If you are a makeup girl like I am, you understand the importance of taking care of all the tools that make you look great.
Here's one thing I know:
If you don't have clean, great working tools, no project will be successful.
This is especially true with makeup brushes.
Our brushes are constantly on our faces. They are collecting shedding skin, bits of bacteria (especially if they are in our bathrooms), and tons of residual product.
It's very important to clean your brushes if you've had an eye infection or if you are currently experiencing break-outs for no obvious reason. Your brushes are probably dirty!
Look at how much product, and everything else I can't see, is in these brushes. It's definitely time for a cleaning!
I keep the brushes I currently use in a pottery bowl filled with rice.
I've done this for a long time, and keeping my brushes upright in the rice keeps them separated, dry, ready to grab and use, plus it looks great on my bathroom counter.
If the rice gets dirty, I just dump and add more. It's cheap and looks great.
I start the cleaning process by gathering my "cleaners."
I use my Young Living Lavender shampoo, but any that you have on hand will work.
I also use my brush scrubber. This neat little tool can be found at Ulta, Marshals, and of course on Amazon. The cost is less than $10 and it has a suction cup underneath so it clings to the sink while I'm cleaning my brushes.
I also grab a small hand towel for laying out the brushes to dry as well as a washcloth to help squeeze the moisture out of the brushes.
I run fairly hot water in the sink and start by placing the brush down into the water to get the bristles wet.
TIP: The key to keeping your brushes in their best shape is to NOT immerse or force water into the metal ferrule. This will weaken the glue which holds the bristles tightly inside the ferrule as well as the handle which is usually glued and crimped as well.
Always rinse the brushes pointing down. NEVER RUN WATER INSIDE THE BRISTLES!!!
Now, add some shampoo to your scrubber and attach to the side of the sink if you have the suction cup.
If you opt to not use the scrubber, you can use the palm of your hand. I did that before I bought my scrubber.
Swirl the wet brush into the shampoo and let the nubs of the scrubber do the work. You don't have to push down hard, just enough to work up a lather that begins to remove the makeup residue from the brush.
Again, place the brush into the water stream and allow it to slowly rinse away the soap and water.
I repeat on the scrubber a few times until I'm satisfied that I've gotten most of the make-up removed.
Now, sling that brush a bit into the sink so the excess water falls off. Your' brush will look like a wet dog at this point.
But, it's not ready to dry yet...
Take the clean washcloth and sweep the brush gently over the fibers to grab more water.
Use the cloth to gently wrap around the bristles and give it a nice squeeze. This will get additional wetness hanging out on the sides.
Use the washcloth to give the ferrule and handle a good wipe down.
You're almost done.
I like to take a bit of our YL LavaDrem cooling mist and spray the bristles. It gives it a great scent, and because it has lavender in it, it also helps with disinfection.
You can make your own mist by mixing a small spray bottle of Witch Hazel solution with YL lavender essential oil. Give it a good shake and it's ready to go.
I lay the cleaned brush on the hand towel, on its side so that the moisture can drip off and NOT back into the ferrule. I don't recommend that you place them upright to dry because of this.
Next, I repeat this with the rest of the brushes that I am currently using.
It's actually very cool to see all the makeup residue still stuck in the bristles. If you don't clean your brushes often, this old residue will mix and muddy new shades that you try on.
Right before I lay my brushes down, I inspect them to see that the bristles are in good order.
I also use my fingers to "reform" the wet bristles into the original shape of the brush. This way, it drys in the shape that it was meant to be.
It's also a good time to check the ferrule and bristle connection,
as well as the ferrule and handle connection.
If you see signs of wear or breakage, it's time to get a new brush.
Give your old CLEAN brushes to a little girl who likes to "play makeup."
When you've done all your cleaning, you will have a set of tools ready for your face.
The majority of my brushes are the Morphe Set 686 - 16 piece Vegan Brush Set. I don't use all of them at one time, so I have a nice set of "back-up" brushes in a drawer.
I choose the vegan set because they were a non-animal product. With the ever-evolving make-ups on the market today, using a synthetic bristle is just fine.
In addition, investing in a good set of brushes is just that... IT'S AN INVESTMENT.
It's like a carpenter buying tools. The cost may be a bit high at first, BUT, with care, you will get YEARS of use out of your brushes.
Once I've given them a few hours to dry, I place them back into the rice pot and they are ready to go!
Before you turn off the light, clean your sink. It will have some greasy residue and color left-over from your cleaning sesh. I keep a Dollar Tree handled sponge, filled with dish soap, in my shower. It's perfect for quick cleans!
I hope this tutorial gives you an incentive to clean those brushes of yours. It's not exactly rule breaking, but hey...
It's good stuff anyway!
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