Let’s be real, nobody actually enjoys washing their makeup brushes. Shamefully, I admit I haven’t washed my brushes in about 4 months… There are so many benefits to using clean makeup brushes. There are the obvious hygienic reasons for keeping your brushes clean, like not having bacteria and facial oils cause breakouts on your skin. However, there are also makeup application reasons for keeping your brushes clean too! Once excess oils build up on your brushes, it can cause your powders to apply streaky and give your face a blotchy appearance. Brushes that are full of excess product, will begin to apply more sheer washes of color because they have an existing layer of product that isn’t allowing the hairs to pick up additional pigment. In the case of your eye brushes that are constantly picking up new colors, you want to make sure you clean them well. Your eyes can also easily pick up bacteria, so again, for hygienic reasons it is recommended you wash these every other week. I really want to try the “Color Switch” product by Sephora and Vera Mona, which described on Sephora.com as a, “dry, makeup-removing sponge that allows you to switch colors without having to switch brushes.” This seems too good to be true, so if you have this product and it truly takes away all of the pigment from your brushes, let me know! Anyways, this is my routine (that I need to start doing monthly) for deep cleaning my makeup brushes!     

To begin, I gather my Doctor Bronner’s Soap (which I’ve mentioned in another post on cleaning my Beauty Blender) and my Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Glove to wash my brushes. 

For $39, this glove did seem a bit gimmicky and overpriced, until I used it. Honestly, this product changed the way I washed my brushes and encourages me to wash them more often because it is so easy! I have spent a lot of money on Sigma brushes, so I wanted to also buy the product they sell that claims to cleanse them in the most gentle and effective way. The bumps and ridges on the glove really deep clean down to the brush head and make sure you’re getting all excess product out. In conjunction with the Doctor Bronner’s soap, your brushes will be stain-free and look brand new once dried! Every once in awhile, I’ll mix in some olive oil with the soap for a conditioning treatment to soften the brush hairs, but I definitely don’t do this step every time.

    

I wash each brush until the stains are no longer visible and only clear water (without soapy bubbles) comes through the bristles. Once I reach this point, I gently swirl my brush onto a soft towel to help the drying process, and lay them down flat. 

Many people suggest drying your brushes upside down and hanging them so the water does not leak into the brush handle, causing it to detach. Personally, I have never had any issues with laying my makeup brushes flat, but I do suggest flipping the brushes over about halfway through so they dry evenly.

   

I know this blog post wasn’t the most entertaining or innovative, however I do find that this routine is really helpful on remaining sanitary and extending the longevity of your makeup brushes. I think clean brushes apply makeup more beautifully and definitely help with blending your makeup more seamlessly. What products do you use to clean your makeup brushes? Let me know! Thanks for reading!