How To Properly Wash Your Makeup Brushes

there are so many different ways of cleaning, washing, caring for your brushes, from baby shampoo to olive oil. what a plethora of these methods fail to realize is that caring for makeup brushes is like caring for the hair on your head. there is, though, one major difference -- the hair fibers of your makeup brushes are exposed to the germs on your skin, and therefore need to be disinfected/sanitized more frequently.

ideally, you want to spot clean your brushes after every two to three uses, to keep them hygenic and managable. this is one of my favorites:
http://www.target.com/p/Sonia-Kashuk-Brush-and-Sponge-Cleanser-5-1-oz/-/A-13311368

once again, don't think "makeup brush," think "hair," whether it be natural or synthetic. it is important that you don't deep clean your brushes too often or too little. preferably, you want to deep clean them every seven to ten uses, or after they've been sitting all germy for more than one and a half to two weeks.

 i hate to sound like a broken record, but think hair! when you wash your hair, how do you do it? generally, you shampoo, rinse, maybe repeat, and then condition and rinse. right? that same philosphy should be applied to your makeup brushes. here is my step by step way to wash makeup brushes.

what you'll need:
- an antibacterial soap or shampoo that does not contain alcohol as the main/active ingredient. the antibacterial ingredient in the soap i use is triclosin.
i get mine at the dollar tree, $1 for 13.5 fl oz.

- a regular hair conditioner, whatever you like to use. i usually use dove because that's what i keep around for my hair, but you can pick a cheap bottle up wherever you shop. i like to pump/squeeze the conditioner in a small cup or something for convenience.

Ten Easy Steps To Squeaky Clean Brushes

1) first, you want to set up your station. i like to take a small hand towel and roll it up longways, laid flat on a counter top or hard surface. like this:

place your brushes on the towel in any which order. make sure the bristles are facing downwards, so that water can drain out as they dry, rather than sit in the ferral where it can loosen the glue.

2) you'll need to have one dry hand and one wet hand. the dry one should be your dominant hand -- this is the hand you'll use to hold the brush.

3) rinse the brush under room temperature water, towards the cooler side.

4) using your non dominant, wet hand, pump a pea sized amount of soap into your palm. use more or less depending on the size and density of your brush.

5) scrub the brush around in circular motions over your palm and fingers. massage the soap into the bristles of the brush as you would into your own hair.

6) rinse the brush, and if you feel it's still dirty, repeat the washing process.

* generally, synthetic brushes will take only one wash, while natural haired brushes will sometimes take two or more. this is because the natural hairs absorb product, while product just sits on top of synthetic bristles.

7) it's time to condition your brush. dip it into the conditioner, enough to cover the surface area of the side you dipped. massage the brush again in circular motions over your palm. you may notice the conditioner lathering -- this is a good sign.

* conditioning your brushes is very important. it removes any excess dirt and germs as well as loosens and removes residue left behind by the soap.

8) rinse your brush and squeeze out the excess water.

9) gently towel dry your brush on a kitchen cloth, and listen carefully. if you hear the remains of lathering soap, condition and rinse the brush again.

10) shape the brush as you wish and place it back on your towel to dry.

i hope you give this a successful try and thank you very much for reading. comments/questions are always welcome. good luck and may your brushes be soft and cleanly!

xo michele