How Long Does It Take to Clean Your Brushes?
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I love applying makeup and trying to create different looks. The only problem now is to make sure that you clean your brushes. I would hate whenever I was trying to create a unique look, and another color of eye-shadow was still in the brush. Or perhaps when I was trying to apply a foundation, and there was still some leftover foundation in the brush. Through my research, I found that cleaning your brushes is essential.
Cleaning brushes take an average of 3-4 hours. That includes the time to find, clean, and dry them. You use 5% of the time to find the dirty brushes, 25% of that time is used to clean them, and 70% of that time to dry the brushes. It is good to clean your foundation & concealer brushes once a week, the brushes for your eyes twice a month, and all other brushes once a month.
How to clean your brushes?
Makeup brushes are essential, mainly when they are being used on our faces daily. Usually, it’s a good idea to toss them away between 2-3 months, especially when you start to see that it is shedding or has a weird smell, and it is discolored. However, that can be expensive, so here are a few tips to help prevent that.
Learn below the best makeup brush cleaners:
Using Shampoo or Soap for Brush Cleaning:
What you need
Instructions
Using Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol for Brush Cleaning:
What you need
Instructions (Using Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol As A Makeup Brush Cleaner)
As a makeup artist, I genuinely believe that when it comes to cleaning dirty makeup brushes, it is essential. I remember seeing a friend of mine at her place when she was trying to wash her brushes in my presence, she quickly pulled out her brushes and rinsed them under warm water, without using a paper towel or waiting for the brushes to dry. She was about to use them right away thinking air drying was the best way.
I remember quickly going to her and having her sit down, and that’s when I explained to her that this isn’t the best way to clean her brushes. She needs to clean them properly under luke warm water and using a paper towel to dry them right away.
Why should you be cleaning your makeup brushes?
Remember that friend I was telling you about; As a makeup artist I mentioned to her one of the reasons why she was having a hard time getting rid of her small bumps on her face but not just due to sensitive skin but also the cleanliness of her brushes. I remember her showing me all these expensive products she had purchased when she went to Sephora, especially skincare products.
Don’t get me wrong. I love using skincare products, and it is imperative, but the craziest thing we never do is check the basics. Especially just checking if our brushes are clean is highly essential to our skins.
If you apply makeup with your old unwashed brushes, it can harbor bacteria. In other words, old expired makeup is built up inside the makeup brush and is usually applied to your face, which causes bacteria.
Which then your skin becomes irritated, and there are small bumps all around that look like acne. As for your eyes, it causes infections such as the pink eye. They say little makeup goes a long way, but remember little makeup can stay longer when you take care of your brushes.
How often should you clean your makeup brushes?
I still remember my friend was shocked by all the information I provided to her that she wanted to learn more. One question that she asked, later on, became a common question people started to ask me. The question was, how often should they clean makeup brushes. It is essential to use lukewarm water, without using excess especially with foundation and concealer, at least once a week; this will prevent product buildup and the buildup of bacteria from being built inside.
If you want to learn how to get your foundation and concealer to last all day, so you aren’t using your brushes that often, then click here to an article we wrote.
| Brushes | How Often |
|---|---|
| Foundation, Concealer Brushes & Makeup Sponges | Once a week |
| Eye Brushes | Twice a week |
| All Other Brushes | Once a month |
Another point to keep a watch on is you can sometimes go up to 4 weeks without cleaning if you are not using your brushes often. I am sharing this information because too much cleaning can get your brushes squeaky clean but they can also damage your brushes, and you don’t want to do that.
Signs that you should replace your brushes:
It is highly recommended to make sure you are not using bad brushes, especially if they are overdue. Below are a few signs that will help you know.
| 3 Ways to Tell You Need New Brushes |
|---|
| Bristles have gone out of shape or have become dry. |
| As you start to apply any type of products using a brush and the bristles start to shed is another sign. |
| If you see that you suddenly started to break out, it is best to change or clean your brushes as soon as possible. |
One is if the bristles have gone out of shape or have become dry. Secondly, As you start to apply any type of product using a brush and the bristles start to shed is another sign.
Sometimes it is difficult to tell from your brushes. However, If you see that you suddenly started to break out or got over a really bad flu, it is best to change or clean your brushes as soon as possible.
Unwashed brushes not only damage your skin but your makeup?! How?
After sharing all this information with my friend, she was thrilled and careful about how she was using her brushes. I remember visiting her a couple of months after, and I kid you not, her face was a lot clearer, her brushes were sparkling, and her products weren’t even damaged! What?!
Yeah, products can be damaged if you use old brushes because you are taking a lot more product in because your brushes aren’t clean. There is already built up junk in there, and then trying to apply the new product on the brush makes it even worse.
Not only are you damaging your product but wasting it. Some products are super expensive, and some I love to use only a special occasion since they somehow go out of stock when I need them. So, I like to be careful when I play around with my products, and especially want to use it with clean brushes.
I also noticed that when you try to use old unclean brushes on to makeup, some of the dirt built up is being mixed in with the rest of the clean product. The next time even if you use the product with a clean brush, the other old makeup built in makeup is mixed in with the new, and you don’t want at all. So please be careful!
Conclusion
It is easy to say that some of us are starting to get into makeup, that it’s just a matter of buying the product and applying. However, many of us forget that when it comes to beauty products, it is crucial to take care of it mainly when used on our faces.
As a makeup artist I highly recommended to take care of our brushes and makeup if you want it to last longer and still have the same type of quality as when you purchased it. As we learn different looks, and as we get older, we need to maintain that we are taking care of our faces.
To wrap it up, there is another story I remember going to a beauty salon, and one lady had her brushes laid out perfectly clean and had her products laid out. In my head, I was amazed! I was excited to see the final look that she was about to create on me. Still, I was even more excited to know that as a customer, she kept her brushes and product perfectly intact and made me feel special and that I was in good hands and took makeup seriously.
Sometimes we tend to get a little lazy when it comes to taking care of our brushes, but this article isn’t just about answering how long it takes to clean your brushes but the way it should be cleaned and the importance, just like we take the significance of our health and our daily self.
As crazy as it may sound to some individuals, but makeup needs the same type of importance, and to me, it does because makeup is something I am passionate about and love, and if I love something, I know to remember to take good care of it.
So please, guys, take care of your brushes, wash them the right way, and take care of your products. Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, feel free to let me know, and I’ll be happy to help.
Iqra
As the head artist of Farishta Beauty I was inspired by many young individuals who were just like me passionate about makeup.
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