My First How-To: Clean Your Make-Up Brushes

Quality make-up brushes are an amazing tool for putting on even and blended make-up; HOWEVER, if we don't take care of them (aka clean them!) they can hold a lot of bacteria and become a major culprit of acne break-outs. (Don't panic, read on!)

If you haven't cleaned your brushes in some time (or maybe never..) it's okay, you're going to learn an easy technique that will keep your brushes bacteria-free and in perfect shape for years! We should be thoroughly cleaning our brushes at least every two weeks!! In between you can do mini-cleansings with 91% isopropyl alcohol (found at your local drug store for cheap!).

Here are the tools you will need (besides your brushes):

1. Thin string or ribbon, and scissors (please be careful!)

2. Small rubber bands (these are Goody brand, you can find them at any drug store).

3.  You have two options to use as your cleanser:  Option A) gentle face cleanser, such as MyChelle Fruit Enzyme Cleanser

Or, option B) a combination of extra virgin olive oil and an anti-bacterial soap (these are just what I had in my kitchen).

The proportion of soap to olive oil you use should be 2 quarter-size drops of soap to 1 quarter-size drop of olive oil.

4. Lastly, you will need a towel rack or bar to dry your brushes. Why you may ask? Read on...


The best way to dry your brushes is upside down, so that no water gets held in the base of the brush which is bad for two reasons: 1) bacteria gets stuck and multiplies and 2) your bristles become loose and will eventually fall out (considering how expensive brushes are, this is not a good thing!!).

I have used tiny rubber bands connected to a piece of ribbon to store my brushes upside down on a towel rack, and it works splendidly!

Now you are ready to clean your brushes! Let's start:

First:  Cut and tie about 8" long pieces of string to your rubber bands, like so (tie a double knot so you can reuse these!):

Second:  Put some cleanser or anti-bacterial soap/olive oil combo in the palm of your hand. Take your brushes and gently swirl them in cleanser until they are soaked throughout. (Depending on how many brushes you're washing, you may need to add more cleanser as you go along).

Third:  Rinse your brushes with running water, and gently squeeze out the remaining soap as you go along. It's important to squeeze your brush in the shape similar to its natural state.

Lastly:  Put your rubber band on the base of the brush and tie to your towel rack!

It may take your brush up to 24 hours to dry, so don't do a big cleaning right before you get ready to go out! As a nice make-up break, I give myself an at-home facial treatment and do a little pampering while I take a mini break from make-up!

Now you have clean, fluffy, and bacteria-free brushes as well as very happy skin! If you have acne-prone skin and you haven't washed your make-up brushes in a while, I guarantee you'll see an improvement in your skin after a couple weeks!

Happy cleansing :). xoxo