Tuesday 29 May 2012

a green maintenance fling

When was the last time you cleaned your makeup brushes?

I'm ashamed to admit I haven't done it at all with my current brush, which I've had for at least a year (gasp!).  I know I should keep my EcoTools in prime condition for flawless application (and skin), but there always seems something better to do with my time. And then just yesterday I found myself with 20 minutes to spare before I had to catch the ferry, and I knew just what to do.

I opened the laptop and Googled: "Crunchy Betty clean makeup brush"

You know we're well into the new millennium when you're writing a blog post about a blog post, but I don't come up with these things on my own! A massive thanks to Crunchy Betty for providing clear explanation and testing a number of natural beauty techniques. Using her technique, here are some pics of my experience cleaning my brush naturally.

A dash of olive oil (organic, of course) on a washcloth, and then blotting and patting out the excess makeup onto a washcloth. Who knew that oil would remove makeup?

Ewww! I had no idea so much old makeup, and probably dirt & oil, was
lurking in my makeup brush!

A drop of castile soap (or very light, natural liquid soap or baby shampoo) in a small bowl of warm water, and gently rub the brush with your fingers.

I was amazed at how much more came out even after the olive oil step.
This liquid was pretty opaque, and I was so glad I'd decided to clean my brush!

A couple tablespoons of white vinegar in a small bowl, squeezing the brush again to remove the soap and makeup.  I did this twice, but it turned out to be unnecessary, as the second time there was virtually nothing in the vinegar.

This was more translucent, but again demonstrated to me how much old
powder had been residing in my brush.

Rinse under warm water and let dry. And as Crunchy Betty says, try not to get any liquid too close to where the bristles meet the metal clamp, in case they loosen.

Now that my brush is dry, it's SO soft, just like when it was brand new - and the vinegar scent has disappeared overnight.

If it's been awhile since you've cleaned your brushes, go on and give this a try.  I'll definitely be making this brush-cleaning routine a more regular occurrence now that I know how easy it is.

Thanks again Crunchy Betty - you're a life (and skin) saver!

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