Your makeup brushes are exposed to a lot when they are used. Dead skin cells, dirt, bacteria and even oil from your skin are just a few of the elements that they are exposed to, and that’s why it’s so important to clean your brushes as often as possible.
As mentioned above, brushes will begin to accumulate a variety of unwanted elements over time, and not only will these things cause your brushes’ bristles to solidify (and potentially damage your skin), they’ll also take a toll on your skin as they come in to contact! Acne breakouts are just one of the most common events that may occur, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll have to throw your brushes away – all that you need to do is to learn how to clean your brushes properly!
Here’s what you will need to clean your brushes:
- A dry cloth, or a paper towel
- A bar of soap, or non-oily baby shampoo
- A tap with running water
If you’re ready to make a start on your cleaning process, then simply follow these steps below:
- Turn your tap on, and allow the water to run for a short while to ensure that the temperature is balanced
- Run the bristles of your brushes under the tap, but keep the base of your bristles away from the water flow – the last thing that you’ll want is for your handle to start flaking!
- Massage your cleaning agent (your bar of soap, or baby shampoo) in to the bristles
- Run your brush back under the tap to rinse away any soap that has built-up
- With the tips of your index finger and thumb; press any excess water from your brushes
- Lay your paper towel or dry cloth flat, and then place your brush or brushes on top so that they can dry (for between four and eight hours)
As tempting as it may be to speed up the drying process with a blow dryer, avoid this at all costs. The higher levels of heat can melt bristles, soften glue and even crack plastic or wooden handles. If you’d like to obtain even softer brushes, then consider applying rubbing alcohol to the bristles once they’ve dried. This will help to further break down any oily build ups, and your brush will be left clean and fresh.
If your brushes still don’t feel as soft to the touch as you’d like, simply repeat steps one to six again. Each time that your brushes are exposed to this routine, more and more debris will come away from the bristles, until they are as good as new!
