How to Take Care of Your Makeup Brushes So They Last Forever

Okay, so maybe not forever, but with proper care and maintenance, you can definitely extend the life of your beloved makeup brushes. Keep reading for instructions on how to wash and dry your brushes so they live long and happy lives.

Treat your makeup brushes, especially the natural bristle ones, the way you would treat your hair - gently! Use a gentle shampoo or body wash - I use Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap - this Hemp Rose one smells wonderful.

You don't need to saturate your brushes heavily with soap and water. Pour out just a little bit of soap into your palm, dab your brush into the soap, and use your fingers to gently clean the bristles in a pinching motion, from the base to the ends of the brush.

Hold your brush with the bristles pointed down into the sink while washing - over time, water and soap can loosen the glue that holds your brush together, so you want to keep that to a minimum.

This is possibly the most important step, and easily the one that gets overlooked the most. Once you've washed your brushes, re-shape them by lightly running your fingers over the brush tip to smooth everything out.

Then lay them flat on a paper towel to air dry completelybefore putting them back into your makeup bag. If you put them away before they're completely dry, they'll smell like a wet dog and can mildew!

It's important that they are flat while drying because, again, you don't want that water to hang out at the base of the brush for too long, plus you want to keep gravity on your side - if you leave them upright while drying, the bristles will fan out and lose their shape.

Thanks for reading, have fun with your brushes! Feel free to connect with me on Twitter, follow me on Instagram, or check out my Pinterest boards.