The Notes - Cleaning makeup brushes

Makeup brushes tend to be some of the most expensive things in my collection so it's super important to look after them. Cleaning makeup brushes is a chore, no one likes doing it but if you do it right, it can be quick and will save you a lot of money in the long run.

When I bought my first makeup brush (my Dior Blush Brush .. love), I used it a few times and of course it got grimy and then I trolled through the internet trying to find the best way to clean it. There are many different techniques and opinions out there, but this is what works for me and what I thought want the most logical way to clean brushes.

I clean my brushes using the same products I would use to clean my hair! Voila.. easy. Well there is just a little more to it, lets see shall we?

 

Step 1 - gather all your dirty brushes. As a rule you should wash your brushes once a week. I think you can get away with washing the ones you use with powder products once in two weeks, any brushes you use to apply cream or liquid products though should really be washed once a week.

Step 2 - Use a shampoo in a little dish or bowl to wash all your brushes. I add a dollop of shampoo and then swirl the brush around and then rinse the brush (and the bowl when it gets really dirty) and then add another dollop of shampoo and swirl another brush and rinse until they are all clean. I find this is a good way to use up shampoo that we find in hotel rooms for this purpose (sad to waste stuff you know).

Step 3 - This is really just for non-synthetic brushes. I follow the same process as Step 2 but now with some conditioner. Again feel free to use up old / sample conditioners up. I actually have a bottle of herbal essences conditioner that I finished but still has lots of product in it that I can't reach. So I swirled a little water in the empty bottle and used that to condition my brushes (it makes my brushes smell amazing!). You could even use oil, but I haven't tried that.

Step 4 - Prop the brushes upside down (so that the water drains away from the brush handle and doesn't loosen the glue) and wait for them to dry. The synthetic ones dry really quickly the others take a little longer. I have some bush guards but have never had to use them as the brushes I have keep their shape quite nicely even after drying in this fashion. However, you could always use brush guards. I do use the one that came with my Dior Brush.

That's it really. Nothing else to it. I love using just cleaned brushes, don't you? :) Do you guys have any other methods for cleaning brushes that works well for you? Any tips would be so so welcome. Ciao for now!