How to clean makeup brushes

Here is a step by step guide to how to was your makeup brushes thanks to Thebeautydepartment.com

 There are generally two ways to wash your brushes: Deep Clean and Quick Clean. 

It completely depends on you on what type of cleaning you will do and how much time you have. 

Quick Clean

1. Pick up a professional brush cleaning spray from your local beauty supply store. I use Mac brush cleaner, and purchase it at my local Mac counter.  To start spray it directly on the brush heads to completely soak the bristles.
2. Rub the brush head back and forth over a paper towel or tissue repeatedly until there is no more product coming off.
3. Spray the rest of your brushes one at a time (i.e. eyeliner, lip, eyebrow brushes).
4. Rub these brushes back and forth as well, noticing that they will come clean much faster than the first ones. This solution dries within minutes so it’s great on the go.

Deep Clean

1. Pour a tablespoon of any baby shampoo into a small bowl then add warm water from your faucet so it gets nice and bubbly. One at a time, dip your used brushes into the solution, gently swirling them across the bottom of the bowl to release the product. Keep the brushes in the water as you add each new one.
2. After washing, let the brushes have a quick soak for 5-10 seconds, no more and no less.
3. One by one, hold each brush under cold water to rinse any remaining product and seal the hairs.
4. Re-mold each brush if necessary by pressing the hairs between your fingers until it’s back to its original shape.

DRYING 

You don’t want to dry your brushes in an upright position because the water settles into the glue that’s holding the bristles together at the base of each brush head and starts breaking down the glue over time, causing the hairs to come off when you swipe the brush against your face (so annoying). So you can either lay your brushes flat or even better, make this quick little drying station in two steps!

1. Grab a hand towel, a paper towel or a dinner napkin like I used above. Fold it in half three times, to make it smaller and to create a “crease,” then unfold it once. Where your crease was, slide anything cylinder shaped under it to create the base of your see-saw. I used a big powder brush that was dry and not washed this round but a round magic marker works great too.
2. Balance each brush across the crease so that the brush head is pointing down, but not touching the napkin. It’s much easier to balance than it sounds, I promise! Now let them dry completely for a few hours.

Thats it! Then repeat as needed. 

I clean my makeup brushes often for general hygiene purposes. I find that when I clean my brushes often I have less break outs and the application of my makeup goes on much better. I try to wash my brushes at least once a week. I usually set a day and keep to that schedule. Find what works for you and get cleaning.