makeup

STIFF BRUSH FIX

TUTORIAL + PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY NADINE, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY EUNICE CHUN

Have you noticed that some of your brushes need a little extra TLC? Liquid foundations, longwear cream eye shadows and cream blushes can really take a toll and no matter if you’re good about cleaning them once a week, the bristles don’t feel as soft as they did when you first bought them. Not a problem! Add this quick step next time you clean your brushes and they’ll be baby soft again. Here’s how: 

TOOLS:

• Your Stiff & Over-Worked Brushes — natural and synthetic brushes alike! For this tutorial I cleaned my favorite Tarte Foundation Brush, Stila Dual-Ended Shadow Brush and Pur Liquid Chisel Brush.
• Your Favorite Oil — you can use olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, literally whatever oil you have in your kitchen (I used Walnut Oil).
• A Plate
• Brush Soap — I used Trish McEvoy Brush Bath because I love the way it really cleans my brushes without drying or damaging the bristles. You can also use Baby Shampoo.
• Small Bowl or Glass
• Small Towel or Paper Towel

STEPS:

1. After you’ve gathered your stiffest, saddest brushes, pour a small amount of oil onto the plate.
2. One at a time, swirl the brush in the oil. You’ll see a lot of residue immediately come off into the oil. YAY!
3. Take a second to massage the oil into the bristles to break up any stubborn product left deep inside.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 with the other brushes.
5. Remove excess oil by pressing each brush a few times against a paper towel.
6. Prepare a brush bath by pouring a cap-full of shampoo into a small bowl or glass of lukewarm water. Swirl each brush in the solution for five seconds. If you do it longer or with hotter water, you risk melting the glue that holds the bristles together.
7. Rinse each brush under running cold water.
8. Roll a small towel or muslin cloth as demonstrated above and rest the brushes with bristles pointing downward so the water doesn’t settle into the glue.