Are Your Makeup Brushes Breaking You Out?

You know how relaxing a nice soak is, but you might be surprised what a good bath can do for your brushes. As you use your brushes, your makeup mixes with the oils in your skin and accumulates on the bristles of the brush. This effects the way your brushes pick up and deposit color, eventually resulting in uneven application. This buildup also wears down your brushes, and can deposit back onto your makeup. Ever had an eyeshadow or powder that developed an impenetrable shiny crust on it, rendering it useless? That's from the oil in your skin coming into contact with the product, either from dirty brushes or your fingers. Last but not least, that brush buildup can actually contribute to breakouts.

Now are you ready to wash your brushes? One pro secret is a spray product called "Brush Off". This fluid sprays on to cleanse and disinfect your brushes, keeps natural bristles conditioned and dries almost instantly. It's perfect for getting that disco-ball glitter eyeshadow you wore Saturday night from creeping onto your eyes Monday morning.

Every few weeks your brushes need to take the deep plunge. Though you can buy "brush wash", I consider this a huge waste of money. Presuming you have good quality natural bristle brushes, you can treat them just like your own hair and use shampoo. (Most synthetic brushes are sturdier and you can use just about any soap to clean them.)

Almost any shampoo will work, but ones for volume, smoothing or deep moisturizing have ingredients that can leave a residue on the brush, so basic is better for this purpose. If in doubt, tear-free baby shampoo works great. Gently wash your brushes, rinsing so that the bristles fall naturally. Squeeze excess water from the brushes, and lay them on a towel to dry overnight.