Caring For Your Brushes.

By Olivia Westerhuis

Caring For Your Brushes.

Whether it's an exercise in habit-breaking, or a reminder on the basics, let the below guide you to new, fresh beginnings. 

Washing your makeup brushes once a week will reap the most rewards, and it's important to note that unwashed makeup brushes can harbor a few dirty little secrets:

  • Frequently washing your brushes will prolong their life and maintain the strength of the bristles.

  • Clean bristles are softer and less irritating for your skin (especially foundation/cream brushes). If you're applying foundation with a dusty brush, you put your skin at risk of micro-exfoliation and irritating your pores.

  • Besides bacteria, brushes will also hold a build up of dead skin cells and oils. 

  • The cleaner the brush, the better the application. A build-up of product on your brush can heavily impact the brush's performance and it's application of your makeup, at times giving you unwanted texture.

Weekly/Fortnightly Deep Clean How-To Guide

There are many brush shampoo's you can get your hands on, however you simply cannot go past a simple bar of soap. Choose a gentle soap, suitable for sensitive skin if required.

What you'll need: 

- Bar of gentle soap

- Running warm water (bathroom sink is ideal)

- Rubber cleaning pad (optional)

- Clean towel

How-To:

1. Grab your first brush and run it under warm water for a brief moment, ensuring the internal bristles are wet.

2. Swirl your brush over the Dove bar in a circular motion ensuring you are coating each bristle in soap.

3. Use your fingers to wash the brush and eliminate any build-up of products. This is where a rubber brush-cleaning pad can be really helpful, otherwise hands will do just fine.

4. Continue to wash and rinse the brush until the water runs clear and the brush is clean of all product/residue.

5. Lightly dry the brush using a clean towel and lay the brush flat on the towel to dry with the bristles over the edge, allowing for 360 air space.

Depending on how many brushes you have, this shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and is best done in the early evening, leaving enough time for your brushes to dry overnight. 

If you haven't cleaned your brushes for quite some time, it might take a few washes to get them feeling soft & new again, but stick with this routine and you will see a difference.