Step 1: Spray Brushes with Cleaner
Spritz brushes with a spray brush cleaner. This is the best option if you have sensitive skin, as it's formulated for this purpose and won't have other additives or artificial fragrances.
Alternatively, mix warm water and a bit of soap. This can be a touch of non-drying bar soap or a few drops of liquid hand soap. (Steer clear of dish soap, which can dry out the bristles.) Dampen a microfiber cloth with it and gently brush the bristles over the cloth.
Step 2: Massage Into Bristles and Rinse
Use your fingers to work the cleanser through the bristle. "I gently massage the tips of the bristles in the palm of my hand or on a silicone brush cleansing mat, and then rinse the bristles, making sure the soap and product are 100 percent out," she says.
Point your brushes downward when rinsing. Otherwise, the water will run into the ferrule—the metal band that attaches the brushes to the handle—and loosen the glue that holds the brush and bristles together.
Step 3: Squeeze Out the Remaining Moisture
Once you stop seeing pigment streaming from the bristles and the water is running clear, squeeze out the remaining moisture. "I gently squeeze out any remaining moisture with a towel," Dempsey says. "It's important to shape the brushes to their desired shape so that when they're dry, they're in their original form for better performance."
To clean makeup brushes fast, a brush cleaning mat expedites the process via patented textures that help pull the product off each brush more efficiently.
Step 4: Dry
Lay your makeup brushes flat on a clean towel or hang them upside down.
Never allow a wet brush to dry standing up.
If you wash your brushes in the evening, they can dry completely overnight.
How to Clean Makeup Brushes With Shampoo
You might have heard that you can use shampoo for cleaning makeup brushes. While this is true, it's important to choose the right shampoo.
Step 1: Rinse Bristles With Warm Water
At the sink, hold the brush under warm water. Keep the handle out of the stream to avoid damaging the glue that attaches the bristles to the base.
Step 2: Add Shampoo
Apply a drop or two of baby shampoo or a gentle shampoo. Rich shampoos can leave a residue on the bristles, which will weigh them down. Alternatively, use a makeup brush shampoo specifically formulated for this purpose.
Step 3: Massage Bristles
To create a lather, place the bristles in the palm of one hand, and use your fingers to work the shampoo into them.
Step 4: Rinse and Condition
Rinse the bristles under water until there's no longer any pigment or shampoo streaming from them, and the water is running clear. Squeeze out the remaining moisture. Add a touch of hair conditioner to moisturize the bristles and rinse again.
Step 5: Reshape and Dry
Squeeze out the remaining moisture, reshape the bristles into their original form, and dry flat on a clean towel.