3 of the Best Makeup Brush Cleaner and Dryers
If you’re anything like me, I put off cleaning my makeup brushes until I was in my early twenties. That may sound disgusting to some, however, I didn’t realise how important it was. In this post I’m going to share with you the best makeup brush cleaner and dryers that won’t necessarily break the bank. And will make sure your skin doesn’t get exposed to any nasty bacteria that accumulates through not washing your brushes.
Why is it important to wash your makeup brushes?
It is very important you clean your makeup brushes, especially if you suffer from acne prone skin. Bacteria can gather and breed on your makeup brushes after you’ve used them. Everyone has bacteria on their skin. And if that bacteria penetrates the skin through cuts or acne, it can cause a whole host of issues.
Firstly, you can get skin infections such as impetigo. Impetigo is a skin condition that is highly infectious caused by a bacteria. Hence, why it’s so important to regularly clean your makeup brushes, and most importantly, between clients, friends and family.
Secondly, they naturally collect dust and dirt from the environment around you. Cleaning your makeup brushes properly helps not only from clogging up your pores, but also from irritating your skin. By not cleaning your brushes, you are essentially adding to the dirt and bacteria already present on your face. Clogging up pores therefore can cause acne, or make it a lot worse.
Eradicating extra free radicals, can help make your skin glow naturally. To read more about this and how to get glowing skin, click here.
Another thing to remember is if you’d like to use one brush for more than one thing, wash them in between products. This will prevent the products blending together. For example, it will be worth cleaning your brush in between blush and contour if you use the same brush. Failing to do so will merge the two colours together causing a muddy pink. We want that pay off of colour from both the blush and contour.
The Top 3 makeup brush cleaner and dryers currently on the market
Stylpro makeup brush cleaner and dryer
I personally love this cleaner as it’s so quick and easy to do. You can buy this makeup brush cleaner and dryer here from amazon, or the Stlpro website.
How to wash your brushes:
There’s two ways to use this makeup brush cleaner and dryer. If you’re washing powder off your brushes for eyeshadow, you can use dish soap and warm water. When doing this method, fill up the bowl with warm water and a dash of dish soap. My favourite soap to use is fairy liquid. For more stubborn makeup that either doesn’t come off when you use dish soap, or when the product in the brush are liquid or creams, and more thicker in consistency than powder, then use a cleaning solution. If you buy a brush cleaner set, there will be one that comes with the set. Or, another option is you can buy refills. As a matter of fact, you only need a small amount of this to clean your brushes. Around 1/3 of the bowl which will be plenty.
What’s great about this bowl is it comes with a spill and splash proof lip so water doesn’t go flying everywhere.
Use the brush holders to see what gives your brush a tight fit. There are different sized holes for different sized brushes making it very versatile. Choose the best fitting holder for your brush and then attach this onto the end of the cleaner.
To start the process of cleaner flick the switch on the cleaner once it’s dipped in the cleaning solution. Your brush will start spinning around and the bristles will fan out. This allows the makeup to be removed in the middle bristles too.
Dip the brush in and out of the solution a few times until it looks clean. It has to be held in there for around 5 seconds.
How to dry your brushes:
Following this, pull it out of the cleaning solution, and let the brush spin a few more seconds before turning off the device and pulling it out.
What happens here is that the brush will throw all the excess water/ cleaning solution off of the brush as it spins. Making it dry to the touch when you pull out the brush.
You can use this same cleaning solution for all of your brushes until they aren’t looking like they’re coming out spotless.
Top Tip:
Personally, I’ve found if I clean the brushes with the least amount of product on first, they come out alot cleaner. And you won’t have to change over the cleaning solution as much.
After you’ve cleaned your brushes discard the cleaning solution you’ve been using and wipe out the bowl. I use a paper towel with a bit of micellar water on to wipe out the excess makeup that has been left in the bowl. This helps keep it clean for next time you want to use it.
Isoclean brush spray
Another great way to clean and dry your brushes is using Isoclean brush spray. Unquestionably the most effective and easiest method of cleaning and drying your smaller makeup brushes. You can buy Isoclean brush spray here from amazon, or here from Look fantastic for around £17.
How to use Isoclean brush spray:
To use Isoclean, first you will need some paper towels or a flannel/cloth.
This one is very simple to use. It’s effective on smaller brushes that have used powder, not so effective on big makeup brushes or the use of liquid or cream products.
Firstly choose the brush you want to clean. Then spray the brush a few times, covering it all on spray. I like to do this over a cloth so the spray doesn’t get everywhere.
Afterwards you want to rub the brushes on the cloth. You will see the makeup coming off and onto the paper towel/ cloth.
A good choice of paper towel to use is kitchen roll. It’s very absorbent so you won’t need to use as much as if you use tissue paper for example. Id advise not to use toilet paper as it’s very thin and breaks apart easily. You’ll end up with bits of paper everywhere. You need to use a flannel/cloth or paper towel that won’t disintegrate easily.
Once no more makeup is coming off it’s clean, if there is still makeup, as the brush dries when rubbing the product off, you will see the makeup coming off the brush get streaky. If this happens, it means it’s not completely clean. You will want to repeat the process of spraying the brush and rubbing it on the cloth until there’s no residue makeup coming off of the brush.
By doing this the brushes dry automatically so it’s a very quick, un messy, and easy way to clean smaller brushes used for things like eyeshadow.
Cons of using this cleaner:
This method is great for smaller brushes with powder, however, a con of using this method is it is only good to clean small makeup brushes used for powder. Anything bigger than an eyeshadow brush, this method doesn’t clean very well. It leaves patches of makeup on bigger brushes and is harder to clean. As well as, using this method for any liquid and cream products.
All things into consideration, if you’re looking for a makeup brush cleaner for eyeshadows, then this is a great option for you.
Real techniques brush cleansing balm with deep cleansing pad
The most affordable option out of all of these is the real techniques brush cleansing balm with deep cleansing pad. At only £8.99, this is a great option, especially when you’re travelling. It’s very small so can be taken away with you on holiday.
To use this makeup brush cleaner, dip your brush in water and then swirl around your brush in the cleansing balm to cover your brush.
Then start rubbing the brush on the cleaning pad. Consequently, this will activate the balm making the makeup brush foam.
Following, you’ll want to rinse the cleansing balm off thoroughly. Again, if you can see there is any residue makeup left on the brush, repeat these steps again. Between each wash, rinse the cleansing pad too. This will help keep your brushes sterile and clean them quicker.
How to dry your makeup brushes:
The only downside to this method is it’s not good if you’re in a rush or you want to use brushes directly after. You will need to wait for the brushes to air dry before using them.
Letting your makeup brushes dry naturally can be very time consuming. And it may leave wet patches on the surface you’ve left them to dry on. For this reason, I’d advise to place your brushes on a towel whilst they’re drying. This way, regardless where you leave them, there won’t be much water to clear up after they’ve dried.
On the plus side, unlike the cleaning spray, it is good for cleaning all types of makeup off of brushes and all kinds of brushes. Whether they’re big or small brushes, used with powder or liquid products.
This post was all about why you should clean your makeup brushes and what makeup brush cleaner and dryers are best to use.