One of the least fun parts about wearing makeup on a regular basis is cleaning your makeup brushes. I’m sure I’m not the only one who puts off this task and dreads it when it’s time to do it.
Unfortunately, the task simply needs to be done. Without going into all the gory details, there are a lot of reasons why you need to be cleaning your makeup brushes on a regular basis. In short, they can get pretty gunky and unsanitary, and lead to a whole list of problems.
There are a bunch of products out there aimed at cleaning your makeup brushes. And they can definitely lean on the pricey side.
But worry not! Because there’s a super simple and inexpensive way to clean your makeup brushes that I’ve been using for years. Keep reading to find out how you can adapt it as part of your routine!
The Best Inexpensive Way To Clean Your Makeup Brushes At Home
Step 1: Collect everything you need.
My tried-and-true makeup brush cleaning technique is definitely on the uncomplicated side, with very few tools involved.
For starters, you’ll need to collect all your dirty makeup brushes and bring them to the area where you’ll be cleaning. You can either do these steps under a running faucet or a bowl of warm water.
Make sure to set up a clean, dry towel wherever you’ll be cleaning, so that you have someplace to lay your brushes to dry. If you have a makeup brush drying rack, that’s great but totally not necessary for this process!
To clean your brushes, you can use a makeup brush cleaning glove. Personally, I use the E.L.F. Makeup Brush Cleaning Glove which I recommend to anyone reading this. It’s super helpful and very inexpensive at only $10.
Lastly, and most importantly, you’ll need a gentle cleanser and in this case, I absolutely recommend baby shampoo. Baby shampoo won’t be harsh or damaging to your makeup brush bristles, which is good in the long-run. For this, you can just use a regular Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, which is what I use!
Step 2: Wet and lather.
Once you’ve got your setup ready, you can start by running an individual makeup brush (or a couple at a time) under warm water. If you’re using a bowl of water, you can just dip them into the water until the bristles are fully immersed.
Next up, grab your baby shampoo and put a droplet (not too much, not too little) onto the brush bristles. Give it a good lather with your hands, making sure to really get into the brush to get the gunk out from the centre of the bristles.
Of course, be quite gentle with your brush as you don’t want the bristles to fray or break off at any point of the process.
Step 3: Scrub brush bristles using the glove.
Once you’ve built up a good lather (I’m talking we’re aiming for really sudsy here), you can now start using your brush cleaning glove.
As the E.L.F. Cosmetics glove has a little strap on the back, it’s very easy to get a good grip on it while you’re cleaning your brushes. However, if you prefer something a little less hands-on, you can also grab a makeup brush cleaning mat which suctions to your sink.
The best part about these gloves or mats are that they have textured ridges that really get into your brush bristles to get a deep clean.
Step 4: Rinse and lay to dry.
Once you’ve given your brush a good scrub, you can rinse out the shampoo in the sink or bowl. Ideally, if you’re using a running faucet to clean your brushes, you should know your brush is clean when the water runs clear.
If your brushes are heavily used, especially with dark or thick makeup products, this part is gonna be pretty gross (but satisfying!).
Once you’ve rinsed out the shampoo, makeup, and dirt from your brushes, you can gently squeeze out excess water from the brush. Make sure to reshape the bristles so that they dry correctly. And then, go ahead and lay them on the clean towel to dry.
Step 5: Repeat!
Now you get to do this all over again! If you have a lot of dirty brushes, this could take a hot minute. Maybe put on some music or a podcast so that you’re entertained while you’re cleaning!
And that’s it! All told, this will cost you under $20. You don’t need any special products or fancy tools to get the job done. And now, you have no reason to let your makeup brushes stay dirty for ages.
What’s your go-to technique for cleaning your makeup brushes? Let me know in the comments.
Psst.. Don’t forget to check out my other beauty-related content here!
FEATURE IMAGE: freestocks on Unsplash
2 Responses
Using baby shampoo to clean brushes is a great idea. Thanks for these tips!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thanks so much for reading, Lovely. I hope that my post was able to help you out! x