Squeaky Clean with Jojoba Oil.

Brush care is something I cant stress enough to my customers. I don’t want to think about the amount of times I’ve sold a brush just to be met with a blank stare at the suggestion of brush cleaner. Cleaning your brushes, whether you are a professional artist or an “I only wear makeup on weekends” type-a-gal, is paramount. Bacteria, dead skin cells, dirt and sebum all build up in our brushes... and we then wipe that on our face without a thought! Imagine if you never washed your toothbrush after you used it. Same thing.

Now that I have sufficiently grossed you all out, I’ll give you a run down on how to deep cleanse your brushes. Not to be confused with a quick clean, deep cleansing should be done every one to two weeks, and if you use your brushes professionally, every time you have a makeup job. As the name suggests, deep cleansing really gets all the grime from your brushes and it also conditions them. Most good quality brushes are real hair and I bet you paid a lot for them, so to keep them staying soft and in tip top condition try following the steps below.

Oh and just a little note, in this tutorial I am using the MAC conditioning brush cleanser but I also like to use a cheap alternative, such as Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo (you know, the yellow one!), which I think is just as good.Because my brushes are real hair and were a large investment I like to give them a treatment every 6 weeks using Jojoba oil. Lucky for me, I received this oil from Echo Life as part of my goody bag when I attended the Wellness WA POBM event so I didn’t have to purchase it, but you can find it at your supermarket for around 12 dollars.

1. Start by pouring the oil into the palm of your hand or into a small bowl. Dip a tiny amount onto the brush head and work it into the bristles. Remember this is an OIL, so apply sparingly! 

2. Leave your brushes for 5-10 minuets while the oil sinks in. While you are waiting run a small warm bowl of water or set up near a sink. If I have a lot of brushes to clean I will use a bowl in front of the TV and change the water when it gets murky. 

3. Dip your brush head into the water being careful to not immerse the head under the water. This is important as the glue will loosen and the hairs will fall out if you do! Pour a small amount of your cleanser onto the palm of your hand and swirl the brush head until you get a lather going. Work the cleaner though the brush with a little bit of water from the bowl until the suds disappear and the brush feels clean.

4. Gently squeeze the excess water from your brush and push the bristles back into shape. Lay the brushes flat on a bench with the brush heads hanging over the edge. This is another important step as the brushes will get moldy if you dry them on the bench. I also like to make sure the shape of the bristles are perfect as they are drying and I check on them every few hours.

This all sounds like a lot of hooha to clean some brushes, and I understand that not many people have the time to follow all these steps. If this is the case, pop to any cosmetics store and grab a brush cleaning spray. I like the Mecca Cosmetica Conditioning brush cleaner $22. 
Spray the product onto a tissue and wipe the brush until it runs clean. If you choose to use this method of cleaning pleaasseee try and deep cleanse your brushes once a month. Your brushes, your face and I will all love you! 


April Rose
xx