How to | Deep Clean your Makeup Brushes

So you know how important it is to start and end a day with a fresh cleansed face. You’re investing all this time, day in and day out to remove all the dirt and oils that your face encounters throughout the day. But when the first thing to hit your face after a rejuvenating face wash in the morning is a brush filled with built up makeup and dirt, it’s no wonder those clogged pores keep appearing.

Washing your makeup brushes is just as an important step in any beauty routine. There are so many techniques, each beauty guru to their own. Here is the simple cleaning routine I use and all products are easily found in the kitchen of your home! This technique is a deep clean process, which I try to do every 3 weeks.

You will need

• Dish washing liquid
• Olive oil
•  2 Plastic plates

Instructions:

1. Firstly take all your brushes and gently run them under lukewarm water. It’s important to always face your brushes downwards to the water, as you don’t want any water to seep into the handle.  
2. Take a plastic plate; here I have used a standard party plate. These plates have a ripple texture on them that is great for applying pressure between the bristles.                                                          
3. Take the dishwashing detergent and olive oil and pour both onto the plate. There are no exact measurements because you will repeat this step several times whilst cleaning. I focus on having two parts detergent, to one part oil.                                                                                                 
4. Taking one brush at a time swirl your makeup brush through the detergent and oil. This technique is similar to a paintbrush cleaning technique where you essential swirl the color out of the brush. Using the texture base of the plate continue to swirl your brush through the now combined detergent and oil.                                                                                                                             
5. Rinse the brush under lukewarm water and using the second plate, you now swirl the brush against the clean plate under running water. Continue this step until the water runs clear.              
6. Place the cleaned brush in a tall narrow glass, with the bristles facing downwards. Your bushes will need to dry upside down and there are many techniques for this. If you prefer a different way to let the brushes dry then feel free to do so here.                                                                           
7. Repeat to all your brushes and remember to rinse the plate and repeat with detergent and oil after every few brushes.

And there you have fresh cleaned brushes! I usually allow up to 24 hours for the brushes to be completely dry and ready for use.

You may like to know…

Using dishwashing detergent is a completely safe method for cleaning makeup brushes. The detergent works as a cleaner and bacterial remover, eliminating all dirt, oils and pigments all trapped in the brush. The reason for combining olive oil with the detergent is to put natural oil back in the hair of the bristles because the detergent alone can dry the brush hairs out.

Time to grab your brushes and give this cleaning method a go!

Leave a comment below if you try this method out or share your own technique with me!

XO Nat