Loving Your Brushes! Quick Tips on Caring for & Maintaining Your Make Up Brushes

Maintaining your beauty is a delicate aspect of overall wellness but I have come to realize that when you don’t pay attention to every detail that concerns your beauty or skincare, you do more damage than good. Our make up brushes are tools we use everyday that we need to take care of.

It’s like a plate; when you eat off it and fail to wash it soon after the dirt dries off and sticks to it. Over time you could decide to eat off it again and again without washing and you might still be okay, emphasis on the ‘might‘. Give yourself a little over a week and it will eventually start to tell on your health through stomach aches, stomach infections etc.

The same goes for your make up brushes. Over time if you fail to wash them it will take its toll on you and your face. The brushes or applicators acquire cosmetic particles as well as dead skin cells & oils over time and create the perfect living environment for bacteria. Without proper cleaning and maintenance the dirt can cause skin irritations and infections, not to mention that the brush wouldn’t last long. For better ways of taking care of your make up brushes here are a few tips to help you out.

Caring For Your Brush -  Caring for your make up brush requires attention to detail and using proper methods that will give them care without damage.

• After every use apply some bacterial wipes/ wet wipes/ facial wipes to clean the brush. This takes away excess oils and bacterial accumulation from the brush.
• There are several products that can be used to clean your make up brush and the prices could be a bit steep. A convenient alternative is to use hair shampoo that doesn’t contain conditioner to clean them.
• Once a week or every two weeks (depending on the frequency of usage) wash the brushes with baby shampoo and tea tree oil. The baby shampoo acts as a less chemical wash and washes out the residue of make up while the tea tree oil acts as an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent. To wash see the instructions below…

What You Need 
- Tea Tree oil
- Baby shampoo
- A Lint-less cloth

Fill a bowl/ sink with warm water and add the baby shampoo and 3/4 drops of tea tree oil. Place the brushes inside the mix and rub gently wish your fore finger and thumb or spread & twist across your palm for about 2 minutes or more. Rinse until water is clear and shape them back into their original shape if disfiguration has occurred. Finally place them on a lint-less cloth and let them air dry.

Brush Maintenance

• Do not boil make up brushes. Boiling your make up brushes will not sterilize your brushes, it will only ruin them especially if the handles are made from rubber or plastic.
• Always keep used make up brushes away from new ones during storage. The residue of dirt and bacteria could be transferred from one brush to the other making even your new brushes dirty. You could try storing them separately like in a roll up bag or a glass jar.
• Keep your make up brushes away from direct sunlight. The heat could damage them.
• Classify your make up. Keep the brushes used for liquid make up away from those used for powdered make up.
• Sharpen your pencils; sharpening at least once a week prevents bacteria from settling on the used lead. After using any make up pencil be sure to replace the cap and .

There you have it! Easy and practical steps that could help you prolong the lifespan of your make up brushes and get your face that much closer to perfection. Remember to share some of your tips with us.

Photo Credit: www.princesslasertron.com | www.thegrio.com | www.therealsupermumblog.com |thebodyshop.com