Dear Brush Junkies (Part 2)

We should and need to clean our makeup tools on a regular basis. Research studies have shown that an unwashed sponge is even dirtier than the toilet, meaning that there are millions of germs on it for sponges and brushes are the perfect places for these bad guys to grow. 

Dear Brush Junkies is a two part blog post in which I talk about how to maintenance and clean your makeup tools such as brushes and sponges. I recommend that you check out part 1 first before reading this second part.

To clean makeup brushes for both synthetic and natural hair: 

1. Wet the brush with lukewarm water and put some baby shampoo on the hair part. Do NOT use a separate conditioner afterward because the conditioner will smooth the hair so much that it will affect the brush's ability to grab onto powder products. 
2. Do NOT rub the brush very hard. Just gently rub it back and forth following the hair's direction.
3. Use paper towel to squeeze out excessive water.
4. Air day or blow dry. Do NOT leave the brush under direct sunlight becasuse the uv rays will damage it. Really big/thick brushes should take at least 2 days to fully air dry. Smaller/thinner brushes should be fine just over night.

The above tutorial works with most makeup brushes; however, certain ones such as lip brushes need special attention. Do NOT let your lip brush touches water because the bristles will lose elasticity. Instead, use lip balm (NOT too waxy kind) or lotion to clean it.

1. Dip the lip brush in a lip balm and gently brush it back and forth.
2. Wipe off excessive lip balm with paper towel. Then dip it in lip balm again. Repeat this process until there is no more product on the brush.

Some people clean their lip brushes with olive oil, but the problem is that we have to wash it afterward with water to get rid of the oil. This is NOT good because our lip brushs' bristles should not touch water.


So far, we talked about how to deep clean our brushes. Deep Cleaning should be done at least once a month and should be more frequent depends on how often you use your makeup tools. However, it is a time consuming process, and most of us simply do not have the time to do this everyday. This is when spot cleaning comes in. Spot cleaning is mostly used by makeup artists at work when they need to clean brushes immediately between clients. I also use spot cleaning when I need to use the same brush for another color, so I don't mix the shades. Remember, spot cleaning can NOT completely clean your brushes. This is just a quick alternative when we don't have the time to wash our tools.

There are different brush cleansers that can be used to spot clean. I use the MAC Brush Cleaner ($11). 

More about the product : This one product will clean, disinfect and condition the brush fibers so that brushes will last longer. It is convenient to use and is specifically designed to extend the life of high quality brushes. Brush Cleanser leaves your brushes smelling fresh and clean, and helps shorten their drying time. 

It is a very popular choice among makeup artists and beauty junkies; however, many are not using it correctly. A lot of people just spot clean the brush with the MAC cleanser and use it after the brush is dry. But, the MAC cleanser is NOT meant to be used as dry cleanser, meaning it needs to be rinsed afterward. An experienced makeup artist will say the same thing. And if you read the back of the MAC cleanser package, it does say "Rinse well". Alternatively, there are also brush cleansers out there that don't require this.

Everyone has a different way to clean their makeup tools. As long as we follow the general rules, we should be fine. Remember, these tools will be with you a lot longer than makeups, so please take good care of them. A well maintained brush and sponge help you create that flawless look. And always remember that moderation is the key. Over washing and under maintenance are both very damaging.

read more "Dear Brush Junkies (Part 2)"

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Dear Brush Junkies (Part 1)

We should and need to clean our makeup tools on a regular basis. Research studies have shown that an unwashed sponge is even dirtier than the toilet, meaning that there are millions of germs on it for sponges and brushes are the perfect places for these bad guys to grow. 

The best way to solve this problem is to throw out old sponges on a regular basis; however, this is not economical or practical. But if we were to do so, we should change our sponges when:

• the edge of the sponge starts to break
• the sponge is losing its elasticity

If we don't want to keep buying new sponges all the time, well maintainence can definitely prolong the life of our makeup tools. For example, if the sponge is still in pretty good shape, all we need to do is clean it and then we can reuse it. We can clean sponges with:

• bar soap
• body wash
• hand soap
• Shampoo

When washing sponges and puffs, remember to always use lukewarm water. Do NOT use hot water because the high temperature will damage the sponge.

1. Soak the sponge in water and put some cleanser on it. 
2. Do NOT keep rubbing it back and forth. Gently squeeze the sponge and dip it in clean water. Repeat this process until there is no more color/product coming out. 
3. Put the sponge under running water for a bit to make sure we completely rinsed off everything. 
4. Use paper towel to gently squeeze out excessive water.
5. Air day or blow dry. Do NOT put the sponge directly under sunlight because the uv rays will damage the sponge and its elasticity.

Stay tune for the second part, where I will talk about how to maintenance your makeup brushes.

read more "Dear Brush Junkies (Part 1)"

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