How do you wash your makeup brushes?

I use unscented Dr. Bronner liquid soap diluted with water! I have a cup of the water + soap, dip my brush in it, and then swirl in my hand to breakdown product to rinse it clean.

— Christine

20 Comments

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Anne-Marie Avatar

I use makeup remover balm or oil — work gently into the bristles — rinse with tepid water. Then swirl in Dawn + water. Rinse again and dry on their sides.

Mariella Avatar

Generally I have used Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo or a very old facial/hair/body cleanser from PUR Minerals way back in the day but lately, I’ve been using Saje Safe Hands Foaming Hand Soap which has the lovely scents of lavender tea tree and patchouli so smells really nice but is also gentle on my hands AND my brushes.

Deborah S. Avatar

Ummmmm, I don’t!!
If you have been on the blog a long time then you probably know my answer. I may have washed some brushes once or twice but in general, I don’t. I know it sounds horribly unsanitary but I started wearing makeup when I was 13 and just never learned that you are suppose to wash them. Seems like common sense now but then, it never dawned on me. I have brushes in my possession that I have had for 25-30 years, still use on the daily and have never washed them. I have no problems with them. I don’t get acne breakouts and never did. I am 70 now so not likely to have issues at this point. I have a couple of brushes that came in cheap makeup collections that I purchased back in the late 70’s and 80’s that have not lost a single bristle and still work great. The one exception to my not washing is my two Artis brushes which probably explains why I don’t really use them anymore. They seemed to get a greasy feeling after using for awhile and I had to wash them to regain their suppleness and I just didn’t want to do it.

Raven Avatar

I used to use a shampoo+conditioner-in-one but now I either use Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (Almond) or whatever hand soap I have in the bathroom seems to work fine. Washing involves getting some soap on my fingers and scraping, swishing, and/or smearing the brush on my fingers until it’s clean, then rinsing with water and reshaping if necessary. I wash whatever I’ve used once a week, alcohol off my brush roll, and put the brushes back in the open roll to dry. I usually wash them at night and they’re dry and good to go by morning.

Stephanie Avatar

I use a Sunlight laundry bar on all my brushes and sponges. I put some warm water in a bowl and dip the brushes in it and then swirl them around on the soap lightly. Then i massage them with my hand to break up the product and get it out, then rinse them really well. I squeeze the water out with a towel, and I use brush drying racks to dry them Bristol side down.

Helene Avatar

I use a mild hair shampoo for all my natural fiber brushes and liquid soap for all the man made fiber ones. I wet the brush, add some shampoo on my hand and swirl the brush around, then I rinse it and let it/them dry hanging bristles down on a drying rack.
Sometimes I also use a conditioner on the natural hair brushes.

Mo Avatar

I use Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner or BeautySoClean Wipeout Brush Cleaner after every use for eye shadow, blush, and highlighter brushes. Then I usually shampoo / deep clean once a week with The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver Soap. (I know it was created for paint brushes, but it works great on make-up brushes.) And I wash foundation and powder brushes after each use with The Masters Brush Cleaner.

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