The essential guide to cleaning your makeup brushes
Wonder why you’re always breaking out in spots and blemishes? It could be down to the makeup brushes you use. Here’s the 101 on cleaning your makeup brushes
When it comes to cleaning your makeup brushes are you a once a week – or once in a blue moon (I.e. never!) kind of girl? If your brushes are more makeup then brush you know the answer. Whilst it seems like yet another chore, cleaning your makeup brushes is essential if you want to avoid skin woes like spots, rashes and skin irritation. Unwashed brushes are often full of skin oils, dead skin cells and makeup pigments which are a bacterias playground. At worst they can even contain nasties like streptococcus, staphylococcus, e-coli and fungi. Whilst they are generally not harmful if your skin is healthy, just the thought of that living on your brushes is pretty horrendous.
Benefits of cleaning your brushes?
Not only can you avoid skin blemishes and the thought of applying bugs to your skin, cleaning your makeup brushes has lots of benefits too. If your brushes bristles are clean and firm you’ll find it much easier to blend your makeup. Your skin will also appear more radiant as your products apply like they’re supposed to.
Convinced you need to make a change? Here’s the next steps to clean your brushes the easy way.
- Take each brush and run it individually under the hot tap. Put it into a bowl of gentle shampoo or soap and get a good lather up. Baby shampoo is a great one to use.
- Hold the brushes back under the running water to ensure all the lather has gone. Keep going till it’s completely clean. You can save time by using the Sigma Spa brush cleaning mat
- Make sure you’ve squeezed all the water out of your brush and lay them on a towel to dry.
- Keep them somewhere warm (and separated) till they become dry and regain their original shape
Top tips on how to clean your makeup brushes
- Avoid using the washing machine to clean your brushes as this can strip your brushes of their glue and render them pretty useless
- Foundation brushes build up bacteria quicker due to bacteria preferring wet to dry conditions. Look to washing these at least twice a week
- Synthetic brushes are easier to clean and can last for up to 5 years.
- Keep your brushes in a cool dry place to keep the chances to bacteria setting up home as small as possible (if you keep them clean of course!)
