Spring is in the air and I am feeling a little urge to start spring cleaning the house, BUT what about your makeup & makeup brushes? Let’s be real…How often do YOU clean your brushes?

A poll found 22% of women who use makeup brushes admitted that they have never cleaned them! And 61% said that they clean their makeup brushes less than once a month! EWWW…

LADIES! Keeping your makeup brushes clean is so important! If they aren’t cleaned regularly, dirty brushes can harbor bacteria, which can eventually cause breakouts and other skin conditions. Look, I am so animate about makeup sanitation in general. It’s important!! In this article, I am teaching YOU to clean YOUR OWN makeup brushes. If you are interested in makeup sanitation, that’s an entirely different article. Check that out here.

Ok, back to the subject! I get it sometimes time gets away on us, but when I saw that 17% don’t know HOW to clean them and 21% didn’t know they needed to, I knew I had to step in! I also know from working with clients, that this is a subject that gets brought up a lot. Many women aren’t really sure, how or even how often they should be cleaning their makeup brushes. And for those that try, I have witnessed some DON’Ts, so I think this article should help. Oh, and if you’re in the 19% that simply buy NEW brushes, I can hook you up! 😉

How often should you clean your makeup brushes?

The question of the day!! How often should you clean your makeup brushes? For concealer and foundation brushes, I would consider washing them after each use, if that’s not feasible, consider at least once a week to prevent a buildup of product. Think of it like this; if it’s a cream or liquid product, they tend to harbor more bacteria. And because these brushes are used on your face, the cleaner, the better. I also suggest washing brushes used for contour and face powders at least once a week, especially if you have oily skin.

Makeup brushes that are used around the eyes to apply eye liner at least once a week, if not every day. Brushes used to apply eye shadow should be cleaned at least twice a month, while all others can be washed once a month.

How to deep clean your makeup brushes

1.Choose a cleanser

DO: Keep it gentle. While there are makeup brush-specific cleansers on the market, any gentle soap will work.

DON’T: Use harsh soaps. Keep in mind that many makeup brushes are made with natural hair bristles, so using a gentle is important, however you want it to make sure you use an effective cleanser and clean well.

My pick: Snap All Purpose Natural Concentrate. It’s a highly concentrated, versatile, multipurpose cleaner, so you can use it for more than just brushes. Snap All-Purpose Natural Concentrate is made from natural oils and is enriched with skin conditioners and is an environmentally friendly cleaning solution with biodegradable, nontoxic, phosphate-free, and plant-based surfactants and essential oils. 

2. Prep some warm water

DO: Use warm water. You can either use a bowl of lukewarm water and squirt a couple drops of your chosen soap into the water. Begin swirling your brush heads in the soapy mixture, or you can put a few drops of cleanser in your hand, wet your brushes and swirl the brush head on the palm of your hand to work up a lather.

DON’T: Submerge all of your brushes on the water and soak them. Most brush handles are made of wood and content exposure to water may make the wood swell and split.

3. Rinse thoroughly

DO: Run the soapy brush head under the faucet, using warm water. Work your fingers over the brush head, massaging and squeezing out the excess makeup and foundation until the water runs clear.

DON’T: Rush the process. Make sure that you rinse out all makeup and until there aren’t any more suds. You don’t want to leave any soap residue in the brush.

4. Reshape

DO: Squeeze out as much excess water as you can and gently reshape the wet bristles.

DON’T: Skip this step! It may result in a funky, non-functioning brush shape.

5. Let dry

DO: Allow to dry completely before you use them again. It’s important you lay your clean brushes on a towel on your counter top to dry. I recommend propping up the handle slightly so the brush is on an angle. Make sure air is able to get all the way around the bristles. This will result in the fastest dry time without damaging your tools.

DON’T: Dry them with the bristles up. This can cause water to drain into the handle which can loosen the glue resulting in the bristles shedding. No one likes constant brush shedding!!

Quick cleaning

DO: Consider doing a quick cleaning in between deep cleaning your makeup brushes. Especially if you are trying to stretch your deep cleaning out a little more. I love using the quick clean method on my eye shadow and powder brushes.

DON’T: Use the same brush for multiple colors without cleaning in between. The color won’t be true to color if you’re constantly mixing them on the brush.

My pick: Cinema Secrets. It’s a professional-grade liquid makeup brush cleaner that is quick drying, rinse free and 99.99 percent antimicrobial disinfectant. This professional-quality brush cleaner is a makeup industry cult-favorite that can be used on both natural and synthetic fibers, and it doesn’t leave an oily residue. It cleans, conditions, and deodorizes brushes in one step. It’s coveted by makeup artists for its incomparable cleansing ability, quick drying time, and pleasant vanilla scent.  Trust me…I’ve tried them all 😉

How: Spray brush with cleaner until saturated. Blot on a paper towel and continue spraying and blotting until no more makeup comes out. You can also dip into the cleanser and blot until dry. It will dry almost immediately!

Ladies, if you invest in some great professional quality brushes and take care of them by cleaning them regularly, they WILL last you a long time!

If you haven’t cleaned your makeup brushes in awhile, PLEASE go right now and do it. And while you’re at it, consider spring cleaning your entire makeup bag. I have a helpful article to guide you through that process too. You can read it here.

I found this video that I did on a Facebook LIVE going over everything I talked about above, so it may help to give it a quick watch.