Today's post is going to be all about washing your makeup brushes!
Now if you're sitting in front of the computer screen saying
"I need to be washing my makeup brushes? I've never done that!"
It's okay! I have talked to many friends that had no idea this was an important step in their beauty routine. Although, it is extremely important.
The main reason you need to be cleaning your makeup brushes is to clean bacteria that is trapped inside the brush bristles. Bacteria in your makeup brushes can lead to clogged pores and unwanted breakouts so cleaning your brushes often can really help your skin out! It also helps the longevity of your makeup brushes by keeping them nice and clean!!
There are many different ways to achieve clean brushes, and also many different products you could use. I am just going to show the way I do mine, since I have found it to be the easiest.
1. Choose a Shampoo
1. Mac Brush Shampoo
This brush shampoo will run you about $15 which I believe isn't necessary to spend that much on a brush shampoo. I have gone through 2 bottles of this in the past and can say that choice #2 and #3 are just as good at a fraction of the price. If you don't mind splurging though, the MAC shampoo is a great choice that will definitely do the job. You can also "Back-To-Mac" the brush shampoo bottles so that is an added plus :)
2. Baby Shampoo
Baby shampoo is probably the best choice to use. It is super affordable, and also readily available at your nearest drugstore. Baby shampoo is made for delicate hairs which is exactly what makeup brushes consist of. It is effective and I will continue to purchase baby shampoo to clean my brushes from here on out!
3. Elf Brush Shampoo
This brush shampoo is just as effective as the baby shampoo option. It runs you around $3 and you can find Elf Cosmetics at Target, and recently I have seen it trickling into Walmart, ShopKo, and other stores. This option is just as good as the baby shampoo, it just isn't readily available for everyone.
Whatever shampoo you use is totally up to you, just make sure it is a delicate shampoo without any added fragrances or weird ingredients!
2. Cleaning
Now onto the good stuff, cleaning your brushes!! Like I said above, there are different methods you can use to wash your brushes. If the following way doesn't seem familiar to you, I can just tell you that it is the most simple way I have found and doesn't require any additional supplies like a bowl or anything like other methods might require.
First step, put a squeeze of your shampoo of choice into the palm of your hand. Obviously lets make sure that your hands are clean before we start this process.
This is the method I use, so use your shampoo sparingly, it doesn't take much and you will be squeezing a dot of it into your palm for each brush.
For my smaller brushes such as eyeshadow brushes, I do two at a time. It is really up to you and what works the quickest but the most effective way. There is no wrong way to do this, as long as they get clean!
Next, choose your brush and start swirling the brush in your palm with a tiny bit of water running on to your hand. It should start to bubble up, and you should be able to see the product really coming out of the brush. If you can't see that yet, then keep swirling your brush in your palm until only shampoo is being rinsed off. For some larger brushes, this step might need to be repeated twice. Below I added some pictures of different brushes that I cleaned so that you can see what different sizes/types should look like!
Foundation/Concealer Brush. These often need cleaned twice because of the amount of product in the brush and they often hold the most bacteria. |
Blush Brush. This should be the end result of cleansing a brush. Only shampoo suds are showing and the majority of the blush has been cleansed. |
Eyeshadow brushes. These should be cleansed a few times until there isn't any color being deposited onto your hand and only shampoo is appearing. |