All About Cleaning Makeup Brushes

Let’s be honest, how often do you deep clean your makeup brushes and beauty sponges? Truth be told, you should be deep cleaning them weekly and spot cleaning in between makeup application. As a makeup artist, I deep clean brushes after every client. I have soooo many brushes and it is such a chore, but it must be done to keep them sanitized and bacteria-free. Dirt, grime and bacteria can get trapped between the bristles so it’s important your tools are clean for the sake of your skin health!

These step by step directions are the easiest way I’ve found to keep my makeup tools clean and… not to mention, budget friendly:

1. Place 1-2 tablespoons of Dawn Antibacterial dish soap and a few drops of olive oil in a small bowl. The dawn detergent will kill any bacteria that may linger in your brushes and the olive oil will keep the bristles soft.
2. One at a time, wet each brush with warm water and dip the brush in the Dawn mixture. Next, swirl the brush in your hand or better yet, use a brush cleaning mat until you have a nice lather. I love the brush cleaning mat from Sigma Beauty (you can find it here). Its textured and fits right into your sink, saving you time while you clean.
3. Rinse your brush under warm running water. Make sure all the soap has been rinsed thoroughly and squeeze out any excess water from your brush.
4. Lay your brushes flat to air dry on a towel or paper towels. If you’re able to, hanging them upside down to dry would be better (you can get creative here with DIY ways to hang your brushes upside down).

A few important tips to remember: never leave your brushes soaking in water. This can cause the glue to loosen and make the hairs fall out of the handle over time. Remember to be very gentle while cleaning your brushes. With proper care, they should last you 5 to 10 years!

You can use the same technique above for cleaning beauty sponges but in my experience, I have found that the sponge will absorb so much soap that it takes too long to squeeze out all the excess. The best product I’ve found so far is the Beauty Blender Solid Cleanser. Its easy to use and gets all the dirty makeup out in a breeze. Their motto is wet, swirl, rinse!

We all lead busy lives and realistically, we don’t have time to deep clean our brushes after every single makeup application. That’s why its important to use an anti-bacterial cleanser in between. Many brands sell liquid brush cleaners but my favorite one to use is by Cinema Secrets (Available at Sephora). It’s anti-bacterial, requires no rinsing and dries super quick. You simply spray it directly on to your brush and gently wipe the brush clean with a paper towel. This is also a great technique to use if you want to quickly switch eye shadow colors while still using the same brush!

Let me know your thoughts below if you’ve tried any of these methods or have a simpler way of cleaning your beauty tools.