So, I went a little crazy last night when I was up around 4am (remind me not to sit down and watch movies on my bed at 6pm...four hours and a drool puddle later, I screw myself out of sleep till 6am) I decided why the hell not? Let's clean some brushes! (Yep, that's how my mind works).
Now that it's winter and "sicknesses" are going around, it is the most important time to really keep up on cleaning your brushes. Why you ask? Well, because your brushes and sponges can hold all those germs and bacteria in them, of course! Not only that, it spreads all those diseases around AND dirty brushes when your skin is all messed up from the cold can actually perpetuate break outs and irritation.
Getting a little grossed out? Yea...it happens...feeling overwhelmed? Yea, me too....but hey don't worry! We're in this together! So the rule of thumb when you are sick is to deep clean everything as soon as you are over the sickness and avoid using products that are close to your eyes or mouth. If that's not possible, like you JUST NEED to wear mascara or put on your favorite eyeshadow, then you gotsta disinfect like an OCD person or chuck stuff upon completion of said disease. So, chuck your mascara and deep clean your brushes and sanitize (this is the key thing) your eyeshadows and powders!
The rule of thumb when you are all better and a healthy individual is that you should deep clean your brushes every week to every other week (depending on the amount you use them) and that you should try and spot clean your brushes as you are working with them (spot cleaning also helps your colors stay true fyi!)
Okay, now that I've got the lecture out of the way on why and when you should clean your beauty tools, let's get down to what I use to clean and sanitize my brushes and how I actually go about cleaning them.
So first I have two different products I use to actually clean my brushes depending on how dirty they are. If they aren't super dirty and/or don't need conditioning I reach for the E.L.F. Brush Shampoo, which is also pretty fool proof. The consistency is very gel-like so it really sticks to the bristles and you can really clean stuff out quickly. Because it's so thick you don't need that much so you don't waste the product (even though it's only $3). I really love using this shampoo on my beauty sponges because the sponge doesn't soak up the product so you can really get the outside clean.
If I need something to condition and really really deep clean my brushes I actually reach for Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps 18-in-1 Hemp Lavender Pure Castille Soap. There's no detergents in it and the smell is absolutely wonderful! I even picked up a travel-size to take with me on the go, but a huge bottle will run you $3-$4. It's more liquid-y then the E.L.F. shampoo so you may find yourself using more product until you get used to it, but it breaks down even the gunkiest brushes (eyeliners, foundation and lip brushes) it makes the oils and waxes come out of the brushes like it was just water.
It also leaves them smelling great and very soft so bonus!
I have heard a lot of people say they like to shampoo and condition their brushes with Mane and Tail products, which are also very cheap, so whatever works! I will say though that after years of using the MAC brush cleaner, even cheap shampoo is better than that stuff and WAAAYYYY cheaper so just say no! Lol
So I'm going to include a video down below of one way to really clean your brushes if you are super OCD but if not, I basically clean my brushes by getting them damp (so just quickly taking them under the hot water stream) and then I pour a little cleanser on them, swipe them around in my hand until no more pigments come out, with large powder or foundation brushes I get my fingers all the way down to the root to ensure every last bit is cleaned, and then I rinse them, reshape them (which is a must it will also remove excess water!) and then if you didn't notice in the very first picture, I lay them on a rag with a rag under the ends of the handles so that the water doesn't sit on the furl. So basically angling them down, this is going to help preserve the integrity of your brush, water getting on the furl (the metal part that holds the bristles) can cause the glue to loosen and it can also cause the metal to rust in some brushes. Angling them down also helps the water to run off faster so your dry time is a little quicker!
So if these were my brushes for clients I would hit them two times after they've dried with 91% Rubbing Alcohol to sanitize them completely, which I keep in a spray bottle (super easy) this can also be used to sanitize your makeup! 91% is the only one that will kill all the bacteria that grows on makeup (bleck I know!)
So other things I use while I'm using my brushes is the E.L.F. Daily Brush Cleanser. This is $3 and I just spray each side of the brush and run it over or swirl it on a paper towel. As I said before this will not only keep bacteria at bay, it will also keep your makeup looking crisp so that previous colors don't mix and muddy up the new ones you are applying!
I know there are ones that dry faster then the E.L.F. brand one of them is called Cinema Secrets, but I own so many brushes that it isn't something I need to invest in as of yet.
So I hope this helps you guys with your cleaning needs!! I know it can be a bummer to take the time, but it will keep sickness at bay AND also allow you to look even more flawless with your makeup application!
XO
~D
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