So you’ve followed the advice: you decided to invest in makeup brushes. You religiously checking YouTube, blogs, Cosmetic Brushes Part II thread in FD Forum, and asking advice to friends.
Have this happened to you? You open a new brush, and you sniff it. “Hufff… is that a chemical smell?”
Tip #1: Wash new brushes before use
Many brushes are handmade, which means, you could cross-contaminate your eyes and face by not washing your brushes before use. Brushes are often treated by wax to keep the bristles in shape, which could explain the smell. Washing before use will also help to remove the chemical smell from the brush
Have you woke up one morning and see your brushes are dirty beyond reasons, they leave residue on your dresser table.
Tip #2: Keep your brushes clean
There are several ways you could clean your brush. One thing for sure: you can peruse things you already have at home: baby shampoo, gentle shampoo, sensitive skin cleanser (skin cleanser for problem skin could be too harsh). The reason is that you want a brush cleanser that is gentle and non-drying to keep bristles from breaking, excessively shedding, or getting brittle.If I put on heavier makeup in consecutive days, I would wash it every week; otherwise, every 2-3 weeks.
Here is an example of a brush-cleaning regimen:
- Prepare the following: baby shampoo (or other gentle cleanser of your choice), cool running water (hot or warm water will soften the glue), and clean towel.
- Wet the brush hair. Lather up the baby shampoo, and very, very gently, shampoo the brush hair. If the brush still seems too dirty, I usually swirl the brush head onto my palm slowly. Try to only wash the hair until the border of hair and ferrule, and not getting too much water into the border of ferrule and handle (where the glue resides inside). Do not immerse in water.
- Rinse thoroughly. And I mean, thoroughly. Very gently, get out excess water from the brush head. Wipe out water droplets from handles and ferrule.
- Shape the brush hair inward so that the brush retains shape while it dries.
- Lay the brush flat on the edge of a table (to let the water drips out of the brush) over a clean towel. Leave overnight or until completely dry.
Word of caution: as tempting as it may sound, do not use hairdryer to dry your brush. Quoting Darwyn, FD’s Kelas Dandan instructor, “You’ll kill the brush!”
