How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes!


This is a deep cleaning treatment that I give my brushes every 2 weeks or so, depending on how badly they need it!  It leaves my brushes feeling super soft and fluffy, I love the way they feel after!  Cleaning your brushes is sooooo important, I can't tell you how bad it is for your skin to keep using dirty, bacteria-filled brushes without washing them or cleaning them regularly :(  I even have a gross story about that: when I was in makeup school we had to pair up and do each other's makeup.  We were using the same brushes because we got one brush set to a pair of girls.  Anyway, the girl I was paired up with had some bad acne and an open sore on her face...and I guess we didn't clean our brushes properly after swapping over.  The next day I broke out really badly and got an open sore too!!  Even when I got some mild acne as a teen, I had never experienced anything like that before.  So CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES girls!!  

In between this treatment, I also just clean them with regular brush cleanser.  For this treatment you will need olive oil and some toilet paper (if you're cheap like me...otherwise you can use cotton pads!)  The olive oil helps to break down the makeup in your brushes and get rid of the colour.  All you do is pour a bit of olive oil onto the toilet paper and rub your brush into it, just like you're painting.  Do this until you get a whole bunch of gross wads of toilet paper like this:


Then bring your brushes over to the sink, run the tap at a lukewarm temperature (not too hot, not too cold) and using a gentle shampoo, wash the brush hairs using your hand.  I usually pour a little shampoo into the palm of my hand and kind of swish the brush around in it until all the colour is out.  Then rinse, holding the brush facing downwards and do the same thing using a gentle conditioner.


I either use a baby shampoo and conditioner or recently I've been using this moisturizing line from Shielo, which is 100% natural and organic.  


When you're done, lay your brushes flat on a towel but let the tops hang over it so that they can air dry.  I have mine on a radiator (this actually wasn't switched on) which you can do but make sure the heat isn't on too high!  I then leave them to dry overnight and the next morning they are incredibly soft and feel amazing!  

(Video tutorial on this coming soon!)

So those are my brush cleaning tips...what are yours?  How do you clean your brushes and do you have any horror stories?!

Stay Stylish!
xoxo


27 comments

  1. Thanks for great tips! I'm making a mental note to clean my brushes sometime this week hehe:) That's a cute picture of you! xox

    http://tamunatko.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. hey ! great tips and the first photo is amazing i really like your big eyes ! :)

    come to me:

    http://beauty-fashion-shopping.blogspot.com/

    bye !

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do this every couple weeks with the baby shampoo, but I've never heard of using olive oil before. I'll definitely try that out next time!

    x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmmm is it bad to only use a plain old bar of soap to clean them? That's what I do...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wash them every 2 weeks and in between uses i have a special homade thing xD I use alchool, baby shampoo and conditioner.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That was an ugly story. :|
    I wash my brushes every week or so with a baby shampoo and after every use I clean them with the "Elf Studio Daily Brush Cleaner".

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the post! I use bare minerals brush cleaner on my brushes. Mine take forever to dry though!

    thatssofletch.blogspot.com

    xo, Jay

    ReplyDelete
  8. I use the MAC Brush Cleanser! I spot clean them almost everyday, and I deep clean about once a week!
    I should definitely try your method, it sounds like more of a deep cleanse than using MAC's cleanser

    xoxo
    Ai

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great tips Anna - you reminded me that I MUST clean my brushes this week x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Olive oil is a wonderful product! It's a body moisturizer, hair treatment, cleanser. It's a miracle in a bottle :) I use MAC's pink brush cleanser in between washes and I TRY to do the olive oil/shampoo thing but it's a little too time consuming for me. I look forward to your posts everyday! I think you are wonderful! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great tips Anna, my deep cleaning using baby shampoo always disappoints me as my bristles are always foundation-coloured :( I'm defo gonna try this out! <3

    hannahbanana295.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great tips! I'll be cleaning mine this weekend. Thankfully I have no horror stories like yours!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great tip of using olove oil! I just wrote it in my wall of projects!
    Thank You Anna!
    Kisses from Spain.

    ReplyDelete
  14. i also love the way they feel after a wash :-)..

    i wash mine depending o their usage.. i mix olive oil & anti bacterial liquid soap to wash my brushes & air dry them by dangling the brush in a glass with the help of a rubber band...

    i have explained the full process in my blog..

    reviewofbeautyproducts.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. thanks so much for telling us this!

    everyfashion.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for this post, and again you look so beautiful with this hair color!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've never thought of using Olive oil before - good tip!

    I've also just posted today about a daily brush cleaner which i've been using!

    You can check it out here! The doll on fashion

    ReplyDelete
  18. I use Dove Cream Oil Shower, for me is better than olive oil to clean foudation and concealer brushes. And it cleans and moisturizes at the same time.
    xo.

    ReplyDelete
  19. thnks Anna- i havent used my brushes since so long- this reminds me now :) today- brush-bathing day.. ehhehee

    ReplyDelete
  20. thanks for the tips - mine are in need of some cleaning x

    ReplyDelete
  21. I always deep clean my brushes once a week!
    I use extra virgin olive oil and antiseptic detergent! I use baby shampoo before and then realized it wasn't killing the bacterias, so now I switch to detergent and it didn't ruined them or anything, ti actually made them really soft and clean!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Lovely tip, as always!

    Liesl :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anna,

    You shouldn't lay your brushes flat because the water can get stuck inside the metal connector (I hope that makes sense--basically the metal part) and make the glue come lose and your brush fall apart. Instead, give it a try hanging them upside down so the water can drip out.

    --Courtney

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great tips! I usually just swirl mine in gentle shampoo and rinse. I've never used olive oil before! and I always wondered if I needed to condition my brushes. I wasn't sure if that would be bad for my skin... I guess it's ok if you get it all out!

    ReplyDelete
  25. really love your blog - am following.

    would love you to enter my giveaway:

    http://thoroughlymodernmilly5.blogspot.com/2011/01/giveaway-be-my-february-girl.html

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Olive oil is something indispensable in our face cleansing and care routine. Good idea to use it on brushes.

    ReplyDelete
  27. You shop at Aldi??
    Aldi brand olive oil in the pic?....Nice!

    ReplyDelete

Please be nice...the world could use some positivity! :)

Custom Blog Design by pipdig