How Often Should You Wash Your Makeup Brushes? Expert Advice
61% Of Women Aren't Washing Their Makeup Brushes Enough - Are You One Of Them?
Rosy Cherrington— The Huffington Post UK
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Your best beauty tool may be your skin’s worst enemy - according to a new survey, only 61 percent of women are cleaning their makeup brushes once a month, if at all.
The survey, conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Anisa International (a global leader in beauty tool design), discovered women are sort of cleaning their makeup brushes, but not as much as they need to.
Almost two fifths (39%) of women cleaned their brushes less than once a month, with 22% admitting to never cleaning them at all.
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The most common reasons why? Lack of time and lack of know-how (one in five women in the survey weren't even aware brushes needed cleaning).
“Today’s consumers are spending a significant amount on cosmetic brushes in order to achieve desired makeup looks, but they’re not protecting their investment or their skin by properly caring for these tools,” said Anisa Telwar-Kaicker, founder and CEO of Anisa International.
"Interestingly, 65% of women who clean their brushes do so to avoid bacteria, breakouts and blemishes. They understand the consequences, but they still don’t clean them as often as beauty experts recommend."
So how often should you be doing it?
MAC makeup artist Belle Jorden tells Huff Post UK Style she advises spot cleaning after every couple of uses, and giving them a deep cleanse every 2-4 weeks.
Follow Belle's simple how-to guide for perfectly clean brushes:
1. Every couple of uses I would use a brush cleaner spray on kitchen roll to spot clean and sanitise the brushes.
Brush cleaner dries instantly so it's quick and easy and you can clean the brushes as you're using them.
For foundation brushes you can also add a little facial cleansing oil to break down stubborn product.
2. For deep cleaning I would recommend this every two to four weeks. Do it at night so that the brushes have time to dry.
The easiest way is to use the palm of your hand, pour some baby soap into your palm and swirl the brush around and massage it with your fingers until the makeup breaks down.
Hold the brush upright because you don't want water to drip down the ferrule and damage your brushes.
3. To let your brushes dry, do not stand them upright in a pot. Lay them on their side on the edge of a worktop.
Sometimes washing can change the shape of the brush so use your hands to gently fix back into place.
In the morning your brushes will look and smell clean and makeup application always looks better when using clean brushes.
Beauty Tips: 10 Makeup Brushes Every Woman Should Own
Concealer Brush(01 of10)
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What It Is: A brush made with synthetic hair for applying stick or liquid concealers and correctors to hide dark circles, redness and other skin imperfections. Its shape allows correcting all areas, even the least accessible, in a natural way without leaving traces. The Plus: A rounded shape for a result with no traces and synthetic hair for delicate application with full coverageBonus Tip: “It’s much easier to apply concealer with a brush, rather than with your fingertip, because fingers are warm and change the texture of the formula, so it won’t adhere as well. The brush allows you to work the undereye area flawlessly.”
Foundation Brush(02 of10)
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What It Is: A brush in synthetic hair for applying liquid and cream foundations and smoothing the complexion. Its long hairs allow spreading the foundation across the face and delicately smoothing it, thus resulting in a natural look. The foundation brush is particularly recommended for women who do not like to apply foundation with their fingers. The Plus: A rounded shape and synthetic hairs for a delicate, uniform application of colour and a natural result.Bonus Tip: “For the Holidays, you can switch up your foundation for Yves Rocher’s limited edition Radiant Glow Fluid Foundation. It contains fine mother of pearls that will give you a subtle radiant glow.”
Powder Brush(03 of10)
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What It Is: A powder brush with natural hairs for applying pressed, loose or tanning powders to highlight facial glow and smooth and matify the complexion. Its slightly flared shape allows harmonizing the complexion in a very natural way by dusting on powder like a luminous veil. The Plus: This brush is perfect for a natural look, because it allows you to apply the powder to your skin much more lightly than with a puff, for example. Bonus Tip: For women with wrinkles around the eye contour area, it’s best to keep blush away from this area. Apply your blush on your cheeks, but stop at the cheekbone, don’t go higher. Here’s another tip: after a makeup application is complete, I take a tissue and apply toner to it and then I place the tissue over the entire face for a few seconds and, very lightly, press the sides of the nose. When I remove the tissue, the toner has set the foundation, which then lasts longer and wears better all evening.”
Blush Brush(04 of10)
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What It Is: A bevelled blush brush in natural hair for applying blushes, highlighters and tanning powders that restructure the face by creating areas of light and shadow. Its bevelled cut molds to the shape of cheekbones for easy application and a natural result. The Plus: A bevelled cut that molds to the shape of cheekbones and provides a precise, natural makeup.Bonus Tip: "To give an ultra-fresh and natural touch, I suggest lightly applying the blush by tapping motions on the cheek, rather than applying it in a sweeping movement as one normally does. Another tip: I suggest applying a small touch of blush to the earlobe for a very natural effect."
Eyelash-Eyebrow Brush/Comb(05 of10)
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What It Is: A brush with a double brush/comb tip for highlighting eyes in a natural way. The comb tames eyelashes and/or removes excess mascara for perfectly defined lashes. The brush allows blending in eyeshadow or eye pencil and redrawing the eyebrow line. The Plus: Double-tip format for two different uses.
Flat Brush(06 of10)
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What It Is: A flat brush made with natural hairs for applying light to dark eyeshadow powders, bringing out and intensifying their colour and creating smoky eyes. Its flat cut and the density of the hairs allow dusting on a large amount of powder, resulting in highly coloured makeup with full coverage. The Plus: A straight cut for better powder pickup and intense colour dusting.
Angled Eye Brush(07 of10)
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What It Is: An angled eye brush made with synthetic hair for applying liquid or cream eyeshadows and liners at the base of the eyelashes to enlarge the eyes or create a sophisticated look. Its finely cut bevelled edge allows spreading makeup across the lid in a very precise line. The Plus: A bevelled cut for very precise application and a smooth line of colour along the eyelashes.Bonus Tip: “This is perfect for applying an eyeshadow that is the same colour as your kohl or eye pencil. The pencil will then last twice as long! If you apply too much lipstick, you can easily correct it with the angled lip brush rather than an ordinary lip brush."
Eyeshadow Brush(08 of10)
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What It Is: An eyeshadow brush in natural hair for applying a halo of light to dark eyeshadow powder to illuminate the eyes with a veil of colour. Its slightly flared shape and long hairs allow dusting on the powder with transparency and softening makeup intensity. The Plus: A slightly flared shape for application with transparency.Bonus Tip: “The eyeshadow brush allows you to apply eyeshadow with the lightest touch, as opposed to a foam tip applicator that takes more of the shadow and therefore results in a more intense effect.”
Eye Crease Brush(09 of10)
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What It Is: An Eye Crease brush made with natural hair for applying medium to dark powdered eyeshadow to the inner corner of the eye and at the outer corner of the eyelid for creating beautiful gradations of colour. Its tapered shape allows one to mold colour intensity: the rounded end provides intense colour and the flat side of the brush softens it. The Plus: A tapered shape for greater precision and more softness.
Lip Brush(10 of10)
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What It Is: A retractable lip brush in synthetic hairs to apply lipsticks and glosses and to soften the contour lines of redrawn lips. Its fine cut allows: tracing the lip contour very precisely with the point of the brush and filling the area inside the contour with the broad side of the brush.The Plus: As a general rule, this brush offers more precise coverage and longer-lasting wear. It also adds a velvety look to lips.Bonus Tip: "If you have very dry lips, I suggest applying a good dollop of moisturizing cream on the lips, like a mask. Then you can apply makeup to eyes, etc. When you remove the cream, your lips were be plump and toned. If lips are chapped, you must absolutely not apply dark lipstick to them.”