Cleanliness - Cleaning Make Up Brushes

So I have now filled you all in on the wonders that are my make up brushes (I absolutely love them).

 

Given my constant use of these brushes, I need to ensure that they are clean and fresh for use on my skin. Any beauty blogger will understand the importance of a clean make up brush! It's just vital! Why apply beautiful products to your skin, if the brushes that you use are dirty and likely to affect your skin... Wasted time!

 

So, I have not really experimented with cleaning my make up brushes, I have two methods that work - so I stick to it.

 

Spot Cleaning

 

This involves cleaning your brushes after every use - or after every few uses, to prevent any build up of bacteria in the brush head.

I have tried two lovely brush cleaners for this so far. There is not much difference in the two.

 

The first brush cleaner that I have used was purchased from Amazon and I have had this several times now.

 

This is the Strictly Professional Cosmetic Brush Cleaner and costs £4.67 for 150 ml.  On the bottle, the instructions advise you to soak the brushes in the cleaner. I did this the first time (before googling better techniques) and it used so much product and the brushes just soaked up the liquid. I just don't think that this was any good for the brushes and it was such an expensive way of cleaning them.

 

I have now purchased the No 7 brush cleaner from Boots, which costs £8.00 (but can be purchased when no 7 or Boots offers are on, usually for a little saving) for 185 ml. The instructions on this, are as I clean my brushes, following helpful guides off the internet!

 

To clean my brushes, I take a cotton wool pad or some tissue paper folded a few times. I spray the tissue with the solution and take each brush in turn, rubbing the head of each brush in the solution. Instantly, you are able to see the make up come out of the brushes and onto the tissue. There are usually some kind of antibacterial qualities in make up cleaners too, to ensure that the brushes are cleaned and fresh.

 

Providing that you maintain this routine and do this regularly, the brushes will remain clean, sanitary and good for your skin. I tend to do mine 1-2 times per week, unless I have used the brushes more, or I have applied a particularly heavy eye colour or eye liner using the brushes - then I do them straight after use.  This is something that I have now made a habit, as the last thing I want, is to be using all efforts with my skin care and using lovely make up products to keep my skin lovely, fresh and glowing, if I am going to apply this make up with dirty make up brushes.

 

Deep Cleaning

 

As well as Spot Cleaning, I also Deep Clean my brushes once or twice per month. This helps keep my brushes in tip top condition.

 

To do this, I use Johnsons Baby Shampoo. I bought a small travel size bottle, as you use this so sparingly, it takes forever to go through even that. I still haven't made a dint in the bottle. This is the softest, gentlest shampoo and works like a charm.

 

To do this, I take a small (literally VERY SMALL - once combined with water this foams like crazy!!) amount of shampoo in the palm of my hand and I add a touch of water (this can also be done on a plate or in a small bowl or glass, if you prefer).

 

Again, as with the Spot Cleaning, I take each brush in turn and I swirl the head of each brush in my hand in the mixture. This foams up and - as with washing your hair, washes the bristle, removing any dirt, build up of make up and residue.

 

The most important thing with this, is to rinse the brushes until the shampoo is completely removed from the brush and they are clean. I then rub them over a clean dry towel, to remove any excess water and then place them to dry, upside down in the stands, as pictured.
 

This works great and prevents and of the water seeping into the brush and causing problems with the sealants that hold the head in place.

 

I know that there are many other way to clean brushes, but I have found these two methods to be most effective for me.

 

How do you clean your brushes? Let me know if you try these methods out and how you find these.

 

Hope you have enjoyed reading!

 

LL x