some sanitizing, without the long drying time.
What You'll Need
- Isopropyl Alcohol (or a dedicated quick-dry brush cleaning spray)
- Paper Towel
Instructions
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Prepare the Surface: Lay out a clean paper towel.
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Apply Sanitizer: Lightly spritz the isopropyl alcohol directly onto the brush bristles or onto the paper towel.
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Clean the Brush: Gently glide and blend the brush bristles/sponge onto the paper towel, using light pressure.
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Move to Clean Areas: Continuously move the brush to a clean section of the paper towel until no more makeup product transfers.
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Immediate Use: The alcohol evaporates quickly, killing bacteria and leaving your brushes ready to use almost immediately.
What Can You Use To Clean Your Makeup Brushes?
Whatever you would clean your face with is typically fine to clean your makeup brushes with. Afterall, they are going to be used on your face! While face washes can contain all kinds of exfoliants and harsh chemicals, we'd recommend using a gentle facial cleanser.
Household items such as shampoo, gentle washing up liquid, isopropyl alcohol or a dedicated makeup brush cleanser would also work.
How Often Should You Clean Your Makeup Brushes?
When using your brushes and sponges for personal use, you do not have to clean these between each use, however when working on others it is crucial to clean every single brush after each of your clients. This is to prevent cross contamination.
When applying makeup to yourself, we want to ensure we are keeping on top of cleaning our brushes, depending on how often you are applying the makeup will then depend how often these will need cleaning.
Brushes & Liquid: Daily to a few times per week.
Brushes & Creams: Daily to a few times per week.
Brushes & Powders: Couple of times a week.
Sponges: Daily.
When Should You Replace Your Makeup Brushes?
Good quality makeup tools should last a very long time when looked after properly, babe! Just ensure you're keeping them in a clean, dry place and cleaning them frequently. Let them dry properly and never use harsh cleaning techniques like scrubbing or use harsh chemicals and this will enhance the longevity of them.
You may notice after some time that the bristles on your brushes may become loose, however this can happen over time when not looking after your brushes correctly, this is when they will need to be replaced.
Not sure what ones to replace them with? Our makeup brush sets are known for their quality and longevity! We don't go halves on anything babes. Whether you need a single makeup brushes or a brush set, we've got everything you need for everything look you want to create.
