Hi everyone,

Today I’ll be sharing 2 simple ways you can disinfect and clean makeup brushes effectively. A dirty brush in your makeup kit is one of the easiest and most common ways you can transfer infection-causing bacteria to your face. Even then, many of us fail to regularly clean our makeup brushes. Infact, a research conducted by Debenhams in 2010 revealed that 72% of women never wash their makeup sponges or brushes. Yikes!

How does a makeup brush cause infection?

When a makeup brush is used, bacteria, sebum and dirt get transferred from the face to the brush. Over time, this collection of product residue, sebum and debris serves as an ideal breeding ground for the bacteria to multiply. When you use this contaminated brush again on your face, some of these bacterial colonies transfer to your face and cause pimples and other skin infections. And this vicious cycle continues…

What happens when you use dirty makeup brushes?

1) Using a dirty face brush can force bacteria into your pores resulting in anything from slightly inflamed skin to large areas of the face covered with acne.

2) A contaminated eye makeup brush can give you conjunctivitis or a stye.

3) Is that blending brush loaded with residue not blending as effortlessly as always? Are you suddenly having difficulty getting your blush right? Its time to clean! An unclean brush has a decreased functionality and will result in an uneven color pay-off.

4) Not cleaning brushes at regular intervals can compromise their life. And since we all know how expensive good quality makeup brushes cost, it might be a good idea to keep them in proper condition.

Now that we have learnt the importance of clean makeup brushes, lets get to know how to accomplish it. There are 2 ways to get your makeup brushes clean: spot cleaning and deep cleaning.

Spot Cleaning:

Cleaning your brushes doesn’t always have to be time-consuming. When you don’t have time to deep clean the brushes, this method comes in handy as it takes no more than a couple of minutes. All you need is a good brush cleaner.

Method:

1) Take a dry or slightly damp dirty makeup brush. 

2) Pour some brush cleaner onto a tissue.

3) Press and swirl your brush over it until you are left with a cleaner looking brush.

4) Wipe off the brush on a dry part of the tissue and leave to dry for 1-2 minutes.

A major disadvantage of this method though is that it does not remove all traces of makeup. Plus the high concentration of alcohol makes brushes dry. It is more like a temporary alternative until you can deep clean your brushes.

Deep Cleaning:

Once a week, deep clean your brush of all the product residue. For this method, all you need is:

-Soap bar or liquid soap

-Paper towel for the brushes to lie on once they are done washing

Method:

1) Collect all your dirty brushes. Taking one brush at a time, run them under tepid water until they are thoroughly wet.

2) Now take a dime sized quantity of liquid soap in your palm and swirl the brush in it. Add water if and when needed. If using a soap bar, take your wet brush and swirl it directly  onto the soap.

3) Wash the brush under tepid water. Make sure you keep the brush facing downwards.

4) Rinse out excess water.

5) (Optional) Take a small amount of conditioner and apply on your bristles and rinse with cold water. This will prevent the bristles from drying out and keep them soft.

6) Repeat the above steps for all your makeup brushes.

7) Gently squeeze out excess water and lay them tilted downwards on a paper towel.

Some More Tips:

-Never dry your brushes facing upwards. It causes the water to drip inside the ferrule which in time might cause rust inside or loosen the glue holding the bristles together. Instead dry them tilting downwards (bristles facing downwards and the handle upwards).

-While keeping the brushes for drying, gently arrange the bristles in proper shape to prevent a distorted brush later on.

-Never leave your brushes dipped in water for long. This might also loosen the glue.

-Never ever use hot water to clean them. Think of them as hair. Hot water damages and dries up the hair. Warm/tepid water, on the other hand, will help in getting rid of the residue without compromising the softness. So use the latter.

Thanks for reading!