CLEANING MY MAKEUP BRUSHES

Hey, when I'm on Instagram and browsing at pretty makeup brush photos, one comment that seems to pop up a lot is 'how do you clean your brushes?' Some people are worried about washing their brushes as they're worried they will shed, the dye will run or they will loose their softness; I know, I used to be one of them. I think that recently, I have discovered the perfect way of washing them including a handy super cheap too. In my '18th birthday haul' post, you may remember that I said I would reveal all soon, well today is that day.

Firstly, the things you will need to get prior to washing your brushes are: two clean towels, johnsons baby shampoo (any gentle shampoo will work just as well), some dirty makeup brushes and a 'top and tail' bowl.

To get these things you may have to take a trip to mothercare or somewhere similar. If you look around where the bath things are then you will find this little bowl that's split into two. They're used for separately washing a baby's face and bum however they're also great for washing makeup brushes too! You don't necessarily need this as you could just use two separate bowls but I find that it makes the next couple of steps easier. You can buy a 'top and tail' bowl here.

1. Lay out one of the clean towels on the floor; I use this to sit on and avoid making a mess.

Steps 1 & 2

2. Fill both sides of the bowl with luke-warm water and add a small amount of baby shampoo to one side of the bowl only.

3. Using either a dirty brush or your finger, swirl the water around to make a bubbly foam.

4. When washing your makeup brushes, its important to keep the base where the bristles come out of away from the water. This prevents damaging the glue causing the brush to shed.

Steps 5, 6 & 8

5. Dip your dirty brush in the soapy water until its wet right through. Next, add a small drop of baby shampoo into the connecting middle section of the bowl.

6. Gently rub your brush in the shampoo until a foam is make and you can see the make up coming out. This middle section should be slightly bumpy meaning it will get the old makeup out a lot easier. Repeat this step until the brush looks clean.

7. You may want to wipe the middle section every couple of brushes as I find it can get quite clogged up with the removed makeup to effectively clean brushes.

8. This step is optional as I don't normally do it but if you want, you can rub your brush against the palm of your hand to create a foam. This step is good for extremely dense brushes or bushes containing a lot of quite thick product like foundation ones.

Steps  9, 10 & 11

9. If you think your brush is clean, dip the brush in the clean water to remove any excess soap. If the brush isn't clean, swirl it in the soapy water and repeat step 7 until it is.

10. Place the brush under cold running water to make sure all of the soap has completely been removed.

11. Take the other clean towel and roll up one end to make an elevated section. Put the handle end on this section and leave the brush to dry; this will prevent any water damaging the glue.

12. Larger brushes or ones with a specific shape may need their bristles moving back into place. Swirling the brush on the back of your hand will disturb the bushes new shape then gently push the brush into its original shape.

14. Move all of your cleaned brushes of the bathroom floor and put them somewhere safe. I decided to use the bath as then the excess water could drip into the bath and avoid making a mess.

 So, that's the end of how I clean my makeup brushes! This method may seem really long and quite expensive however, in total, to clean all of the above makeup brushes, it took me about half an hour which isn't too long and it cost me around £6.50 which I believe to be extremely reasonable considering the MAC brush cleanser is £10.00 and can only be used for spot cleaning. I like to do this once a week otherwise the brushes can get a bit too clogged up meaning makeup application is slower and less effective. I hope you enjoyed this post, I realize this method may not be for everyone as we all have our own way but this is just what works for me personally.

Megan xx