A Handy Tip from Isabelle

We all know how much of a laborious task brush cleansing can be. To help make that job a little bit easier we gave you our favourite brush cleansers, and now we've got top MUA Isabelle Roberts to share her secrets and a handy tip for keeping your brushes clean and clear!

A “Handy” way to clean your Makeup Brushes!

As a Professional Makeup Artist I’m forever cleaning my make-up brushes, and if I’m honest it was always a task I rarely enjoyed. On average I clean about 30 brushes and, by number 10, my hands were red raw with the arduous swirling of soap and chemical brush cleansers. Surely there’s an easier way? And yes, there really is!

So here’s my super simple step-by-step guide on how to quickly and easily deep clean your makeup-brushes with an inexpensive beauty accessory you can find on the high street that’s actually used for skin exfoliation.

You will need to purchase the Soap & Glory Massage Glove £8.50 available from Boots, which you can BUY HERE.

Step 1

Half fill your sink with warm water. Don’t make it too hot as this will melt the glue in your brushes and make the fibres loose.

Step 2

Take your Soap & Glory Mitt and wear on one hand. Squirt a drop of brush cleanser (see TLBG's top three here) or mild baby shampoo onto the mitt. I highly recommend Johnsons Baby Shampoo, as it smells so lovely as well as doing a great job (you can BUY HERE).

Step 3

Dip your makeup brush bristles into the warm water to dampen them, but do not submerge, as this will also damage the glue.

Step 4

Swirl your damp brush in circular motions around the palm of your mitt. The bobbles on the mitt will gently work through all the fibres and move the toughest of makeup. Once you’ve built up a good lather, periodically dip the brush in the clean water to rinse. Repeat this process if you feel necessary.

*Extra Tip*

For stubborn foundation brushes that resist the soap, try using a drop of olive oil with the shampoo. The oil will break down the oils in the foundation and at the same time condition your brushes leaving them super soft and shiny.

Ensure to rinse well in the clean warm water.

Step 5

Remove excess water on a micro fibre cloth. Try not to use tissues as the lint fibres will come off onto your brush and will eventually end up in your make-up when you go to use them!

I always leave my brushes to dry overnight on a flat surface with the bristles hanging over the edge so not to flatten them; a window ledge is perfect for this.

Once you’ve tried this method of deep cleaning your brushes, you wont look back!

You can read more of Isabelle's Features here and see her profile here.