Sunday, July 7, 2013

Makeup Brush Hygiene

Hi there!!!

Thought I'd do a quick how to on Makeup Brush Hygiene.

I promise a video makeup tutorial coming this week!!

My brushes were in dire need of a good thorough cleaning, so I thought I'd share how I clean my brushes.  I try to thoroughly clean them every 2 weeks, depending on how much use they're getting.  If I have clients then, they get cleaned before & after each person.  Weekly on my own, I clean them with paper towel & spray cleaner.  I'll post a photo tutorial on that later.  But bi-weekly I clean them with baby wash & luke warm water.

1.  First, I gather all my brushes, a couple paper towels, a fresh/clean hand towel, & Mustela baby wash.  I also gather a couple more paper towels, windex, and Honest multi-purpose spray cleaner, to wipe down the bathroom sink area & brush jar when finished.

2.  I fill the sink with a shallow amount of lukewarm water & squirt a touch of baby wash to get the water bubbly.  I put two doubled-up paper towels to one end of the sink & clean hand towel folded once, on the other side.

3.  I tend to gather brushes by handle & bristle size.  I get the brush hair damp with the bubbly water then work them into the palm of my hand that has a bit of baby wash.  I swirl the brushes gently yet thoroughly to ensure good cleaning yet preserve the delicate brush hair.  I set these to the side on the paper towel & move onto the next few brushes.  Follow the same directions & move on to your other brushes.

4.  When I have cleaned all the brushes, I then completely dunk them into the sink of warm bubbly water.  Swish them in the water a few times & then promptly remove. Note: Leaving the brushes in the water can lead to major brush damage!!!  This can cause the handle to separate from the brush head.  **I have had most of my brushes for over 13 years & they are still in amazing condition because of good care while cleansing.
I then drain the water & rinse the brushes, gently ringing them dry.  I then lay them on the clean hand towel.

5.  Take your brushes in the hand towel to a flat surface for them to dry for 24 hours.  I shape the brush hair according to brush & stagger on the towel.  See last photo.

6.  Return to the bathroom & clean up your mess.  I wipe the entire sink down & everything around the sink.  I also clean the bathroom mirror because it usually could use a wipe down anyway.  I always, always clean the brush jar or any container you normally store your brushes in.

Note: If you use a foundation brush or sponge daily, you may want to clean this item more frequently!!!!  I tend to use a tinted moisturizer or BB cream daily & apply with my fingers.  When I do apply foundation I either use my fingers or a damp sponge.  The sponge gets cleaned either immediately after makeup application or the following day before the next use.  I do not leave a dirty makeup covered sponge near any tools due to contamination.  : )

You can get the Mustela Baby Hair & Body Wash at giggle.com or bluemercury.com
You can use any gentle shampoo or baby shampoo for this purpose.  I would NOT recommend dish soap, standard shampoo, or hand soap.  These can either be way too harsh & damaging or not clean them thoroughly.
Also, most of my makeup brushes are Trish McEvoy.  These can be a bit of an investment but SO WORTH IT!!!  These are my all time fav brushes!!!!  Some seen are Bobbi Brown, Mary Kay, Estee Lauder & Benefit Cosmetics.  I also use Trish McEvoy's Eyelash Curler.  I love this lash curler soo much, an old friend sniped it from me, I never got it back & had to go out & buy another!!  I do have powder poofs although I don't use them very often so they're not seen here.  My fav powder poofs are Trish McEvoy & Laura Mercier.  My makeup sponge preference is Laura Mercier.  Also, my brush jar is a recycled candle jar by Lafco Candles.
















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