It’s been way too long since I cleaned my makeup brushes. So long in fact that I can’t even remember the last time I cleaned them. Yikes!
To be completely sanitary you are technically supposed to clean your makeup brushes every week or every other week to remove old makeup as well as dust and bacteria. Better late than never, I suppose…
So here’ s a step by step of how I cleaned my makeup brushes this morning. I’ve used actual makeup brush cleaner before, but I find normal hand soap works just as well. If I had super expensive brushes then maybe I would be more concerned with cleaners and the strands getting stripped and frayed, but I happen to have a mix-match of brushes from Target and Ulta and for several years I’ve used regular soap and my brushes have held up just fine.
Dirty brushes. And they looked this unorganized on my vanity as well haha.
First under warm water I get the brush completely wet.
Then with one pump of soap, I swirl the brush in my palm. You’ll see the color of your makeup come out of the brush.
Next I rinse the brush and repeat the swirling process with the soap until I no longer see pigment leaving the brush. Then I rinse and squeeze out the excess water. BE GENTLE when you squeeze! You don’t want to pull out any of the fibers.
I lay the brush flat to dry while I clean the rest.
Get out of here nasty old makeup!
Eye shadow brushes are the most fun cause really dark pigment washes out. Clearly I use lots of browns and neutral eye shadow.
And there you have it! I usually put them back in my brush holder to let them dry for 24 hours before using them again. Standing them up to dry allows them to dry all the way around and keep an even shape.
How do you clean your makeup brushes? Do you prefer soap or brush cleaner?