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70 Comments

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Chic and Charming

I use the method I learned for cleaning my brushes in oil painting class. Wet the brush, rub with the direction of the bristles back and forth across a bar of gentle soap, rinse in water by doing the same motion on you palm under running water. Repeat until the water is clean. Reshape brushes and let dry. I find mini hotel facial soaps are perfect for this.

deepblue

I agree! I use the same method and it’s the best and much cheaper than “Special Brush Cleanser”!

Nadia

You know, I do the same thing, but I don’t think I ever twigged that I had borrowed this from art class. Since I last took art 20-odd years ago…

Trace

What a coincidence, I just cleaned ALL my brushes last night. 🙂

I use the same shampoo I use for my hair because it’s really gentle. It’s called DevaCare Low-Poo, funny name I know..lol. But it’s a very mild one made for color treated hair that doesn’t strip away color or moisture and leaves the bristles so nice!

I just wet the bristles, put a dot of shampoo in the palm of my hand and swirl it around, then rinse. And then I lay them flat to dry on a towel- which is VERY important! NEVER put them upright to dry because the moisture will seep down into the ferrule and the handle and warp it!

angela

How weird Trace, I just cleaned all my brushes last night too!! Well, I did a little between-uses cleaning…I have these makeup brush cleaner wipes…they look like face cleanser wipes (that’s probably what they are!) and i got them at Sally Beauty Supply pretty cheap, they’re great for just a quick swipe clean. When I do a deep cleaning, I use the regular unscented baby shampoo, and i looooove cleaning brushes!!

Nell

I use baby shampoo once a week, and an unscented oil-free baby wipe for quick clean-ups in between.

Laney

Baby wipes & hand sanitizing wipes. Kills germs, gets all the makeup out, CHEAP, and I can do it while watching TV : D

Silk

I use MAC brush cleaner daily and then once a week, I use a gentle conditioning shampoo to throughly clean my brushes. I make sure to lay them flat on a towel to dry.

MEG

I use baby shampoo.
I also use baby whips in between cleanings.
I just whip the brush over the baby whip and then
whip the brush on a dry towel to get the makeup off
the brush.

Critty

I use baby shampoo on them every 2-4 weeks, and I wipe brushes I have used in emollient products off on a wipe after each use. If I have used my brushes on someone else, or just want to get rid of all bacteria, I use Cinema Secrets brush cleaner, which is the BEST brush cleaner in the world! 🙂

Chloe

I’ve been using MAC’s brush cleaner for the past 5 years but just recently my MAC MUA told me that the gentle shampoo works just as good and it’s a lot cheaper. So, now I’m using the gentle shampoo and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two cleansers. I’m really happy and my wallet is happy too! =D

Christine

Hi Crystal,

Hmm, I thought I might be able to replace my baby shampoo method with MAC’s brush cleaner, but it doesn’t sound like it from what you ladies are saying!

Trisha

I use hand soap and water. It does it just as well as anything else I’ve tried. Although now that I hear all of this about baby shampoo, I think I’m going to try it.

Jen

I use Mac brush cleaner on a daily basis and I deep clean my brushes with Bare Minerals Brush Shampoo every 1 to 2 weeks.

Ariana

I originally was only using MAC Brush cleaner, but recently learned about using Shampoo! I felt so dumb after finally cleaning my brushes with Shampoo and realizing how much extra makeup came off (as opposed to the brush cleaner). And it was twice as fast! Now I clean them all the time with shampoo, and it makes you feel like you have brand new brushes every time 🙂

Nartian

For a quick clean, Shu’s brush cleaner since it dries off faster. For a weekly deeper cleaning, MAC’s brush cleaner.

HeavenLeiBlu

Johnson’s Baby No More Tangles Shampoo + Conditioner for my deep cleanings, and facial wipes for quick wipe offs in between.

jgrthwt

I clean my brushes with MAC brush cleaner every time I use them, and once a fortnight or so I deep clean using my regular shampoo and conditioner (it’s salon stuff so its very mild!) I need to pick up some Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and keep forgetting!

Kandice

I’m another baby shampoo user! I try to clean my brushes once a week with it. For in-between washings, I use a MAC wipe.

Macaddict

MAC brush cleaner weekly, lay flat to dry on paper towels. I was told by a MA that MAC brush cleaner is made of soy protein (to strenghten the bristle) and alcohol (to disinfect and speed up the drying process).

Can

mac brush cleaner works so well, but two things: 1) pricey 2) my bottle dribbles down the sides when ur trying to pour it! (is it just my bottle?) but it is sooo annoying. anyways i have switched to baby shampoo (my current bottle is Longs brand), and it surprisingly works just as well. and it’s cheap to boot! highly recommended.

Miss QQ

The same thing happens with my bottle! Apparently it can’t be just our bottles then… Irritating, isn’t it?

claudine

MACs Brush Cleanser for quick and in between cleaning
some random baby shampoo once a month to deep clean

Rose

For daily cleaning, i use Sephora brush cleaner. It comes in a little black spray bottle and smells so good! its perfect for when i wore bright colors and then wear neutral the next day. just a quick spray then a wipe on a paper towel.

For deep cleaning, every 2 weeks or so, i use conditioner. the same i use for my hair. Regular conditioner contains a small amoutn of alcohol so it still disinfects, but doesnt dry out the brushes. Works amazing! plus it keeps my brushes super soft. I just take a little dish, squirt a bit of conditioner, fill sink with warm water, dunk the bursh, dip it in a little conditioner, swirl it in my hand, and rinse it out in the sink, then lay flat to dry. Works amazing! and so quick and easy!

Judy

I use the enkore homemade cleaner as well. I make one batch and store it in empty prescription bottles. Cleaning all my brushes once a week, on batch lasts about two months!

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