Brush-maintenance: Take care of your tools!

To me brushes are very important tools to the perfect look, that perfectly blended crease and flawless foundation. I can't imagine ever having to do my make-up without them, so I bring them whenever I travel with my make-up. Most of my brushes are from Sigma, one is MAC(217) and a few are from Coastal Scents. Investing in brushes is one of the first things I'd advise people to do when first getting into make-up, it makes it so much easier and helps you get the right look.

Anywhoozle, let's get down to business! Brushes, whether they are made of real or synthetic hair, need to be washed. To clean them, to get all the gunk, dirt and makeup out of them, and to care for the hairs. This is my number one beauty sin. I don't do this often enough, although I ought to do this once a week, but I don't. In this post I will show you how I clean, care for and store my brushes!

I've recently gotten brushguards for all my brushes. A brushguard is a mesh tube that is available in many sizes to fit your brushes. You slip the brushguard over the brushhairs and it keeps the brush from splaying and keeps it in a nice shape. This is perfect for travelling, as it will keep your brushes in great condition.

When I wash my brushes, I bring them to the kitchen and lay them out on the counter. In this picture I have the brushguard on the handle, so I just have to slip it down over the brush when I set them out to dry!

To wash my brushes, I wet the brush hairs by holding the brush under a running fawcett. I just use cold water, no need to waste hot water on that! When holding the brush under the water I make sure not to go above the ferrule (the metal bit that keeps the hairs in place). Getting water in that can break down the glue keeping the ferrule and the hairs in place. And we sure don't want that to happen! I also work the brush lightly over my hand under the water, to make sure the water gets through to all the hairs and that everything is wet.

When washing them I use a small plastic cup, this one is just a measuring cup. I put in a dollop of shampoo, any shampoo works, but I use baby-shampoo to be as gentle as possible on the hairs. I just get the cheapest stuff at the drugstore baby section.

When washing a round brush, as in the photo above, I swirl the wet brush in the shampoo for a few seconds. In this case I am cleaning a powder brush, so it doesn't give off a lot of colour, but I generally find a few seconds enough. I then rinse the brush under the running fawcett and again, be sure not to get any in the ferrule. I keep rinsing it untill the water coming off the hairs is completely clean.

Sigma Powderbrush.

Sigma Large Eyeshadow Blending Brush.

Then I blot the brush on an old towel and to avoid my brushes drying in the splayed form you see above, I let them dry in their brushguards.

While drying I put the brushes upside down, with their brushguards on, in an old pencil holder. I find these optimal due to the mesh as it lets through a lot of air and hopefully helps the brushes dry faster. Since they are metal, I line the bottom with a tissue, just to be sure.

I let them dry upside down to let all the water run away from the ferrule, and let them lean on the brushguards. I do feel the brushguards make drying time longer, but I find it very worth it when you consider how well they protect the brushes.

A good 10-12 hours later and my brushes are all dry and back in their place. All have dried in perfect shape and will last me many years because of how I care for them.

My brushholder is one I found for very little money at the local drugstore. I keep facebrushes in the big compartment, eyeshadow ones in the medium one and the small one is now dedicated to brushguards. Before I got my brushguards, the small compartment was the home of my eyeliners.


How do you care for your brushes? How do you store them? Got any tips? Let me know! Share the love!

Thank you for reading and untill next time!
xxx