Clean Your Makeup Brushes With Dish Soap

You probably don’t clean your makeup brushes as often as you should. Because you use it usually only when you’re rushing out the door to get to work or to see friends or to make it to an event on time—are we right?! Today, or tomorrow, or sometime soon (promise us!) you need to take the time to clean your makeup brushes properly. After all, these are touching your face, your skin, your largest organ. We spend so much time washing our faces, think of your brushes as just an extension of that.

Our Simple, At-Home Method for Cleaning Makeup Brushes

1. Add Dish Soap

With a drop of Boulder Clean Dish Soap in a small dish or bowl, fill the rest with water and mix so the water becomes sudsy. This is more of an eyeball measurement, but we’d recommend starting with 1 tsp and adding water to your desired suds-level. Since Boulder Clean’s plant-based formulas are all thoughtfully powerful, yet mild, there should be no damaging effects for your materials.

2. Wash Brushes

Swish your makeup brushes around in the soapy water using the bowl to move bristles around and shake out any contents in the brushes. Depending on how dirty your brushes are, you may want to repeat Step 1 so that you can continue scrubbing with fresh water and soap. After most of the brush is clean, use your fingers to work through the bristles under running water until the water runs clear.

3. Reshape And Dry

Continue drying your brush off on a washable towel (careful to think of any brush residue that may stain). After most of the water is off the brush, reshape to its original style and form and allow to fully air dry by laying it on a towel or cutting board (or any surface that will absorb the moisture as it continues to leave the brush).

For the Future…

If your brushes still have residue from your foundation, eyeshadow or other products try repeating steps 1-3 with an extra emphasis on rinsing to get them completely clean. If you have tacky areas or major clogs on your brushes, it may be time to toss them and try to make it a habit to clean your other brushes more regularly.

If you have an older brush that isn’t quite falling apart but it’s past it’s makeup prime days, you can use it to clean dust from air vents and other tiny areas within your home—so move them from your bathroom drawer to your cleaning basket instead of the trash.