Brushology 101 PART 3: Cleaning your brushes

In PART 1 and PART 2 of this series I showed you and explained the use of some makeup brushes and in a more recent post I praised my favorite brushes. Now it's time to talk about how to clean and care for your precious tools! Brushes come in contact with your face so it is of the highest importance to keep them clean and hygienic. Furthermore, you spent good money on your brushes and to make them last long and maintain all their softness they need some love and attention.

There are two different types of cleaning:

Spot cleaning: should be done after every use or daily, gets rid of most of the product and some of the bacteria. I always spot clean my eyeshadow brushes after every look and when I need to use it for a different color on the same look. There are many brush cleansers on the market, from the very famous (and expensive) one from MAC to more cheap drugstore versions. I own the Zoeva brush cleanser (8.50 €), the Kruidvat one (2.99 €) and the HEMA Brush Cleaner (4.50 €). The first two are good but smell funny, while the one from HEMA smells nice and works amazingly! Definitely my favorite! I transfer it to a spray bottle and spray my brushes after use, swirl them on a tissue until all the color is off, then store them horizontally and they'll be dry in 10-15 minutes.

Deep cleaning: once a week you should deep clean your brushes, to make sure that all the bacteria is gone and to condition the bristles to keep them soft and flexible. To do this you can use different soaps or DIY combinations. In general you need a disinfecting soap and a conditioning agent. A common DIY recipe is to use 2 parts of dish washing soap and 1.5 parts of olive oil. Other option is to use baby shampoo. I personally purchased Elf Brush Shampoo (4 €), pour some in the palm of my hand and swirl the wet brushes in it until the color is all gone and rinse them under the tap until the water runs clear. Then I squeeze them to get rid of as much water as possible and leave them to dry lying horizontally on a towel. Usually they're ready to use after 24 hours.

It is important that any time you get your brushes wet, the liquid doesn't reach the joint between the bristles and the handle, because it could damage the glue and cause shedding of the brush. This is also the reason why you should always leave the brushes drying horizontally or upside down.