Time to show your makeup brushes some love.

Would you eat with the same utensils day after day without cleaning them afterwards? Of course not, that would be gross. But you’re essentially do the same thing with your makeup brushes, that is, if you’re not washing them regularly. And if you’re like most makeup wearers, you aren’t. A survey conducted by Anisa international provided us some pretty scary results. 61% of makeup users admitted that they clean their brushes either once a month — or not at all.

 

A moment of silence for their skin.

So now that we’ve paid our respects, let me tell you why that’s so terrible. When you apply makeup with a dirty brush, you could be literally painting weeks (or months, or years) worth of grime back onto your face. Even if your skin is cleaned and freshly moisturized pre-makeup, your brushes are still collecting oil, dust, bacteria, dead skin cells and other nasty stuff that you don’t want on your face. Contaminated brushes often lead to acne breakouts, pinkeye and even herpes. If this doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will.

It’s also important to know that dirty brushes affect the application of your makeup. To achieve the looks you’re going for, a dirty brush just isn’t going to do the trick. Eyeshadow that is supposed to be blended will come out muddier and a liquid foundation that is supposed to make you look airbrushed will come out streaky. If your brush is filthy, the precision and color payoff of your products just isn’t the same. You have to treat all of your products nicely for them to work well for you. After all, a makeup collection is an investment. You want your cosmetics to be happy, right? Of course you do.

So how often do you have to wash your brushes? Depends on the brush and how often you use it. For starters, after every use you should gently wipe the used brush with a clean tissue. For brushes involving liquid or cream formulations (ie liquid foundation) it is recommended to wash every three uses. For eyeshadow and other facial powder brushes, a deep cleaning once a week should suffice.

There are tons of brush cleansers on the market, but for a more economical solution you can use baby shampoo or various oils (baby oil, argan, evoo or coconut oil, whichever you prefer). Gently rinse your brushes with water and a cleanser until the water runs clear, that’s how you’ll know when to stop. After that, give it a couple good shakes and it’s time to let your brushes dry. Drying time depends on the type of brush and the density of the fibers, but it may take a couple of hours. I recommend washing your brushes before you go to bed so when you wake up you have fully dry, squeaky clean brushes that are ready to go.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to show your brushes some love. Your face will thank you.