topic How often do you clean your brushes? in Beauty

How often do you clean your brushes?

Rachb — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:29:54 GMT

I'm a cosmetic junkie. And I love my brush collection. Admittedly, I've never cleaned my brushes. And some I've used for years. Yes, I know it's gross. So....it's time to clean my brushes! How often do you clean your brushes? And what product do you use to clean them?

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

susanks1 — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:52:21 GMT

I use baby shampoo every week to two weeks.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

wilma — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:53:23 GMT

I don't have extra brushes so I use mine for 2 weeks, then I clean them using Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo. I do not soak mine. I hand wash with some running warm water and shampoo until I no longer see makeup coming out of the brush and going into the sink. I make sure to give them a good thorough rinse. I blot them first with a washcloth to absorb the excess water. The smaller brushes (eye shadow and concealer brushes) lay flat to dry on a clean washcloth. I lean the larger brushes against the side of the tile backsplash so they will stand bristles down on the washcloth.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

JeanLouiseFinch — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:57:08 GMT

I used to be more on the ball about this, cleaning them about every month or 6 weeks, but I've gotten kinda lazy lately. I guess I let myself off the hook because I'm not wearing makeup everyday. I recently bought a little brush cleaning tool on Amazon that I want to try. As for what I cleanse them with, usually face cleanser, shampoo, or liquid hand soap, whatever I happen to grab.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

JustJazzmom — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 01:03:28 GMT

For the foundation brush I use, I clean it at least once a week with baby shampoo in my hand and keep rinsing with warm water and adding more baby shampoo until I no longer see foundation coming out of the bristles. I then pat it dry of excess water and lay it on its side to air dry. I was told if I laid it with the bristles up, any excess water might go into the handle where the brush attaches and loosen over time the glue.

Eye shadow brushes I use a soft tissue to remove excess powder. I clean those about 1X/month using the same baby shampoo.

Cheek brushes -- the same method as the foundation brush and that is about 1X/month as well.

The cleaning removes excess product from the brush which interferes with application of new foundation and it removes any bacteria or germs that came from transfer from your face to the brush.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

VaBelle35 — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 01:07:13 GMT

Every few months, whenever my foundation brush gets a little caked from the primer. I use sponges for the liquids, so it's only the brushes for my BE READY and original foundation.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

joannecha — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 01:12:27 GMT

Anything on my eyes gets cleaned after every use. Others get cleaned about once a week or before if they look "icky". I use liquid hand soap on most, but liquid Dawn on eye brushes, as they seem to get clean right away.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

Jeannie29 — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 01:23:05 GMT

I wash my brushes every 1-2 weeks (or more often if necessary). I repurpose face wash or shampoo that I do not care for as brush wash.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

millieshops — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 01:30:00 GMT

I probably don't clean my brushes as often as I should, but I no longer feel terribly guilty because a few years back Oprah had a guest who talked about the need to clean our brushes. One woman in the audience gave him a large brush she had never cleaned in 25 years!!! What did he find? Some minor bit of something negligible. Nothing that was going to cause her trouble for the next 25 years!

I use Purity to clean my brushes when I do it and air dry them lying across a wide-mouthed glass.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

Suebdoo — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 02:38:13 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch I got that brush egg in the picture you showed ( I got the dupe) when @BlingQueen recommended it a few months ago. That thing is AWESOME !! One of my better purchases !! Makes cleansing a breeze! I bet you will love it!

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

BlingQueen022 — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 02:42:34 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
I used to be more on the ball about this, cleaning them about every month or 6 weeks, but I've gotten kinda lazy lately. I guess I let myself off the hook because I'm not wearing makeup everyday. I recently bought a little brush cleaning tool on Amazon that I want to try. As for what I cleanse them with, usually face cleanser, shampoo, or liquid hand soap, whatever I happen to grab.

I clean my brushes using the Brush Egg that's shown above. I clean them faithfully once a week. The brush egg is the best invention ever!!!! The cleaner I use is only the blue Dawn liquid dish soap.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

FUTURE — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 02:54:21 GMT

I have a LOT of brushes, so I wash the ones I use most every week or two. I have the Sigma mat and the brush egg - I prefer the sigma mat, but the brush egg is great, too. I usually use whatever shampoo or facial cleanser samples I have that I know I won't use. I figure I can get rid of them somehow! Baby shampoo works great, too. @Rachb, if you haven't washed your brushes in that long, I'd look up the method using olive oil and baby shampoo. It REALLY gets them clean. It just takes a while, but to me, it would be worth it if you gave a lot of grime and gunk in there. Also, you might look into a brush sanitizer spray. Beautysoclean has a nice one, but elf and others make spray brush cleaners that you can use for everyday. HTH!!

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

deja vu — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 04:48:32 GMT

I'm a lover of all things cosmetic myself. I have plenty of brushes. The newer ones coming out over the past few yrs.especially some of the IT brushes are great, but still have many I'm not parting with.

I use Bobbi Brown's quick dry cleaning spray on mine everyday or couples of days on ones that I'm using at the time. But I wash my foundation brushes most often... once a month since I use the BB quick clean spray in between.. And I usually use Johnson's baby shpoo, or some facial cleanser when I do a better cleaning.

But I really rely on the quick spray..it cleans well, smells clean, and drys fast. I use it on a folded paper towel until it comes out clean...it takes more with foundation brushes and I do them less often. Great for shadows, blush, liners.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

TY — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 05:50:09 GMT

I wash my makeup brushes at least once a month but I usually clean them more often than that. I have duplicates of brushes so I rotate through them. But I also have sets of brushes that I don't use. When makeup brushes get worn out (hair not lying flat or hair coming out) I toss them out. I also don't have a makeup brush for every little thing as I'm trying to simplify putting on makeup including eye makeup.

I use face wash, usually unscented to wash my brushes then I dry them laying flat on a paper towel.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

Tara811 — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:14:09 GMT

I wash mine every 2 weeks.also. I use the sigma cleaning glove, dawn anti bacterial dish soap, and virgin olive oil. Found this on youtube. the olive oil keeps the brushes soft.It does an amazing job, and i lay the brushes on a folded like a roll towel with the brushes angled down. I only have it brushes and they look like brand new.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

laurelei — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 20:56:25 GMT

@Suebdoo wrote:
@JeanLouiseFinch@ I got that brush egg in the picture you showed ( I got the dupe) when @BlingQueen recommended it a few months ago. That thing is AWESOME !! One of my better purchases !! Makes cleansing a breeze! I bet you will love it!

I bought it too and it speeds up the cleaning process--love it! I use Real Techniques brush cleaner. It's a gel that lathers when mixed with water. Gets your brushes nice and clean and soft. I wash mine weekly.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

tototwo — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 14:26:05 GMT

Holy Moley!!!! Are you all serious? I wash each brush every time I use it. As soon as I brush on my foundation, I clean the brush with face cleanser and water. Same with eye brushes and powder brushes. I clean each and every brush every time I use it because.... welll..... eeeeuuuwwwww if I don't.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

Violet Fields — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 18:22:40 GMT

Once a week, but after each use if it's a brush for eye makeup. I've only been putting foundation on my nose and chin to cover up redness and the brush doesn't seem to pick up much (love the brush! It's eco tools). The cheeks get powder, so I don't worry about cleaning that one as much as the other.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

CalMom — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:48:01 GMT

I just saw this. Zete (which you can buy at Walmart or Home Depot) for under $1.00.

Has anyone ever used it? There is a youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00EC4MdP6ac

I also purchased a Benjabelle Brush Stand over a year ago. Now, I noticed that there are many dupes on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amakeup%20brush%20stand

Master's Paint Cleaner can also be used for cleaning make up brushes. It's available at Michael's, Aaron Brothers and Amazon.

Sigma has a glove for cleaning brushes but it is ridiculously priced. I have seen that small finger glove that works which has already been discussed in this thread..

Another option is a silicone oven mitt which has different textures. I have it in red and bought it at TJ Maxx or it is available at BB&B. It's also on Amazon. You only need 1 mitt.

Re: How often do you clean your brushes?

winamac1 — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:57:50 GMT

Not often enough.