Cleaning makeup brushes

[goofinoff]

I clean my foundation and concealer brush either every day or every other. Powder, blush and eyeshadow brushes I do about once a month.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I do mine about once a year (seriously) I have good MAC brushes, have had them for years, use them daily and actually wash about once a year

Thank you for admitting to that. I only clean mine when the blush brush is full of color, then I wash them all. Maybe once a year. Mine are good brushes from Everyday Minerals. They just aren't the same after I wash them.

 

[BelleMarie]

I alternate blue Dawn/hot water and alcohol until they no longer discolor the liquid, then rinse and let dry. I always start with alcohol as it seems to be a magnet for the leftover makeup that accumulates.

 

[shortbun]

Dawn or my shampoo.

 

[Kimmers127]

UPDATE:

Okay, I decided to clean the brushes this morning. I let both (foundation and concealer) brushes sit in a little Dawn & hot water for maybe ten or fifteen minutes. The water was filthy which madd me think yay! It's working! At this stage, after rinsing the concealer brush looked great so I set it aside up dry. The foundation brush was still pretty stained so I let it sit in alcohol for 5 minutes or so. Again, the alcohol turned brown. But, after rinsing the brush it was still stained. I alternated between the two cups a few times and then quit for the day. The water/alcohol are getting much less dirty at this point so maybe some of the staining is permanent.

I will probably try again tomorrow and maybe leave the brush soaking in the Dawn a bit longer.

(Love the conditioner idea so I did use a bit of that at the end!)

 

[Kimmers127]

I just realized how bizarre it is that I don't clean my eyeshadow and powder brushes. I think because there is a layer of makeup between those and my skin I sort of mentally put them in a different category, but realistically I guess I should start washing those too!

 

[disneyfab]

I never let my brushes soak. I swirl them around, gently squeeze the excess water and then dab on a towel. If I see makeup on the towel, I return to the bowl to repeat the process. I typically have to do my face brushes at least twice.

For white bristle brushes, I sometimes add a drop of dawn directly to the brush.

I tend to clean my face brushes in one batch and my eye brushes in another batch.

 

[sookie]

I usually use a gentle cleansing soap like cetaphil.

What I have seen recommended is to wash them weekly or monthly. I do wash my eye makeup brushes with a brush cleanser more frequently because I change colors a lot.

You shouldn't submerge them and leave them because that can make the glue that holds the brush hair in place dissolve.

You should lay them flat to dry.

This article has different recommendations but is still good.

http://makeupblog.janeiredale.com/blog/2012/02/01/how-to-clean-your-makeup-brushes/

 

[Kimmers127]

Just to clarify, I only "submerge" the actual bristles. So I put like two inches of soapy water in a glass and stand the brushes in it.

Thinking about it, my foundation brush is like 7 years old!! I guess I can't really complain if the bristles don't come fully clean!

 

[disneydee6]

I use shampoo. Also dry them flat (and don't wash them enough )

 

[Kimmers127]

I use shampoo. Also dry them flat (and don't wash them enough )

For the longest time I washed mine EVERY DAY. Then I read something that said once a week was plenty, and now I do them maybe every two weeks. I wish I had kept doing them daily, no buildup!

 

[VKClark]

For health reasons, it is a good idea to clean brushes as often as possible, once a week at least.
Baby shampoo works fine, in the palm of your hand, take one brush at a time and gently rub them in the baby shampoo. Then take each brush and run it under warm water, using your fingers to rinse the shampoo out. Squeeze the excess water from the brush hairs and lay them on a clean, dry towel. Take each brush and gently wipe it back and forth on the towel to get as much water out as possible.
VKClark ianncreations

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I use a silicone oven mitt I bought from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Silico...1389575804&sr=8-6&keywords=silicone+oven+mitt)

Step 1: Wet the brush hairs with warm water.
Step 2: Add my facial cleanser (Neutrogena Ultra Gentle) to the mitt
Step 3: Swirl brush on bumps on mitt to get it to foam and work the makeup out of the brush
Step 4: Rinse an swirl on bumps on oven mitt
Step 5: Rinse the brush really well
Step 6: Repeat cleansing if necessary (only necessary for brushes I use for long-wear foundation)
Step 7: Hang to dry on my Benjabelle Brush Tree

Edit: I clean my facial brushes at least once a week. I clean my eye brushes more often. I have multiples, so I often clean them all at once. For eyebrushes, I often just clean them in the palm of my hands with my facial cleanser.