I've never been really great with cleaning my brushes, in fact I'd be embarrassed to tell you how little I do. In place of washing my brushes frequently and to disinfect them regularly I came up with an ideal I thought would be really clever. I put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and spray it on my brushes then lightly swiped my brushes across tissue and let it air dry. After finally washing my brushes after going a few months (gasp! I know) of just spaying my brushes with alcohol after every use, I realized my brushes had tiny bits of makeup that had dried from my spraying into little dots stuck to the brushes. Or in other words the alcohol had turned the powder to a liquid which dried in droplets on the hairs. Well let's just say that was a pain in the but to clean and my brushes lost it's shape after not having been washed for so long.
Sephora has a daily brush cleaner that is really just alcohol and fragrance, so it looks like I was on to something after all, I just still needed to deep clean my brushes. The Dressy Chick made there own spray with distilled water alcohol and essential oil (she used lavender I would use tea tree oil because it's cheaper and has good antibacterial properties).
So I learned that while this might work short term to help at least disinfect your brushes it should not be a replacement for washing your brushes and please know alcohol is hard on your brushes, it will likely cause your brush hairs to break off. So if you have really cheap bushes that you can easily replace this I would still suggest this in between washing your brushes like once a week. Especially if you have problems with acne, since bacteria is part of what causes pimples to form. Just don't be like me and skip washing them!
Why Wash Your Brushes At Least Once A Week?
Washing your makeup brushes should be a regular part of your beauty routine. When you use your brushes, bits of makeup, oil, dirt, and even bacteria can get trapped in the bristles. So while it might seem basic, skipping this step can lead to clogged pores and pesky breakouts. Not to mention the fact that quality makeup brushes can be expensive. So learning how to properly clean them is one of the best ways to protect the money you spent on your brushes.
You will need:
• A shallow bowl
• castile soap (you can get at health food stores, Trader Joe's, Target, and Walgreen’s)
• distilled vinegar
• A clean lint free cloth (I used a wash cloth)
Instructions:
Fill a bowl with cold to lukewarm water (not hot!) and a squirt of castile soap, and gently swirl your brush tip in the water.
Fill a bowl with cold to lukewarm water (not hot!) and a squirt of castile soap, and gently swirl your brush tip in the water.
If your brush sucks it all up you can just add some water. Rinse Your brush.
Repeat this step until the water runs clear.
Add equal parts vinegar and water to the same small bowl and swish the brush around in it. This step is optional to disinfect your brushes. Keep in mind this will make your brush smell of vinegar. You could also substitute rubbing alcohol for vinegar if you are worried about the smell but just keep in mind this can be hard on your brushes. To me it's worth it to use vinegar, to disinfect it naturally, but I know this isn't for everyone.
Rinse the brush tip under running water once again very well (to avoid a lingering vinegar smell). I haven't tried this yet (I plan to next time I wash my brushes), you could try to add a few drops of tea tree oil to some water and let the brush soak up the tea tree water. No need to rinse out the tea tree oil has antibacterial and anti fungus properties, and in my opinion has a pleasant odour. Just simply squeeze gently on the brushes to remove the excess water.
Use a cloth to gently wipe your brush clean, reshaping the bristles as you go.
Think of it like your drying your face. Just hold the towel all around it allowing the water to get sucked up by the cloth. You don't want to have hair come out or the brush to lose it's shape.
Lay your brushes flat on a cloth to dry do not dry upright, because the water will go down and sit in the base where the bristles are attached and loosen the glue and the bristles. Let your brushes dry over night.
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