When is the last time YOU cleaned a makeup brush?

I have a confession to make. In all of the years that I have been wearing makeup I NEVER cleaned my brushes. Yep, NEVER! After a couple months, okay, a year, I would throw them away and get new ones. No one ever told me to clean them! 

Did you know that you should clean your makeup brushes weekly? Dirty makeup brushes can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Cleaning your brushes removes old makeup, dirt and debris, dead skin cells, bacteria and oils. GROSS! I almost threw up just thinking about how gross my brushes must have been. Besides these benefits, cleaning your brushes also keeps them soft and supple. 

So, how do you clean those brushes? After doing some research, it appears that brushes should be cleaned minimally at least once a week at night so they have time to dry before you need to use them next (or right after you have applied your makeup for the day). 

Options for cleaning:

• Unscented, pure, white soap. Get brush completely wet, swirl brush onto bar of soap until it lathers and then rinse with lukewarm water.
• Detergent or baby shampoo. Wet the brush, squeeze a small amount of either baby shampoo or dish detergent, work into a later and rinse.
• Olive or almond oil (for those REALLY dirty brushes). Put small amount of oil onto papertowel and swirl the dry brush onto the towel. Do not saturate the brush with oil. This is just to break up all of the old makeup built up on the brush. Once this is complete, clean the brush with one of the methods listed above. 

So, now that your makeup brush is clean....wait, no its not! Did you clean the handle? Every time that you touch the brush you are transferring bacteria to the handle of the brush. Make sure to clean the handle of your brush with rubbing alcohol before you are all done!

What did you say? You don't want to go through all of that trouble once a week to make sure that your brushes are clean? You want another option? I have one for you if you are interested. I have recently started using Tyra Beauty products that are applied using your 4 fierce fingers (sculpt with your middle finger, highlight with your ring finger, cheeks with your index finger and eyes with your pinky finger), no brushes required. Prior to applying my makeup, I wash my hands and in 6 short minutes I am done and out of the door for work! If you want to find out more about these wonderful products, shoot me an email and I will let you know. And for my sensitive skin friends...check out the 'Oh Hell No' list below. 

Lisa
www.6minutestofabulous.com
www.facebook.com/6minutestofabulous 
mslbutler@gmail.com