How To: Deep Clean Your Brushes

Okay, this shouldn't be categorized under "How To" because this is more like a "How I" kind of thing. I just hate deep cleansing my brushes and I know I'm not the only one. Why would I? It's time-consuming and I won't be able to use my brushes for a day or two. I just dread that chore so much that I actually reached a point where I had to bribe my little sister to get out of doing it myself. Anyway, the lazy part of me found a way of making my brush cleansing routine more interesting and.. uhh.. less time-consuming. LOL! 

(1) In a tall container, pour an inch high water and about a tablespoon of virgin coconut/olive oil then soak your brushes for a few minutes. Some people use baby oil but I prefer using virgin coconut/olive oil for this because it helps breakdown the makeup residue on the brushes and at the same time, it reconditions the bristles. Soap or shampoo can damage the bristles and make it brittle and coarse so the oil acts as the conditioner.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that the water level is just enough to soak the bristles and NOT reach the metal ferrules. Soaking the ferrule part in water can seriously ruin your brushes as the water loosens the glue in the ferrule that keeps that brush/bristles intact.

(2) After soaking the brushes for 2-3 minutes, take them out and gently squeeze the makeup residue out. Eeeewww! See how the oil made it so easy to remove the weeks-worth of foundation? It's as if the makeup residue just slid right off the brushes.

(3) Now using a regular shampoo/dish washing soap or in my case, ELF Brush Shampoo, remove the remaining dirt and makeup by swirling the brush on your palm repetitively until no more pigment can be squeezed out of the brush then rinse everything off with water. It takes a while to rinse off the oil but this ELF brush shampoo does the trick.

part 1.. will finish part 2 tomorrow. ;)

(4) Lastly, place them on a clean cloth and cover them as you let them dry overnight (or for some brushes, 2 nights). It's important to note that they should be covered. If not, the whole cleaning part would be pointless if you allow dirt to accumulate on the brushes overnight. Remember that dust particles stick to wet things better and faster.

That's about it.. that's how I deep clean my brushes. It took me less than an hour to clean all my face brushes and some of my eye brushes. I'll have to finish the rest tomorrow. :)

What's your secret in cleaning your brushes? Care to share? 

Just comment them down below and I'll give it a try. :) Thanks!

P.S. I'll be editing this once I get my hands on my own brush guards. <3