The right set of professional-grade makeup brushes can be a very smart investment in your cosmetic future. If you do splurge on a worthy set, however, you don’t want to fall into the trap that wastes these valuable assets. I’m talking, of course, about properly caring for your brushes. Doing so can not only help extend the life of these brushes, it will also help you to get the best makeup application possible, time and time again. Find out what you should be doing to take good care of those remarkable beauty tools.
Care Tips for Cosmetic Brushes
Yes, cosmetic brushes are expensive. They’re also worth the money. But who wants to spend a lot of money on something, then treat it like it’s disposable? Care for your brushes with these tips to make sure you’re not wasting your money.
- Clean them regularly, once every 7-10 days.
- Dry them properly after cleaned to avoid mildew or mold growth.
- Pick up powder with the sides of the bristles (they’re designed to hold product on the tapered sides, not the bristle tips.) This helps prevent broken bristles, too!
- Spray them with a special disinfectant after each use and wipe them clean to pick up product build-up. You can also put your toner into a spray bottle if you don’t want to buy something extra.
- Store your brushes in a separate case to avoid getting makeup on them between uses.
How to Clean Makeup Brushes
It might sound like a lot of work to clean your brushes every week, but it doesn’t have to be. A proper cleaning should only take a few minutes and won’t take much effort on your part. Start by wetting your brushes with warm water and wringing them out. Use a mild shampoo, your face wash, or a specialty brush cleaner to lather them up and rinse thoroughly once again. You may see some makeup-colored water in the sink, but don’t worry if not. That just means you didn’t have too much buildup on the bristles! (Good for you!)
Once they’re cleaned and wrung out again (don’t twist the bristles, just squeeze them gently from the base to the tip with your fingers), place a towel on a flat surface near a wall. Prop the brushes (bristle side down) against the wall and let any excess water drip onto the towel. Leave your brushes like this overnight and they will air dry on their own. (If they don’t, you didn’t wring them out enough after washing them.) They are ready to use again!
Why Clean Your Makeup Brushes?
If your face and your makeup is clean when you use them, why do your makeup brushes need to be regularly cleaned? It’s a fair question, one uttered by many women. The truth is, even when your skin is clean, it can still transfer tiny amounts of bacteria into your brush and then, as a result, into your makeup. Overtime, this bacteria will grow and fester in your brushes, especially if they’re made from natural fibers. And when bacteria gets into your makeup, it can dry it up, make it clump, and force you to throw your products away prematurely.
Beyond hygienic reasons, cleaning your makeup brushes also serves a practical purpose. All that product builds up on the fibers. If you keep using them again and again without cleaning them, you’ll start mixing colors accidentally. Eventually, your brush bristles will be too coated in old product to pick up any new product, too. This means you’ll be applying “stale” makeup to your skin, while breaking up and wasting powders you’re trying to pick up on those coated bristles. Skip the messes and just clean your brushes!
References:
Genius Beauty. How to Care for Makeup Brushes
Temptalia. How to Clean your Makeup Brushes
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