Lather, Rinse, Repeat (for your make up brushes!?)
Did you know that the dirt on your make up and make up brushes might be causing you to break out or have clogged pores?
It might be time to clean those make up brushes and toss that old mascara and foundation. We were shocked to learn that the Center for Disease Control actually has advice for how long one should keep mascara. They say, due to the bacteria that mascara harbors, you should toss it every three months and buy a new one. Who knew the CDC gave any thought to such a seemingly trivial matter as mascara? Shouldn’t they be busy tracking the West Nile Virus or something? It’s nice to know they also care a little about cosmetics. (And doesn’t Estee Lauder just love them for telling us all to go buy new mascara every quarter!)
As far as make up brushes, there is a fast, easy, inexpensive way to clean those. You can wash them in a mild shampoo. We recommend good old fashioned baby shampoo. You don’t need much, so buy a little sample size at the drug store. Place a little shampoo into your palm, add some warm water and gentle lather the bristles of the brush. Then rinse them well in warm water. Shake the brushes gently, pat dry with a tissue and finally, rest them on the side of the sink to air dry. They will regain their round shape once completely dry. Professional make up artists recommend doing this once a week to really minimize the dirt and bacteria that end up on your skin causing clogged pores and breakouts.
And we have one final word on this. If you haven’t invested in good set of make up brushes, we highly recommend you do. It really can make all the difference in the world in terms of how the make up goes on your skin. We recommend the brushes with real hair bristles. They will last longer, work more effectively (especially in blending) and clean up better. Sephora and other beauty retailers carry a large selection in all sizes. Come on, you know you were looking for a reason to go browse at Sephora anyway.
Cheers!
Do you have a make up brush that you love? Do you clean your make up brushes regularly? Share below in comments.
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- Posted in Cleansing on August 20th, 2008
August 20th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I never realized how important it is to wash my make up brushes until I tried it recently for the first time. I purchased Bare Escentuals “i.d. well-cared for brush conditioning shampoo” (which is very effective and has a pleasant, mild smell). It is amazing how much residual make up collects on those brushes over time! Melissa, you are right when you say lather, rinse and repeat because it can take a few rotations to get the brushes completely clean. Since then I have made an effort to wash my brushes more frequently and I have noticed a difference in the way my make up applies and I have had fewer blemishes. If you are not a regular make up brush washer I highly recommend you give it a try!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I recommend MAC’s eyeshadow make up brush kit…I wasn’t a believer at first when they tried to push their expensive brush set on me, I thought what a waste of money when I can buy brushes at rite aid..so I bought one from MAC and one from rite aid, and sure enough the rite aid brush barely picked up the eyeshadow and didn’t seem to apply anything at all to my skin…As a result, I ended up wasting the expensive eyeshadow instead..