Let’s face it, makeup brushes get pretty gross if they’re not cleaned regularly. After daily makeup applications, your makeup brush can become filled with old makeup, dead skin cells, unwanted oils and bacteria.

It may not seem like it, but cleaning makeup brushes is a critical step to keeping your skin healthy and clear. A dirty brush can cause your face to break out, or even worse, lead to funguses or pink eye—SAY WHHAAA?!

We get it though, in the day-to-day hustle, cleaning your makeup brush isn’t necessarily at the top of your to-do list. Then there’s all the questions, like, “What type of cleaner should I use?” “How do I find one that’s non-toxic?” “What’s the best way to dry my brushes?” and “Will it get the job done without wrecking my brushes’ bristles?”

Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers!

• Cost-effective
• Made with natural, non-toxic ingredients (unlike commercial cleaners, which often use potentially irritating chemicals)
• Safe for both synthetic and natural fiber brushes
• A great way to promote healthy, vibrant skin

While many people place their clean brushes in a cup to dry, we advise against this. Hanging your brushes allows your bristles to dry in the open air (kinda like clothes on a wash line). Because the brush is suspended, the water drips off the bristles and away from the handle.

This helps dry your brushes faster and more evenly. It also prevents water from trickling down the handle, which inevitably causes your brush to break down because the water loosens the glue that holds the brush and bristles together.

• Synthetic fiber brushes: Brushes with synthetic bristles tend to dry quickly, so you can clean your brushes the day or night before and they’ll be ready for use the next morning!
• Natural fiber brushes: Brushes made with natural fibers take much longer to dry, so they should be cleaned in the morning (after you apply your makeup) so that they have a good 24 hours to dry. We often do this over the weekend, rather than a hectic morning throughout the week.

You can pre-mix and store your cleaner in a glass jar to simplify the process, just be sure to only dip your makeup brushes in the solution you plan to use.

Once you dip your brush in the solution, all bets are off and you’ll immediately see why. The liquid will quickly go from a clear soapy color to a cloudy makeup color.

Because this solution contains distilled water and there’s no preservative to prevent bacteria from growing in the water, you’ll want to use it within 1 to 2 weeks. You can slightly increase the shelf-life by storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.