Cleaning makeup brushes is one of the worst parts about wearing makeup on a regular basis. If you’re like me, you have a ton of different brushes for different things so it can be quite time consuming when they all need washed at once. I dread cleaning them all and I honestly don’t do them as I often as I should.
Everybody has their own process of makeup brush cleaning. Today I’m sharing what I use currently to quickly and easily clean my makeup brushes with as little agony as possible.
This process works for cleaning both makeup brushes as well as makeup sponges. I’ve already shared how to quickly clean your BeautyBlender sponge but what I’m showing you today gives you a deeper clean for when sponges are extra dirty.
Lately I’ve been loving the Dr Bronner’s All-One Hemp Peppermint Pure-Castile Bar Soap. I buy mine at Target. It has a nice light peppermint scent and contains organic oils that will help keep your brushes nice and soft.
Dr Bronner’s comes in liquid form as well but I prefer the bar soap. What I do is keep my bar in a reusable plastic bar soap travel case. The case makes it easier to handle the soap during brush cleaning and gives you a way to store the leftover soap for your next cleaning.
I simply take my brush, wet the head in warm water and then swirl it around on the top of the bar of soap. Once it’s nice and soapy, I swirl it around a couple more times on my palm and then rinse it under the water. If the brush is mega dirty, you may have to repeat this step a few times.
This soap really does a great job of quickly breaking down the makeup with very little effort. I’ve tried many other cleaners and so far this is my favorite. Most brushes only need one run through the soap to get them squeaky clean.
After they are rinsed, squeeze out the excess water and lay them on a towel. You want to always lay them on their sides until they are dried completely. If they are dried standing up, water runs down into the handle and may crack or split the wood. The water can also loosen the glue in the brush ferrule.
I use the same method to clean my makeup sponges. Wet them first, then rub them around on the soap. Gently squeeze the sponge in your hand and work the soap into the sponge. Rinse it until the water runs clear. Repeat if necessary.
Sometimes thicker foundations just really cling to makeup sponges so they need an even deeper clean. That’s when I turn to my bottle of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. This is also good for cleaning makeup brushes and sponges that need a really good deep clean.
After all of my brushes have been cleaned, I take the soap bar out of the plastic travel container. Rinse the bar of soap and the container with warm water. Put the soap bar back inside and close the lid. Store it in a dry place until you’re ready to clean your brushes again.
The Dr Bronner’s bar of soap lasts me for about 5+ rounds of brush cleaning. It will really depend on how many brushes you have and how dirty they are.
A lot of people recommend wiping down the brush handles with rubbing alcohol after every cleaning. I don’t do this all too often unless the handles are clearly dirty and need wiped down.
That’s all there is to it! This really is a quick and easy method. Do you have a favorite makeup brush cleaner or secret tricks or tips? Do share below!
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