TLC Tuesdays [Brushing Up on Clean Makeup Brushes]

I'm pretty sure there are two types of people in this world, those that use makeup brushes and those that don't wear makeup. I fall into the former category and find myself to be a fairly recent brush enthusiast. I was always a fan of using my fingers, or those applicators that came with my eye shadows and palettes.

About a year ago, at the suggestion of a friend I upgraded my brush stash to an Arbonne kit very similar to this one. I had complete buyers remorse until the second this kit arrived. Once I felt those silky smooth bristles, I was hooked. Now, I will say this, I am not 100% sure if these brushes are made from animal hair, please note that I purchased these quite a while before I went cruelty-free and when the time comes that they need replacing, I'll be looking into cruelty-free/vegan option. For those of you that are a bit more flexible, I can't stress how soft and luxurious these brushes feel!

Now that I paid a decent amount of money for these brushes, I am very conscious of keeping them clean and healthy-not only for their sake but for my own health and skin! I've been doing some research and have heard several different opinions on how one should upkeep their brushes.

On a daily basis, I'll brush any excess makeup off the brush head onto a towel, but every so often I'll notice how caked on and dusty looking my brushes appear. When that time comes, which is about once a month or so (which I know is not really frequently enough), I like to treat them to a lovely spa day in my bathroom.

There are differing opinions on what you should wash your brushes with, and I think it really comes down to personal preference. I've heard that if you have animal hair brushes, you should use shampoo (tearless baby shampoo is probably the best option here). I've also heard from a dermatologist that you should use your face wash as shampoo could be too harsh on your skin. Since I've been having blemish issues recently, I went with the latter option.

The following steps should be followed on a weekly basis to keep your brushes and skin healthy and happy!

I keep two bowls of water, one for washing with diluted face wash and one for rinsing. 

Having two separate bowls makes it so much easier to see if your brushes are fully cleaned or not.

I love to give them a good swirl to ensure that nothing is stuck in the bristles, soap included!

I always lay them flat overnight to dry to help maintain their shape and keep water from pooling in the bristles. It's perfectly safe to blow dry your brushes if you prefer to speed up the process.