How often do you clean your brushes/sponge? Once a month? A week? None at all?
For every single use, makeup and oils tend to accumulate on your brushes/sponge, which lead them to become breeding grounds for bacterias and or other microorganisms. Potentially, it'll cause you to have breakouts, styes, clog pores or even HERPES (yes, you didn't read wrongly!) Afraid much now? I hope so!
Further, with the amount of makeup or dirt left on the brushes/sponge, it will also affect your makeup application. So, what's the best way to clean them? We've sorted out few handy dandy tips to make cleaning brushes/sponge a hassle free task:
OPTION A: LIQUID CLEANER
This is a preferable cleaning method as these cleansers are readily available for purchase in makeup stores. Just buy a bottle, you don't need to fuss with measuring how many parts water vs how many parts soap. Simple and hassle free! Just pour a little if it's concentrated!
1. In a small bowl, pour a thin layer of the solution.
2. Dip the tip of your brush into the solution. Hold it in the solution for 1 minute.
3. Run the brushes across a paper towel until they look visibly clean to you.
4. Air-dry the brushes tip facing upwards.
Here's a few recommendations.
-Beauty Blender Liquid Blender Cleanser
-SIGMA Beauty SigMagic Brushampoo Brush Cleanser
OPTION B: CLEANING SPRAY
This is another cleaning method however it doesn't offer a thorough clean compare to liquid cleanser. A few spritz is all you need in this case!
1. With the brush head pointing downwards, spritz a few times on the brush with the spray.
2. Run the brushes across a paper towel. Repeat until the brushes are visibly clean.
3. Air-dry the brushes.
Recommendations:
-Sephora Collection Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner
-Make Up For Ever Instant Brush Cleanser
OPTION C: SOAP + WATER
1. Wet the tips of brushes while holding the brushes facing downwards (this to prevent the water from entering the adhesive part of the brush). Use lukewarm instead of hot water.
2. If you're using a liquid soap, swirl the brush into a drop of liquid soap until it's lathered. Swirl until the dirt is visibly removed. If, on the other hand, you’re using a bar soap, rub your brushes/sponge into the soap until it's lathered. Repeat as above.
3. Gently squeeze your brushes/sponge to remove excess cleanser and water.
4. With clean water, rinse the brushes/sponge few time to ensure it's thoroughly clean. Note: Hold the brushes facing downwards and for this step, cold water is sufficient.
5. Again, gently squeeze the brushes/sponge. Pat them on paper towel and leave them to air-dry on flat surface.
It's best to clean your brushes/sponge once a week to ensure it's free of bacterias. Also, change them when you notice the bristles are splitting/falling off for brushes. As for beauty blender, when it's cracking or emitting foul smell.
Now, get on with cleaning your brushes/sponge!
