What annoys me the most about being a makeup enthusiast is cleaning my brushes.  I know I’m not the only one as I’ve heard my friends and my makeup artist complain about the same thing.  There are brush cleaning gloves, solvents, cleaning sponges and good ol’ soap and water.  I’ve spent many afternoons washing and conditioning my brushes and I knew there had to be another way.  Here is my method:

• You will need:  a glass jar; paper towels; rubbing alcohol and a clean flat surface
• Wash the jar thoroughly, I chose an apple sauce jar as the tapered neck helps with the deep clean process and peel off label for a better visual of the brushes during deep cleaning
• Prepare your cleaning surface and have paper towels close by and ready to use

• Fill bottom of jar with about ½ – 1 inch of rubbing alcohol
• insert brushes, one at a time, into jar and submerge the brush hairs into the rubbing alcohol avoiding the brush ferrule *Note: Never submerge the ferrule (metal part) of your brushes in alcohol nor water as this can loosen the manufacturer’s glue that holds the brush hairs together.  The results would be increased shedding or the brush hairs falling out completely.
• Dip the brush into the alcohol, repeatedly, releasing as much makeup product out of your brush
• Drain the excess alcohol by pushing the brush against the jar’s sides or, in my case, I pushed my brushes against the tapered neck of the jar. Use your fingers to squeeze any leftover alcohol out of the brush hairs
• Fold a piece of paper towel and press the brush into it, this will help remove even more product

• Repeat steps with each brush
• You don’t need to replace the dirty alcohol as the makeup products settle to the bottom of the jar
• Use paper towels to dry your brushes and determine how clean each brush is

• At this point you’ll have a couple options:
  1.  You can refill the jar with more alcohol and repeat the steps with each brush until you are satisfied with the cleanliness of your brushes
  2. You can wash off any excess residue with warm water and the soap or shampoo of your choice
• Allow your brushes to air dry on some paper towels either flat or on a slight angle with the hairs pointing down to make sure no liquids settle into the ferrules

I use both synthetic and real hair makeup brushes and the results were equally awesome.  If you are worried about the alcohol being too drying on your real hair brushes after the alcohol clean, rinse them with warm water and a hair conditioner of your choice.  I personally never had to do this, but it can help preserve your real hair makeup brushes.

I hope this helps my fellow makeup enthusiasts!  If you try this method, I’d love to hear what your results were, leave a comment here or on my other social media platforms.  I’d love to hear from you!

Take care everyone and have a happy day!

SS