Vanity Boulevard: How to clean makeup brushes

Why clean your makeup brushes?

Take a moment to think about how clean your makeup brushes are. Each time you use them, the oils from your face and makeup that you use accumulates on the bristles of the brushes, and when you are done with them, they sits on your dressing table collecting dust and germs that floats around in the air.

So cleaning your makeup brushes regularly will prevent all the dust, oils, dead skin cells and bacteria that may build up over time from spreading onto your face. In addition, clean brushes help to improve make up application and extend the life span of your brushes.

How often should you be cleaning your brushes?

At least once a month and more often if you wear make-up daily.

Step-by-step to cleaning your makeup brushes:

1. Rinse the brushes with warm water to get rid of all dust and residues.

2. Add one pump of gentle face wash or baby shampoo into a clean bowl or container, making sure that the bowl or container is free from grease or oil. You may want to clean and dry the bowl before hand. Fill bowl or container with warm water. The water should be comfortable like warm bath, not scalding hot. You may also add a few drops of tea tree oil to disinfect and condition the brushes.

3. Soak the brushes for 2-3 minutes to loosen any remaining dirt and oils trapped in the bristles.

4. Swirl the brushes around to use your fingers to lightly separate the bristles and swirl again.

5. Pour away the water, rinse the bowl and fill the bowl again with fresh warm water. Put the brushes in and swirl to rinse out the soap. Repeat if necessary until the water is clear when you swirl it. Note that this method is better than rinsing with running water because it makes sure that the water gets into the centre bristles, while running water only gets to the surface bristles.

6. Gently squeeze the excess water from the bristle, lay out flat (not upright) on a paper towel and let it air dry over night. (Do not use heat on the brushes). Slide a pencil under the brushes just at the root of the bristles so that all the bristles are lifted from the paper towel to let the bristle dry faster.

7. Once dried, gently roll your fingers over the bristles to reshape the brushes.

8. To keep the brush clean between uses, lightly dust off your make-up from the brushes by stroking both sides of the brush on a clean tissue, as if you are painting on the tissue, after each use.