Do You Clean Your Makeup Brushes?

I know I’m guilty of not really doing a good job there. Maybe most of us don’t even KNOW how to clean our makeup brushes! It is just something we never think about.
It is so easy to postpone. We are all so busy and important! Just slap the makeup on, and go. Don’t worry about the brushes. You can always deal with them some other time. Seriously, who needs another chore to deal with??? Maybe we all do! I’ll tell you what happens if you don’t…

Bacterial Buildup

Every time you use a makeup brush, it picks up dead skin cells, moisture and bacteria from your skin. And, guess what happens when you use it again and again and again? You can probably expect breakouts on your skin, as well as eye infections from your eye shadow brushes. Ewee…. I can also add rash, blistering, eruptions spots and bumps. Now do you see where I’m coming from? Cleaning the fuzzy brushes is a must!

Skin Irritation

Just like the overload of bacteria on the brush can harm your skin, the brush itself can also cause irritation. If you leave traces of makeup on your brush, the bristles tend to get stiff, and your skin will hate you…

Clogged Pores and Oil Glands

Yep, all those little bits of makeup that you rub into your skin can actually clog the pores and cause pimples and spots to form. I’m not kidding!!! If you want nice, smooth skin, you gotta clean those suckers. But wait, it gets worse…

Viral Infections

Do you ever let other people use your brushes? If you do, don’t be surprised if you pick up pink eye or herpes. Yep, even viruses like dirty brushes! And, did I mention bug infested makeup sponges? No, that’s just too yucky. I won’t even go there…

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Most people clean their makeup brushes with an alcohol based or chemical based cleaner. But the truth is, we really don’t need to make it that complicated. We can clean the brushes perfectly well with a bit of natural dish soap. Rub a drop on your brush, rinse with warm water. Do it again if the brush still isn’t totally clean. This is so simple, anyone can do it!

• Try not to get water into the connection where the bristles hit the handle, so keep the bristles facing down.
• Don’t soak the brushes. If you do, they’ll fall apart for sure.
• Squeeze the water out gently with a paper towel. Make sure you don’t mess up the bristles.
• Shape the bristles into a nice tip and put them on a towel to dry overnight (don’t put them upright – the water will end up somewhere in the head).

Clean your brushes before you go to bed at night, about once a week or twice a month. Use your intuition…or your natural germophobia to tell you how often this needs to be done. If you do them at night, they’ll be ready to use the next morning.

You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to get a nice eye shadow job on your lids when your brushes are clean! No more muddy eye shadow colors!

Natural Recipe to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

If you are not as lazy as I am, you can actually make a natural cleaning solution that works really well:
1 TBS of apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp of dish soap
1 cup of hot water

The dish soap dissolves oily makeup, and the apple cider vinegar kills bugs and bacteria. So, no more excuses. Cleaning your brushes is no more a chore than brushing your teeth. So, just do it, and your skin will thank you!

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Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash