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How to Deep Clean Your Brushes with Baby Shampoo

Swirl, swirl, swirl!

Most of the time, people like to use actual brush cleaners in order to clean their brushes. There are many different types of brush cleaners like spray cleaners and soaks, some of which can be bought from some brands. They work well enough, but if you are looking for a way to save on money and clean your brushes with something you may already have at home, a good way to do it is with baby shampoo. The added bonus is that it minimizes on any damage you could get on your brushes from other products  which may be alcohol based and thus, harsher.

I personally use baby shampoo for cleaning my brushes because it’s really gentle. Damage to your brushes will be minimal, and at the same time it does the job of cleaning well enough too. There are a couple drawbacks to this method that I will discuss later, but for now I’ll show you the process. So how exactly do you deep-clean your brushes with baby shampoo?

Deep Cleaning Your Brushes with Baby Shampoo

You need certain items in order to deep-clean your brushes.

You will of course need a few items in order to properly wash your brushes. It’s simple–all you need are the following:

  • Baby Shampoo
  • Your dirty brushes
  • A flat surface for drying
  • A hand towel or face towel

 

Washing your Brushes with Baby Shampoo

Once you’ve gathered all the necessary items, head on over to your sink to wash your brushes! Before you get started, lay your towel flat on the sink. Add a pump of baby shampoo onto the palm of your hand and switch your water on (keep it on a steady flow, enough to flow over the palm of your hand, but not too strong that it would splatter all over the place!). The amount of shampoo varies depending on the size of the brush you are cleaning. Use enough baby shampoo to get your brush to lather well. Put your palm under the water and start swirling your brush on your palm, lathering the brush with shampoo and water. Make sure that the water only hits the bristles. Keep the water away from the ferrule (the little metal band holding the bristles in place) as this may affect the glue holding your brush together. Get a good lather going! Check out that lather. Oooh. Foamy! Keep swirling your brush on your palm until the lather rinses off and the water runs clear. Afterwards you can pinch the bristles from under the ferrule and very gently press out the excess water on the brush. Be careful not to pull! Don't pull on the bristles! That's a big no-no! Afterwards, simply lay the brush flat on your towel. Make sure that there isn’t a tilt because then the water may seep into the ferrule, causing the water to mess with your brush’s glue! If there is a tilt, make sure that it’s downwards so the bristles are on the lower end and the water will seep OUT of the brush. In my experience, the best way to dry your brush is flat, with a brush guard that can keep your brush’s shape. A brush guard is kind of like a piece of mesh hose you can fit over your brushes in order to make them dry in shape. It prolongs the drying time, but it keeps your brush in better shape. Keep in mind there should be no water getting into your brush's ferrule!

Disadvantages to Cleaning Your Brushes with Baby Shampoo

As I’ve mentioned previously, there are a few disadvantages to washing with baby shampoo. For one, it may not get all the stains off your brush, as you can see in my above angled blush brush, which still has a pink stain on its bristles. What you can do is add a teeny tiny bit of dish washing liquid to the mix–and I mean a tiny amount–as this can help a bit with removing stains. If that doesn’t work well enough, you can first swirl your brush with olive or mineral (baby) oil until the stains come out. Then you can wash with baby shampoo.

I love deep cleaning my brushes at least once a week or bi-monthly. In between, I usually use a spray cleaner which does a sufficient job of sanitizing brushes too. But I still remember to deep clean because it really is the best way to clean up! Well, that’s pretty much it. It’s definitely easy! Good luck and remember, clean brushes helps you to avoid breaking out! :)

Chriselle Sy

Chriselle Sy

Chrissy is a makeup afficionado who decided to take it one step further by devoting a little corner of her life for her choice of art. She enjoys blogging about everything related to beauty and loves being a freelance hair and makeup artist — she practically lives and breathes makeup.

Chriselle Sy

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3 Comments

  1. Patricia Ramos
    Patricia Ramos
    July 11, 2012, 4:06 pm

    I spy some Blush brushes from Suesh! :-) If you find yourself in Trinoma, drop by Landmark and check out their generic make-up brushes. I got my kabuki brush there for only P129. It doesn’t shed and is softer than my other more expensive ones!

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    • Chriselle Sy
      Chriselle Sy
      July 18, 2012, 3:17 pm

      I actually have a couple brushes from there. :)

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  2. Valens
    August 14, 2012, 1:16 am

    I use olive oil before washing my brushes with shampoo and this works very well.
    It makes me save time! ;-)
    xoxo

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