How To Properly Clean Your Makeup Brushes

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Since the hurricane, we've been trying desperately to get back to some sort of normalcy around here.  School is still closed, so I've been keeping busy with my little girlies and catching up on some much needed organizing.  One of those tasks, that I have been putting off for too long, is cleaning my makeup brushes.  In fact, I've received a few emails from some of you asking how to properly do this and thought I'd share it with the rest of you.  I took full advantage of the fact that my sister (who lost power and stayed with me all week) was here since she's a runway certified MAC trained make up artist!  Who better to help me out here right?  So here it goes!

Here's what you'll need:

• Mild Shampoo (I prefer baby shampoo because you certainly can't get any milder than that!)
• MAC Brush Cleanser - It's the best one I've tried!  (Ok it's the only one i've tried... but that's why it's the best!)
• Hair Conditioner - I'm using a sample.  Don't discard those little sample size conditioners.  If you don't plan on using them on your hair, you can use them on your fluffy brushes!
• One terry cloth towel to lay the wet brushes on.

Step 1: Wet the hair of the brush being careful not to wet any other part.  You don't want to damage the wood portion so use caution when doing this.

Step 2:  Place a pea size drop of mild shampoo on the palm of your hand.  Gently massage the wet brush on the shampoo in circular motions.

Step 3:  Rinse the Brush (again making sure to only wet the hair of the brush).  Remove access water.

Step 4:  ONLY ON FLUFFY BRUSHES! You can skip this step on smaller brushes such as eye shadow brushes.  Apply a pea size drop of conditioner on the palm of your hand.  Gently massage the brush hair in circular motions to soften it's hair.   Rinse the brush.  Squeeze away any access water.

Step 5:  Lay the brushes flat on a terry cloth towel and allow ample time to dry.  CAUTION:  do not place the brush upright (ex. in a cup) as the water will travel on to the wooden portion of the brush and cause substantial damage.  It's best to lay them flat. 

This next step applies only to fluffy brushes.  If you've just washed an eyeshadow or foundation brush, you can skip the 'conditioner' step.

This next option is for either 'in-between thorough cleanings' OR for cleaning eyeliner brushes.  In fact, this is the ONLY way to clean eyeliner brushes as water and soap alone will not completely remove the gel liner residue. 

Step 1:  Apply a generous amount of MAC brush cleanser solution on to a thick paper towel. 

Step 2:  Gently massage brush on to solution in circular motions until the brush looks clean.  The tips of the bristles on this brush are suppose to be white, so i can always tell when it's clean because this product is excellent at bringing this brush back to its proper color.   

When you finish cleaning the brushes, gently place them flat on a terry cloth towel and allow them to completely dry. You'll notice how soft they feel, and depending on the products you use, you'll also notice how wonderful they smell!

I hope this was helpful.  I would recommend washing your brushes often (as in every few weeks) because they can accumulate a ton of dirt and bacteria.  Lets face it, do you really want all of that extra yuckiness on your face?  Of course not!  If you clean your brushes using a different method, please share!  I'm always up for learning new tricks!  XOXO, Carla