WASH YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES. NOW.
Notice a few breakouts tainting your otherwise perfect completion? It’s probably not because of the foundation you’ve been using for the last six years, but instead the fact that you haven’t washed your makeup brushes in just as long.
When I worked in makeup retail, I had a customer come in once pissed and confused as to why her brush was falling apart. It was matted with product that had been lingering on the bristles for God knows how long. This woman had no idea that she could cleanse her brushes without damaging them, which is at fault to the professionals who sold it to her in the first place.
Once you know that cleaning your brushes should be a regular habit, there’s no reason not to do it. It’s really simple and doesn’t have to be expensive.
Here are the products I use:
1. Dr. Bronner’s Hemp-Peppermint Pure Castile Soap., Ulta Beauty, Edgewater, Paramus and Ramsey $6.69. This cleanser is comprised of organic oils, which clean and condition your brush bristles.
2. My second choice and current go-to is... drum roll... Dawn dish soap. I use the blue one, not that the color makes a difference at all. I’ve been using this trick for years and it works almost as well as Dr. Bronner’s. It strips all of the product off of the brush without overdrying the bristles, but leaves out the conditioning part. From my experience, this hack is safe, reliable, and effective, and also better for working on clients (for all your makeup artists, like myself)! It leaves out the (very rare) chance of allergic reaction to the oils in Dr. Bronner’s.
How to wash your brushes:
Once your brushes are washed, gently squeeze out any excess moisture, shape the bristles, and lay them flat on a clean towel to dry. It’s best to let your brushes dry overnight. But, if you’re in a pinch, bringing out the blow dryer and drying your brush on low heat and low power is harmless. Not 100% effective, but harmless.
Always, Alexa
You want to wash your brushes gently, but put a little tender elbow grease into the tough guys. You could spend a ton of money on a silicone mat to scrub these babies or you could DIY a scrubbing mat, but I just wash my hands with antibacterial soap and use those (my hands). They’re free.
Put a little bit of one of the aforementioned products in a dish and gently dip each brush before giving them their own personal warm shower under the faucet.
FYI-There’s this little metal thing that attaches the brush head to the body. It’s called a ferrule and it doesn’t like water. So, when washing your brushes, make sure the ferrule isn’t submerged. It will loosen the adhesive used to attach the ferrule and ultimately ruin the brush. It’s gonna get wet, don’t sweat it too much, just don’t wash your brush like a lunatic and you’ll be good.