Washing makeup brushes is something of a struggle in the makeup world. ‘What should I use to wash them? How often should I wash them? How do I leave them to dry?’ are only some of the questions connected to washing our beauty tools. I’ve tried a few methods over the years, but this one seems to work best for me. I’m sure there is a more professional way to do it, but this is quick and easy, it works well and doesn’t make washing makeup brushes a chore!
What you need:
– Makeup brushes (you wouldn’t have guessed, right?)
– A sink/basin
– Luke-warm water
– A towel
– Baby shampoo : Baby shampoo is soft and gentle and doesn’t cause hairs to fall out of the brushes, plus it’s affordable!
Step 1 – Lay out your brushes on a towel : Are you keeping up with me? 😉
Step 2 – Fill sink with luke-warm water : I usually fill mine less than half way, depending on how many brushes you’re washing. If you prefer you can fill a glass with luke-warm water instead and refill it for each brush. This is more water-friendly and probably a bit more hygienic if you have a lot of makeup on your brushes.
Step 3 – Add a few drops of baby shampoo to the water : Usually a squeeze or two is enough. Swirl the water around to mix the shampoo and create suds.
Step 4 – Wet your brush : Doing this makes Step 5 a bit easier.
Step 5 – Squirt a blob of shampoo onto your hand – This allows you to thoroughly wash each brush individually and get rid of any stubborn makeup that won’t come off.
Step 6 – Swirl brush on hand : By doing this you can really work the shampoo into the brush and make sure that you get rid of every bit of makeup. It helps to use your fingers to make sure every bristle gets washed. The result may look something like this…
Step 7 – Wash shampoo off brush N-SYNC (geddit?) : This gets rid of the shampoo residue and the makeup that hasn’t transferred onto your hand. I would use the same basin of water for two or three brushes, and then empty it out and fill up again. If you like you could just run the brush under the tap to save water (and time).
Step 8 – Admire your nice, clean brush!
Step 9 – Lay your brush flat to dry on a towel : Some people recommend hanging the brushes upside so the water doesn’t sink into the bristles and loosen them, but I have never had that problem by using this method. It is preferable if you leave them to dry in a mild room so they’re ready to use the next day!
Step 10 – Repeat the process for all other brushes!
How often should you wash your makeup brushes?
If you wear makeup every single day, it is advised that you wash your face brushes once a week. Once every two weeks should be sufficient for eye brushes. If you only wear makeup on the weekends, or about four times a week, washing them once every two weeks is a good place to start, although it’s a tricky routine to get into! I keep a packet of baby wipes on my makeup desk so I can quickly wipe my brushes before I use them if they’re particularly covered in makeup, or just to clear my eye brushes so I can use them for different colours.
I hope that this post has helped anyone who was slightly confused about washing their brushes! It’s certainly not the only way to do it, but it works well for me. If you’ve any different methods please leave them below, I’d love to read them!
TGIF – at last!
*Don’t ever let the place you start dictate where you finish*
Great post! I need to do better at washing my brushes! :/