How to Clean & Care for Make-Up Brushes

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Can someone please tell me the best way to clean and care for makeup brushes? I usually use shampoo to wash my brushes, but have noticed a lot of shedding over them.

Am I doing the right thing or should I buy a suitable cleaning brush? If so, can someone please advise a good product to clean your makeup brushes and how often you need to use them?

Thank you.

 
Shedding is normal for the first few washes with a shampoo. Just be gentle in the lather, rinse and air dry process. Never blow dry them, as they loose their shape and the bristles become course to the touch. If the brush keeps shedding you have a cheap or faulty brush. Also, over shampooing is not good for the health of the bristles.

Never use 99% to clean your brushes. It will destroy your bristles. The ONLY exception is when you are using 99% based make-ups.

The best method for cleaning all your make-up brushes (natural and synthetic) is too use a proper brush cleaner like Cinema Secrets, Ben Nye, RCMA, Beauty So Clean (Brush Cleanser), and Parian Spirit. These brush cleaners clean, disinfect, condition, sanitize and dry your brushes instantly.

There is also no need to spritz your brushes afterwards with 99%, that will only make your bristles brittle and course. Lets say you do, contrary to better judgement, and you do use 99%. Actors, clients etc, will not enjoy the experience of your brush on their face, especially with alcohol in their eye or up their nose.

All the other brush cleaners on the market (MAC, MUFE, Shu Uemura, Quo, Lise Watier, etc) do work, (Brush Off leaves a waxy type residue on the bristles), but you have to wait over-night for them to dry. This is ok for your own personal brushes at home, but definately not for Pros working in the field.

It's also a good idea to wash your brushes at least once a month using a good quality hair shampoo to re-liven up the bristles.

 
I've been really enjoying the Sonia Kashuk "Brush & Sponge Cleaner" that I picked up from Target recently! It's pretty affordable ($6.69), and it preforms very well! A little goes a long way with that spray. When I couldn't sleep the other night, I decided to clean all of my brushes and try it out. (You're supposed to lightly wet the brush, spray the cleanser onto it, and gently swipe the brush in the palm of your hand to loosen the dirt & grime from it, rinse well, squeeze the water out, and then lay it flat to dry.) I found that it got the makeup off of even my most stained brushes! (It worked very well at removing waterproof eyeliners from my brushes too). My brushes were all dry within a few hours, and when I used them I didn't notice any sort of residue from the cleaner.

I've used Johnson's Baby Shampoo and Dawn in the past, but really didn't feel like either of them were cleaning my brushes well enough. Now that I've used an actual brush cleaner, I don't think I'll switch back! 
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Sigma Dry & Shape works very well. The name is pretty self explanatory & takes 4 hours at most for brushes to fully dry.

 
I usually use baby shampoo, it is milder than the regular shampoo. I mixed it with warm water and twirl the the brush until the color comes out. Although some strands are shredding but only a few and I think its normal.

 
I use face wash to lather up its good and safe and remember do not dry them standing up.
 

 
Originally Posted by vogueboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Never use 99% to clean your brushes. It will destroy your bristles. The ONLY exception is when you are using 99% based make-ups.

The best method for cleaning all your make-up brushes (natural and synthetic) is too use a proper brush cleaner like Cinema Secrets, Ben Nye, RCMA, Beauty So Clean (Brush Cleanser), and Parian Spirit. These brush cleaners clean, disinfect, condition, sanitize and dry your brushes instantly.

There is also no need to spritz your brushes afterwards with 99%, that will only make your bristles brittle and course. Lets say you do, contrary to better judgement, and you do use 99%. Actors, clients etc, will not enjoy the experience of your brush on their face, especially with alcohol in their eye or up their nose.

FYI - some of you may not realize he is talking about  99% isopropyl alcohol.

 
Originally Posted by DreamWarrior /img/forum/go_quote.gif



FYI - some of you may not realize he is talking about  99% isopropyl alcohol.
Also in my previous post, I was talking about alcohol based make-ups such as Skin Illustrator, Temptu and Reel Creations.

 
Hi! I use face wash because it s made to remove makeup; however I do add some extra virgin olive oil to keep the natural softness to the brush. Hope this help!

 
Originally Posted by janesmith /img/forum/go_quote.gif

prefer using disposable brushes or use mild shampoos or soaps and rinse in running water
Doesn't that get expensive after awhile?

 
I wonder why Wayne recommends alcohol then. I have yet to try this method just because I'm so scared to ruin my brushes.

Does anyone here actually do this? Alcohol is cheap but not in the long run if it's ruining brushes. 

 
It's fine to use in between proper cleanings but not all the time. If you have natural fiber brushes don't use alcohol all the time, think of it this way... would you use straight alcohol on your hair? Of course not. Why? Because it dries out the hair and natural fiber brushes are made from animal "hair" (fur).

 
Originally Posted by zadidoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif

It's fine to use in between proper cleanings but not all the time. If you have natural fiber brushes don't use alcohol all the time, think of it this way... would you use straight alcohol on your hair? Of course not. Why? Because it dries out the hair and natural fiber brushes are made from animal "hair" (fur).
That's what worried me, at least real hair has the benefit of natural oils but brushes don't. I guess it can't be all bad because most brush cleansers contain a little alcohol to begin with.

 
Yes but it's diluted, what Wayne proposed is full strength or near full strength. Another way to think of it is this. You use 3% hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic but you would NEVER use 60 volume hair developer as an antiseptic because it's caustic and can actually eat skin and tissue but 60 volume hair developer is hydrogen peroxide just a stronger strength.

 
Originally Posted by zadidoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Yes but it's diluted, what Wayne proposed is full strength or near full strength. Another way to think of it is this. You use 3% hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic but you would NEVER use 60 volume hair developer as an antiseptic because it's caustic and can actually eat skin and tissue but 60 volume hair developer is hydrogen peroxide just a stronger strength.
I understand that part lol. I meant that by using it every once in awhile (not always) to clean brushes can't be that awful if most brush cleansers have a bit in it. I would imagine alcohol at any percentage would eventually dry out the brushes after repeated usage, only with the 99% it would do it much quicker than it's diluted counterpart.

 
Oh I agree with that. This is why I condition my own brushes using Mona Lisa's Pink Soap to wash my brushes and only use an alcohol brush cleaner if I'm using the same brush but different colors - like going from a black to a bright green - but after doing my makeup I'll immediately wash the brush.

 
I use a antibacteral dishwashing liquid mixed w/ evoo and then use the brushgard to dry bush side down and my brushes are still very soft got the tip from Michelle Phan (my glam girl) youtube video. cheap and easy things i already have in the house

 
The problem with using an oil on your brushes is that over time it WILL build up. I rather spend $5 on an 8 oz bottle of Mona Lisa's Pink Soap (which lasts me about six to eight months) because it does a fantastic job.

 

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