Manky make up brushes...

[NotLoveActually]

Tell me the best thing to clean them with? Historically I've used baby shampoo, but having a look at a proper cleaner. What do you use? I found a bare minerals one that had great reviews but it was out of stock everywhere

I just use hot soapy water made with fairy washing up liquid as it seems to remove the oily residue.

I use an old bottle of micellar water as it was too harsh for my skin, cleans them up a treat. I would say it's great for small brushes as you don't need much but expensive for big fat ones.

I just use a very mild shampoo or shower gel, usually Lush or Green People.

When I worked for clinique they said to use baby shampoo (and then their own brush cleaner which is £££) but I've always used a small amount of washing up liquid and then rinsed well and then a small amount of hand wash and rinsed really well again and they always come up great. I've had the same blusher brush for nearly 10 years now doing this, good as new.

I have a MAC make up brush cleaner.

I'm pretty certain baby shampoo would do the same job but I got it with some vouchers and it's lasted ages.

Thanks, I may as well give them a scrub with baby shampoo or fairy liquid as I have them in the house.

I've always used just hand soap and hot water. Very satisfying watching the makeup-coloured water run out!

Shampoo won't kill all the bacteria on the brushes so if you are going down that road use anti-bacterial washing up liquid. A tiny bit of olive oil mixed with it helps keep brushes conditioned.

It's best to spot clean every day or couple of days with a spray on cleaner, and then deep clean maybe once a fortnight (or more often if you have the inclination). Some of the cleaners mentioned above are good for spot cleaning, but best really for removing bacteria and won't necessarily take all the product/colour out.

MsVan can you recommend a spray on cleaner?

How often are we supposed to clean them?....

i wash mine with baby shampoo but once a week i spray surgical spirits on then and all over my eye shadow palettes too. goss make up artist did it in his u tube vlog and i thought it was clever. it doesn't affect the eye shadows once it has evaporated by the way! i just pour surgical spirits into a spray bottle.

I clean mine weekly.

I was talking to a couple of make up artists recently and they said for your own brushes any more than soap and water is overkill, though their brushes are all correctly sanitised as they are used in a multitude of people.

OP the Clinique one is pretty good for a quick spot clean of brushes. It's relatively expensive but you shouldn't use too much if you are cleaning just your own brushes so it lasts quite well.

cheapandcheerful - once a week or once a fortnight depending on how dirty they get really. Once a fortnight is probably enough for most brushes but some will need done more/less often depending on what it's used for. If it's no longer soft or has visibly cakey makeup it's probably overdue a clean.

Spot cleaning in between with a spray cleaner and tissues keeps brushes fresher so you aren't washing out weeks of residue when it comes to a deep clean!

Eek, I probably do mine about once every 18 months…..

I'm not worried about bacteria as I don't share them, the only time I would worry about it would be if I had conjunctivitis or similar. I do mine about once a fortnight or as needed (which means less frequently, I don't use most of them on anything like a daily basis).

I like the Laura Mercier brush cleanser, but don't do it as often as I should!