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:
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!”
Tip #3: Wipe your brush after use
This is especially true for gel eyeliner brushes. If you do not wipe it immediately, the excess gel will harden on the tip of your brushes. Wiping takes you 3 seconds, and it will save you a lot of time the next occasion you want to use it.
As for eyeshadow brush, you would want to at least remove excess colors from yesterday so that they will not to be mixed up with the colors you use today. It could also be the reason why your eye makeup gets muddy. Check your brush; it may hold a lot of colors from yesterday, the day before, last week (but hopefully, not from last month)
You are a person who insist on hygiene. During a makeup playdate, your friend ask to borrow your eyeliner brush, though you haven’t even reached the eyelining part (ie., you need to use it again later!). Now what?
Tip #4: Consider investing in professional brush cleanser
Professional brush cleanser was first invented to meet the needs of professional makeup artists. Runway make up artists needs to make up several models in different stylistic colors. They need brush cleanser to help them keep the brushes fresh and clean from excess products. Now, most of us are not makeup artists. Why do we even want to consider investing in brush cleanser?
It’s hard to expect that people have the time or simply remember to clean their brush regularly or often enough. Which is why I invest in professional brush cleanser (in this case, I am referring to MAC Brush Cleanser, IDR 110,000 or $10). Brush cleanser not only quick-clean your brushes, but also dry your brush in minutes (compared to overnight if using water-and-shampoo regimen). Depending on the type of bristle and the size; small synthetic bristle will take around 5-10 minutes to dry, while natural-haired, larger-sized brush will take 20-30 minutes. Additionally, the special agents in professional cleanser also recondition the bristles.
While I don’t think a brush cleanser is a substitute to the water-and-shampoo routine, it could be the answer for your in-betweens washing schedule (it prolongs the number of days between washes). You could use it if you simply forget to wash them, or too lazy (which happens a lot), or the playdate scenario (see above).
How to use MAC Brush Cleanser: Pour the MAC Brush Cleanser on paper towel, and swirl your brush on the paper towel to get the make up pigments out. Lay flat until dry. Each brush would take less than 2 minutes to clean.
Is there such thing as brush troubleshooting? Yes. Sort of.
Tip #5: Shedding? Don’t freak out
It is normal for a brush to shed some hairs a little, especially during first few washes (note the phrase “first few washes”). Good quality brushes are handmade, and there could be some hairs left over from the trimming process. However, if the shedding gets disturbingly much, or often leaving brush hairs on your face, there could be a problem with your brush (or your brush quality).
Tip #6: Restoring out-of-shape brushes
Note: This tip would be applicable for synthetic brush.
Old brushes could get of shape, with its hairs fanning out of proportion.
Mona Lisa Brush Restorer(available from craft stores) could help restoring the shape of your brush. The brush restorer is basically a wax-like substance that keeps the bristles come together. This may not make your brush like new again, but may help alleviate the problem. Unfortunately, I do not think this method is recommended for brush made of natural bristles. If it happens, it might be a sign for you to shop a new brush.
To close, do share your tips in maintaining and preserving your beloved brushes so you could achieve those great looks!
*first image courtesy of veer.com
For a complete guide on how to take care of your makeup brushes (yes, including cleaning them) read this post on FD http://bit.ly/bAayg
It's weekend, Ladies, time to clean your brushes! Here's how: http://bit.ly/9oL6XG
RT @fashionesedaily: It's weekend, Ladies, time to clean your brushes! Here's how: http://bit.ly/9oL6XG
@justcecile pake shampoo bayi cil, step by stepnya ada disini nih > http://j.mp/eO3K69
OMG!!! sangat berguna sekali miss w.l.n! gue jadi tau cara nyuci yg bener!
just what i need! interesting articles!!
gw ga pernah cuci brush baru, next time i wil .. dan gw slalu mandiin gagang brush pake sampo bayi juga .. ga boleh ya lan?? next time i wont
akhirnyaaaa…pengetahuan gw nambah soal ngerawat brush. kasian brushes gw selama ini. udah gw nyucinya pake gw rendem semalem suntuk, gagangnyapun ikut kerendem, plus gw hair dry pula. tengkyu ya w.L.n!!! gw mau ngacir ke mac besok beli brush cleaner.
Seru nih artikel nya, w.L.n!! Maaciihhh, darleeeng.
Btw, temen2 yg di Jakarta ada yg pernah nemuin brush shaper kaya gambar di atas ga?
wah.. thank you bangett buat info nya neh.. selama ini selalu males buat cuci brush… btw kalau misalnya di pakein brush cleanser aja tapi ga di cuci pake shampoo gitu juga ga boleh yah…
Kalo udah brush cleanser, ya ga perlu shampoo lagi, bluebelle. Shampoo, conditioner, ama sabun buat brush nya udah ada semua di brush cleanser
w.l.n you read my mind!!!
great article!
Wultje, makasih ya say infonya ….
Awesome tips! I can really use these
Terima kasih yah w.L.n 
terima kasih w.L.n jadi tahu cara nyuci yang baik dan benar.
kalo keringin pake kipas angin juga ngga boleh ya?
wulan, makasi ya say infonya…. walopun brush-nya blom byk sangat berguna skalski….
ahh ini artikel brush nya yg di mention kmaren ya?? hehe.. thxx for sharing wulan.. emang uda saatnya bersihin kuas2 gratisan body shop gw
jd inget gw bilang ke si dhyta n rere sblm pisah kmaren, kalo sampe gw ikutan beli brush br deh jd banci
lan.. ngeringin brush on the edge of a table ga bikin brushnya ngejegrang ya?
kalo buffer brush, di lay flat gitu, apa bentuknya ga berubah ya?
thank you!!
sepanjang membaca gw cuma blg “oh.. ohh.. gtu toh..” hahahaha.. thanks ya wul buat tips2nya
berguna banget!
Ladies (and gents, kalo ada), thanks a lot for the comments
bluebelle, nerusin pencerahan dari silperlintje, brush cleanser dipakai kalo lagi males cuci pake air + baby shampoo (karena emang lebih lama, dan harus tunggu kering semaleman). Tapi gue tetep recommend untuk cuci dengan air + shampoo sekali2, walau jadi ga usah seminggu sekali misalnya (krn udah pake brush cleanser)
rica, lebih baik di diemin overnight aja. Takutnya jadi mekar kalo pakai kipas angin. Pas kering bentuknya ga kembali seperti sedia kala.
Ragil, ditaro di ujung meja setengah jalan dari brush hair lengthnya kalo lo takut jadi mekar. Jangan didiemin di ujung meja seminggu ya bok, emang bisa jadi mekar kalo begitu, kekekeke…
w.L.n, kamu baek deh udah membuang buang waktumu utk bikin artikel ini. very interesting and useful, indeed. now, i need to get me that brush shaper thingy.
tinkerbell, glad you liked it
Kayanya si brush shaper ini bisa coba di cari di toko buku, atau toko yg jual peralatan painting deh.
good article! aduh gue paling males ngebersihin brushes so i’m guilty of this crime. another tip i pick is to use anti-bacterial wipes and wipe your brushes in between washes. but don’t do this either (dosa abissss)…
Uberuber….thanks a lot ya infonya. Really helpfull terutama buat para bencong pemula…..;)
Print dulu akh artikelnya…….
uberpoison, nice article and very useful.
Naaah ini dia! Gue udah lama bgt pengen bikin artikel ini tp gak sempet2…great job Wulan!
sip Lan.. dankeee..
Wulsky..ini artikel yg bagus bgt d…thk u…helpful buanget
uber .. bagus artikelnya
Wulan, Great Tips
Thanks for sharing yah!
“Hopefully not from last month”…..:smashing:..ini nyindir gue nih kayanya…:D
wulan..tengkyu tips2nyaaa…
jadi ngerti cara nyuci brush..sangat berguna skalii..
ahhh inilah yg aku butuhkan!! kamsiah uberwul *cupss*
artikelnya bagus nih…
ini yg gw cari2 ttg info brush ^^
thanks ya jeung =)
“Do not immerse in water.”
*nunduk malu sambil garuk-garuk tanah di bawah pohon jambu”
Thanks for writing Wulan. This is very very useful for me!
Baru tadi gw mikir pengen cuci brush tapi kok males ya? Eh, pas baca artikel ini pertanda emang gw harus cuci brush ni wkwkwkwk :p
Great article Wulan
gue kemarin nyoba ngebersihin pakai cleansing oil gara-gara pakai shampoo gak bisa ngangkat sisa foundie. emang keangkat tuh sisa foundie, tapi kok air pembersihnya jadi putih susu gitu. pas gue cek sepertinya sebagian skunk brush etude house jadi memutih gitu deh. hmmmph…