When was the last time you cleaned your makeup brush? If you can’t remember, or the answer is ‘never’, then it’s time to rectify the situation. One of the most essential beauty tips we can offer is ensuring you know how and when to clean your brushes and sponges. Your ability to blend your makeup, and your hygiene, depends on it.

How Often Should I Clean My Makeup Brush

Before we cover the how we should first cover the why. Cleaning your makeup brush should be a crucial part of your makeup routine. Rather than buying a new one or using your current one for far longer than recommended without a decent clean, you should be maintaining the one you have.

To avoid bacteria building up and causing breakouts, you should be making an effort to clean your makeup product tools at least once per week. Especially those tools you use for applying foundation. If you have a separate brush for eye makeup application, you can get away with only cleaning it once per month.

Not only will regular cleaning help remove all that built-up makeup and bacteria, but it can also reduce spotty application or make blending that much more effective.

How Do I Clean My Makeup Brush?

Whether you use a sponge, a blender, or a brush, you will find the process for cleaning them is easier than you think. Therefore, there’s every reason to believe once-a-week cleaning is not out of the question. Doing so is going to benefit both the way in which you apply your makeup and your hygiene.

To get started, wet the bristles of your brush in warm water. Using a brush cleaner or a mild soap, you can then gently massage the bristles in your hand. Once they appear to be clean, with all the excess makeup drained out, you can rinse the bristles and squeeze out the moisture with a towel or cloth.

Beauty tips for drying the brush are also going to be equally as appreciated because it’s not as straightforward as you may think. Rather than leaving your brush on a surface to dry naturally – such as a towel – it’s in your best interests to hang it over the edge of a table or bench. As a result, the brush can dry back into its natural shape, with you reshaping it while it’s wet as well.

If you did decide to dry it on a towel, however, you may find the result is less than ideal. The bristles might be clean and free from makeup, but they may become full of mildew instead.

Another helpful beauty tip is to make sure you keep the base of your brush dry and away from soapy water. Depending on how the bristles adhere to it, you may find they begin to loosen or come free. What’s more, it’s crucial not to dry the brush vertically. By doing so, you risk soap coming into contact with where the handle meets the base, potentially causing the glue to become unstuck.

Cleaning a makeup brush is an easy process, but it’s not one we do nearly enough. To keep your brush looking and feeling as good as new for longer, be sure to remember to clean it at least once per week.