In yesterday's post I mentioned that I was going to do this post about cleaning my makeup brushes.  It's not complicated, but it took all day to do the photos and stuff because I had to wait for the brushes to dry in between steps.  As I mentioned in my last post, I have acne so I really do try not to spread it around any way I can.  Using dirty makeup brushes is a sure fire way to make your spots worse, so cleaning them regularly is really important.  I try to do mine once a week, which is pretty standard for most beauty bloggers - but if my skin is pretty bad, I clean them using the last step in this, and then fully clean them once a week.  Anyway - I'll stop prattling on and show you what I do!


Step 1 - Run your brushes under warm to touch running water, pointing downwards so you don't get water into the metal part of your brush.  That can disrupt the glue then you'll get a super sheddy brush - or it'll just fall apart.

Step 2 - Squeeze a small amount of your "cleaning agent" into the palm of your hand, I used Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash.  I use this on my face sometimes too and I can really feel it removing the oils from my face, so I think it's good to use on my brushes because it removes all the oils and bacteria that's built up in my brushes really well.  It's definitely gentle enough for the brushes, as it hasn't damaged any of my brushes at all, synthetic or hair ones.

Step 3 - Work the bristles in to the product until you build up a lather and rinse really well.  Repeat if you have to to remove stubborn product; I usually have to do that with my foundation brush.

Step 4 - Squeeze as much of the water out as you can, shaping the bristles at the same time.  Then lay them on a folded towel to dry.  I like to make a little lip on my towel for the handle part to sit on so the water runs down and out of the brush rather than into the metal part.


Step 5 - Once they're dry pour some surgical spirit into a small bowl.  You would think surgical spirit would be very abrasive to for the bristles but it really isn't.  It's safe for your skin, and that's usually what it's used for if you need to clean around wounds and things.  Wonderfully antibacterial!  I use it only on my face brushes during a deep clean, but that's only because I don't get spots on my eyelids!  It's amazing at getting out any really deep product that really can't get removed from bristles with soap and water.

Step 6 - Swirl your face brushes (or all of them if it's a quick clean!) one at a time in the surgical spirit and squeeze out the excess with paper towels and leave to dry on the towel again.

Step 7 - Once they're dry have lots of fun making them dirty again!...It really can't just be me that finds doing my makeup fun??