If you paint, contour, and highlight your faces with makeup brushes every day, you need to clean your makeup tools. Giving them a thorough washing every month or so is not enough. According to dermatologists and makeup artists, we should be sudsing up our tools far more often in order to prevent bacteria buildup, which can lead to breakouts.
Frequent cleansings don’t just help keep your skin cleaner. Soaping up your makeup brushes regularly can extend the life of the bristles and make for better product application.
You can achieve clean, good-as-new makeup brushes and sponges with the following:
- Wet the bristles with lukewarm water.
- Place a drop of your cleanser of choice into the palm of your clean hand.
- Gently massage the tips of the bristles in your palm.
- Rinse the bristles thoroughly.
- Squeeze out the excess moisture with a clean towel.
- Re-form the brush head back into its original shape.
- Let the brush dry with its bristles hanging off the edge of a counter, which allows it to dry in the correct shape.
- Don’t let your brushes dry on a towel — the bristles can turn mildewy