Cleaning Those Brushes.

14 Apr 2014

Cleaning anything is a chore whether it's your bedroom or your make up brushes. It's also something everyone does differently and there's not one right way to go about cleaning your brushes but I thought I'd share with your how I clean mine and a few tips!

A Quick Clean
Sometimes a build up of product can be solved quickly with a 'quick clean'. For this I use my No7 Brush Cleaner(£8.00); just by squirting a pump or two onto a piece of kitchen roll is enough for one brush. I take the brush I am wanting to clean and I use up-and-down motions to get the product off. I find kitchen roll best as, unlike tissues, it won't give you those fibers that make little balls and get stuck to your brush which can just be a pain. I don't know whether it's down to technique or the cleaner I use, but after using the brothers just a few times after a quick clean they still need a good clean. I do feel this method is perfect for eye shadow brushes so when you come to use your brushes again and you're applying a light colour, it doesn't come out unexpectedly dark. Also, let me know if you're interested in a full review of this brush cleaner as I would happily do it!

The Deep Clean.
How often you do this is again down to personal preference and how often you actually use your brushes. For me,  I only apply make up at the Weekends so every couple of months is more than enough. You don't need specific times to when  you need to wash them because it varies; most of the time you just know from looking at the brush or how it's not applying as well as it normally does to your face. When I first cleaned my brushes, I just used fairy liquid but I've recently been using Johnson's baby shampoo(£1.67) which a lot of people seem to use and I understand why. It's not to vigorous on the brushes, it gives them a similar softness to when you've just bought them. To clean them, I let the tap run on a luke warm heat and, having a little bit of water in my hand, I add some of the shampoo. I then swirl the brush round in the palm of my hand to get the product off and you can see from the colour your hand goes, from the product, when it's fully clean. I may need to add a little more of the shampoo depending on how much build up of make up there is on the brush; then before finishing, I rinse the brush (facing it downward and trying not to cover the handle) under the tap and almost ring it out and push the water out, trying to get the shape of the brush back to its original form. One other good thing about the shampoo is that even after repeating this process on all of my brushes, it doesn't dry my skin out which is great!


When drying them I lay them on a towel and then try to lay them, on the towel, on some kind of slant so that the water doesn't go rushing to the end of the bristles inside the handle and breaking the glue holding the brush fibers together because then you could find fibers coming out or the whole of the top falling off. I then leave them at that angle to dry for as long as I can- checking them regularly to see if they're staying in the right shape. If you're in a rush to get using them again, you can use a hair dryer to dry them but I suggest a cool temperature setting so, again, you don't disturb the glue inside the handle.

So that's it! I hope you enjoyed this post. It would be interesting to know how often and how you clean your make up brushes.
Hope you're doing great, 









5 comments

  1. I was baby shampoo too, its just an affordable and cheaper way x
    http://whattaylorbuys.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. I love using the baby shampoo. it's so easy!

    Lucy | Make Up Your Mind

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  3. I don't use baby shampoo even though everyone says they do and I now you're meant to! I've been neglecting my brushes for ages and finally decided to clean them today but I used hand soap and don't think I cleaned them well at all and think I may have done it a bit too violently and may have ruined the shape..I should have just waited till after tomorrow because I keep meaning to buy baby shampoo and Im going out tomorrow so i could have easily got it!

    Woah this is a long comment, I'm just letting you know all of my makeup brushes mishaps I suppose... :')x

    libbyjade26.blogspot.co.uk

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    Replies
    1. If you're in a desperate need to wash them, washing up liquid is probably best and to wash them properly, I find the way I mentioned in this post great by swirling it into your hands and it's not too violent!
      I hope you find a solution to your mishap though:-)!
      Sarah x

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