If someone asked me “what is the worst part of your job?” Hands down its cleaning your brushes..keep in mind how many we have and use on set per client..let’s say it’s more than 20 some days. With several clients per day like a wedding, it can take an hour after your work is done. Clean brushes are imperative. Especially when you are working with multiple clients. You are not a makeup artist, so why should you care? Bacteria, baby, and lots of it. I have too many horror stories to recount.
The last thing you need or want is a face full of blemishes or even an infection that could have been avoided just by a quick rinse and cleanse of your brushes, especially on your wedding day! Anyways clean brushes apply makeup 100 times better than dirty ones. The application is flawless with clean brushes. Makeup brushes aren’t cheap so look after them and they will slay for you!
How to clean your makeup brushes
1. Foundation brushes or brushes that you use in wet products have to be cleaned more regularly as where there is moisture there will be more chance of bacteria. Weekly washing is a good idea for these.
2. Powder brushes don’t harbour as much bacteria, however, they run over your liquid foundation or oily face so I would wash them every 2-3 weeks.
3. Natural hair brushes should be treated like hair. Baby shampoo or shampoo is best. No conditioner as it coats the hair and makeup isn’t applied easily with them.
4. Synthetic brushes should be cleaned with brush cleanser. I am not a fan of dishwashing detergent as eventually, the brushes touch your face?! Eww NO!
5. Make sure when you wash your brushes you do not get too much water down the shaft (ferrule) of the brush as this erodes the glue which will loosen the bristles and the brushes will not last as long as the hair starts falling out.
6. For disinfecting your brushes spritz on some colloidal silver to the bristles. Colloidal silver kills 650 pathogens known to man so it’s safe to say they are disinfected!???? Try Sovereign Silver.
7. If makeup is an experience for you, spritz them after disinfecting them with some rose water! My clients say it’s so relaxing to smell a rose scent as I apply makeup on their faces.
8. Brush cleaning sprays are to be used sparingly as they dry the real hair out and break the bristles off. Be careful with these. They are great for synthetic brushes or on set life.
How do you clean them to avoid acne breakouts
1. With warm water, rinse the brushes.
2. I clean my powder brushes together, then my wet makeup brushes together then lastly my lip brushes as they can discolour any white hair bristle brushes you may have.
3. Add a small amount of baby shampoo, sulfate-free shampoo, brush cleanser in the palm of your hands.
4. Swirl the wet brush into the cleanser and lightly keep swirling into your palm.
5. Rinse the cleanser out in warm water making sure the cleanser is entirely out.
6. Squeeze the excess water out and then reshape them and lay them flat on a towel to dry.
7. Once dry, spritz with colloidal silver and/or rose water to disinfect them and add some beautiful scent to them.