How To Clean Mac Brushes Without Cleaner

Question: Homemade Sanitizer for Makeup Brushes?

Dry the brushes. Gently squeeze out the brushes to get out excess water. Then, set all your brushes down on a clean paper towel. Leave them alone until they dry completely. Also, when your MAC makeup brushes are clean your makeup will go on much better (stronger, more even color). Avoid using harsh cleansers to clean your brushes and use a gentle MAC brush cleanser instead. In this tutorial I am cleaning all natural hair brushes which you should do at least monthly (deep cleanse).

A few little tips before we begin Clean your brushes one at a time, using the same water temperature that you would use to wash our hair. Try to use something as natural as possible (like Baby Shampoo) without fragrance or dye- you can probably use whatever you use to wash your face, as long as there’s nothing harsh in it.
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How can I make a homemade sanitizer for makeup brushes? I know rubbing alcohol cleans, but is it sufficient to sanitize?
Rob from Spokane, WA

How To Clean Mac Brushes Without Cleaner

Answers

October 30, 20050 found this helpful

Alcohol was created to kill germs and whathaveyou and was used for only that for a long time. It won't kill *all* germs but if it's good enough for a nurse to swab my skin w/it b4 giving me a shot, i'd think that does a pretty good job of killing 'wee beasties.'

If you'd like another method to sanitize your makeup brushes, you could make a solution of 1 pint of water to 2 drops of household bleach. That's a tad stronger than what's used in hospitals to kill germs (to make water potable, a person would add 6-8 drops household bleach to a gallon of water and wait half and hour, or longer, before use). It would my suggestion you let your brushes soak a long time.

Another way to clean your brushes: one of my teachers in public school used to wash her hairbrushes and combs in a solution of dish detergent and ammonia. She let them soak half an hour. She said it removed all the hair spray build-up and got them very clean.

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December 15, 20050 found this helpful

When I was going to school at Marca (Esthetician) and we washed our brushes with shampoo and conditioner.

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Answer this Question

Ever feel like your skin is breaking out out of nowhere, or have watery eyes and can’t figure out why?

You drink enough water, exercise, remind yourself to stop touching your face / eyes, eat healthier, and have tried every kind of contact solution or eye drops you can find, medicated, non-medicated and natural acne cleanser on the market- but still nothing seems to work… The culprit may quite possibly be your makeup brushes! Who knew?

Makeup brushes can harbor lots of yucky stuff like… oh, say old makeup residue, dead skin cells, germs from being sick (or not), toxins from sweat, oil, dirt, and bacteria… Umm, Ew! Cleaning your makeup brushes is also necessary to keeping them in tip-top shape… I have had some of mine for 10+ years and counting (all M.A.C.), because I take care of them really well. Hmmm… I guess the (not so) small fortune I paid was definitely worth the investment.

A great rule of thumb is that any brush used on a liquid cosmetic (like concealer, foundation, eye primer, lipstick, cream eye shadow, etc.) should be cleaned EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you have sensitive, itchy, watery, allergy eyes- this will really help, I promise! It has worked wonders for me.

How to clean mac brushes without cleaner brush

For all other brushes, they should be done at least once a week. Now, if I’m breaking out really badly- I will clean all of my brushes everyday until my skin clears up. I can’t tell you what a difference this one little, simple habit alone has made on my skin! I usually try to do them at night when I wash my face before bed… so they can dry overnight. When I’m cleaning them once a week- I usually try to stay on a schedule (like on laundry or cleaning day) so I don’t forget.

Wipe down ALL of your makeup containers and the inside of your makeup case or bag at least once a week also. I use Rubbing Alcohol on a Wash Cloth. Whatever you do, DO NOT wipe down the handles of your makeup brushes with Rubbing Alcohol- it will ruin them! I currently have a fabric makeup bag and brush roll, so both can go right in the wash and I’m done, Ta-da!

What You Need:

Makeup Brushes
I use Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild 18-in-1 Castile Soapor an old Face Wash I wasn’t crazy about (why waste it?)
A Dry Hand Towel
Toilet Paper, on the Roll
Somewhere Flat to Lay Them to Dry

A few little tips before we begin… Clean your brushes one at a time, using the same water temperature that you would use to wash our hair. Try to use something as natural as possible (like Baby Shampoo) without fragrance or dye- you can probably use whatever you use to wash your face, as long as there’s nothing harsh in it. Don’t scrub too hard (fragile like a flower LOL) and never stand your brushes up when they’re wet! Always air dry your brushes- but in case you have a hot date at the last minute, you can blow dry them on a cool, low setting… promise to only do this in an emergency though :)

Wet your brush with the fluffy part pointing downwards so you don’t get the “ferrule” (metal part which contains glue) wet or drip water down the handle .
Drop a tiny dot of the Dr. Bronner’s Shikakai Soap into your hand.
Swirl the brush around gently in a circular motion and then switch it up.
Rinse the brush, while leaving the dirty Soap in your hand… remember, “like” removes “like”. Check to see if the brush feels and looks clean. If not- repeat and rinse again. * If you’re still having trouble- you can use a tiny dab of Olive Oil first to loosen up the makeup and then shampoo. (I tired this method and it worked, but it bothered my eyes a little. Lots of makeup artists seem to do this though).
If it’s clean, rinse your hand and your brush thoroughly until the water runs clear.
Lay it flat on the dry towel and move on to the next brush.

Dry:

Fold the towel over the brush head and gently press your brushes dry to rid them of any excess water.
For the handles… take the towel and go from the metal part towards the handle end and wipe. Now hold onto the handle end and go towards the brush end and wipe over the metal. Ta-Da, clean handles!
Take any brushes that get “too poofy” (like a Kabuki Brush) and loose their natural shape once they’re dry, and set them aside (See * below).
Find a warm, dry place (sunny window sill works well) and lay down the towel.
Reshape the brush bristles to their original shape and lay them flat on the towel to dry.

* For the really fluffy ones that “Fro” (for example, my M.A.C. 217 Brush), use the T.P. Trick…

How To Clean Mac Brushes With Mac Cleaner

Take the brush and place it up against the toilet paper roll- and roll it up snugly (usually using anywhere between 1-3 squares, depending on brush size).
Rip it off, trying to keep the T.P. taught.
Now gently pull on the handle and slide the T.P. up over the fluffy part and place it with the rest of your brushes to dry.
Wait to remove the T.P. until your brushes are completely dry.