We all have our fair share of bad beauty habits, and one of the most common offenses is unclean brushes. Although it may seem unimportant, failing to sanitize your tools can be worse than forgetting to wash your face! Taking proper care of your bristles helps their performance, extends their lifetime, and prevents harmful bacteria from forming. We chatted with New York-based dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D., as well as makeup artists Sonia Kashuk and Dick Page, to better understand this essential part of your beauty routine.
How dirty brushes affect your skin
While your bristles pick up pigments, they also collect dirt, oil, and bacteria—and this affects Beauties with sensitive or acne-prone skin the most! "This buildup can be transferred to your skin and cause breakouts," says Dr. Tanzi. She suggests cleaning your tools with warm water and a gentle soap such as Cetaphil every three months to avoid unhealthy bacteria accumulation. Another danger to watch out for? The spread of viruses. "In the worst case scenario, herpes can be spread by lip gloss brushes,” warns Dr. Tanzi. “Eye shadow and liner brushes can transfer pinkeye or other viral infections, so try not to share them!" The risk of infection is lower with blush and face powder brushes since they are not coming in contact with wet areas like the eyes and mouth, which can harbor more bacteria and viruses.
Cleaning tips
In addition to nasty side effects, filthy tips can interfere with your artwork. "Washing your brushes once a week keeps bristles soft for easier application and allows you to grab the true pigment you want," explains Sonia. If you're prone to acne, wash your sponges, brushes, and eye lash curlers daily. There are many methods for cleaning brushes, Dick recommends using a combination of baking soda and baby shampoo to clean fluffy brushes. "The sodium bicarb helps to deodorize and disinfect. Then hang the brushes upside down," Dick advises. "This is important because you don't want to have any liquid seeping back into the base of the brush." Sonia also suggests spritzing a cleansing spray which can also be used on pressed powders too and laying brushes flat on a clean paper towel overnight.
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Jul 24, 2012
Darian J.
I clean all my makeup brushes as often as I can. I try to get it done at least once a week. I had no clue that your supposed to wash your eyelash curler though. That is quite interesting. I will have to add that to my routine.
Jul 02, 2012
Dhea A.
i clean my brushes with baby shampoo. i clean my makeup brushes once a week or after i finish work with my client. i seen alot makeup artist here work with their dirty makeup brushes, eww its so disgusting..
Mar 01, 2012
ArtistrybyBriana N.
Take care of your makeup brushes, and they'll take care of you! Caring for your brushes is just as important as using the right brush. You should keep your brushes clean. There are brush cleansers you can get from beauty supply stores. You use these by spraying them on a tissue/towel and then wiping the brush on them. This is good to do between uses for a fast way to remove product and germs. However, for a deep cleaning, you should wash your brushes every so often (ideally about once a week but no less than once per month).
My favorite product for cleaning brushes is Laura Mercier's Brush Cleanser. It’s great because you can spray it onto a tissue/towel and wipe the brushes on it for a click cleaning, or you can spray it on wet brushes and it’ll lather up for a deep cleaning. You can also use your face wash to wash your brushes. I wet my brushes, then I squeeze some of my face wash into the palm of my hand and swirl the wet brush around in the face wash. Squeeze the remaining product out of the brush, rinse and then squeeze the remaining water out of the brush. Now here’s the important part: You must lay your brushes FLAT to dry! Never leave the brushes standing up while they’re wet, or the water can seep in and loosen the bristles. - Artistry by Briana
Feb 20, 2012
Davia G.
I have known through my own personal experience that if you don't take care of your brushes that it can cause you to break out and no one wants that..also your shadows and pigments will settle at the head of the brush creating color chaos...not cool!
Feb 18, 2012
Katy H.
going to go clean my brushes right now! this gave me the extra boost i needed!
Jul 24, 2012
Darian J.
Feb 13, 2012
Keyry H.
I use Hand wipes to spot clean my brushes and Olive oil and Dish soap to deep clean my brushes every sunday, I haven't had a bad skin day in months :)
Feb 11, 2012
Vik A.
I remember the first time I cleaned my powder brush (the only one I used at the time) and was just HORRIFIED at the color that washed down the drain. It hit me that I was just brushing that nastiness on my face and no wonder my pores were clogged and wow. WOW. Never again! I use castile soap now, about once a week (if not more).
Feb 10, 2012
Enis S.
I try to clean my brushes every 3 weeks. Sometimes I get lazy and end up cleaning them by the 5th week. I only use baby shampoo, I'll give the baking soda a try though.
Feb 10, 2012
Mandy C.
I clean my brushes every month.. But every three months? That's a bit long for me lol. I use a non-detergent/non-ammonium shampoo (i.e. Baby shampoo lol) lather and rinse thouroughly. Actually it's about time for me to clean them again haha. I honestly think I would have forgotten because I'm super busy. :)
Feb 09, 2012
Julianna S.
I clean my brushes every week and some times every use. I don't use them on others at all and I usually put foundation on with my clean hands. It doesn't make a difference and I 100% agree. however EVERY3 MONTHS!?!? gross.