How To Clean Makeup Brushes?

Improvement

oi-Anwesha

By Anwesha Barari

Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 11:17

For those of you who think that cleaning makeup brushes is a waste of time, here is an anecdote. Imagine you pick up your round powder brush to do a face over touch up and it feels strangely clumpy. You take a closer look and there is fungus growing all over it making the bristles stick together! Imagine the horror of putting that infected makeup brush on to your face day in and day out without the slightest knowledge! You need to wash makeup brushes regularly because they are in close contact with the skin. Your makeup is oil based and they also absorb oil from the skin; the germs from any breakouts rub off on them.

So if your makeup brushes don't need cleaning then who does? Your foundation cream? Here are some cleaning tips to help you do it the right way so that you don't end up ruining your expensive makeup brushes.

Tips To Clean Makeup Brushes:

• Pick a day when you will not be doing any makeup because you cannot use these brushes for at least 20 hours after washing them until the are stone dry.

• You need to dampen the bristles with lukewarm water; don't use boiling water or else the hair of the brush may get permanently damaged. Always wash the makeup brushes face down so that the dirt and left over makeup flows out not in.

• The preliminary round of washing for about 5 minutes should get rid of all the loose dirt and powder stuck to it. Some brushes like a loose powder brush will get cleaned just by this step. But an eye makeup brush that absorbs liquid or semi liquid makeup will need another round of washing.

• Use a mild shampoo or face wash (preferably a baby shampoo) to wash the makeup brushes. Lather up softly and clean the bristles with your fingers by separately them gently; do not pull them apart forcefully. It still needs to be face down.

• Wash off the soap lather and then pat dry the brushes on a dry towel. You need to lay down the brushes horizontally on the towel. Never wipe it face down on the towel or make it stand up and wipe with the towel on top. This makes the bristles spread out and your brush will never be the same.

• How often you clean the makeup brushes will depend on the functionality of the brush and also your frequency of using it. If you do makeup once in a while then you can wash the brushes whenever you use them.

• Eye makeup brushes need to be washed after every use because they are dipped in liquid makeup. For other brushes in regular use a weekly or fortnightly wash will suffice.

Most women fear that their brushes will get spoiled if it comes in contact with water. Use these home improvement tips to clean makeup brushes in a proper manner so that they last really long.