How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes Like a Pro

My pro routine for clean, soft brushes and a flawless finish every time.

After years of working as a celebrity makeup artist, there’s one beauty rule I will never bend on: clean your makeup brushes.

You can have the most beautiful foundation, the perfect eyeshadow palette, and all the right techniques, but if your brushes are dirty, your makeup is never going to look its best.

Old foundation, oils, dead skin cells, and bacteria build up in those bristles—and then we put all of that right back onto our faces. No thank you.

In my new YouTube Short, I’m showing you exactly how I clean my brushes and keep them looking and performing beautifully.

Why Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes Matters

Every time you use a makeup brush, it picks up product, natural oils from your skin, and dead skin cells. Over time, all of that builds up.

Besides the obvious hygiene issue, dirty brushes simply don’t perform as well. Foundation can start looking streaky or heavy, eyeshadow colors get muddy, and blending becomes much more difficult.

Clean brushes give you a smoother application, better blending, truer color—and they can last for years when you take care of them properly.

How I Clean My Makeup Brushes

1. Wet the bristles—not the entire brush.
Hold your brush with the bristles pointing downward and rinse them under lukewarm water. Try to keep water away from the base of the brush. Once water gets inside, it can loosen the glue that holds the bristles in place.

2. Use a gentle cleanser.
You don’t need anything complicated. I like a dedicated brush cleanser or a gentle baby shampoo. Swirl the brush gently in the palm of your hand or over a silicone cleaning mat to loosen all of that makeup.

3. Rinse until the water runs clear.
Keep rinsing and gently working through the bristles until you don’t see any more product. Foundation and concealer brushes may need another round—and that’s completely normal.

4. Gently squeeze and reshape.
Press out the excess water with a clean towel. Don’t twist or pull on the bristles. Use your fingers to reshape the brush so it dries back into its original shape.

5. Let them dry flat or with the bristles angled downward.
This is important: never leave wet brushes standing upright in a cup. Water can travel down into the handle and loosen the glue. Lay them flat, preferably with the bristles hanging slightly over the edge of a counter so air can circulate around them.

How Often Should You Clean Makeup Brushes?

For your personal brushes, I recommend cleaning foundation and concealer brushes about once a week. Eye brushes can usually go a week or two depending on how often you use them and how many different colors you’re working with.

And your makeup sponge? Wash it after every use.

When I’m working professionally, sanitation is completely different. I clean and disinfect my tools between clients, and everything gets a thorough cleaning after the job. Clean tools are non-negotiable when you’re working on someone else’s face.

My Biggest Brush-Care Tip

Think of cleaning your brushes as part of your skincare routine—not another chore you’ll get around to eventually.

We spend so much time and money choosing beautiful skincare and makeup, and then sometimes forget about the tools touching our faces every day.

A beautiful set of brushes is an investment. Take care of them and they can last for years. More importantly, clean brushes are better for your skin and better for your makeup.

Want more of my professional beauty tips, tricks, and things I’ve learned from years of working with some of the most photographed faces? Subscribe to my YouTube channel for new videos and Shorts.

And if you’re getting ready for a wedding, special event, photoshoot—or you simply want to learn how to make your own makeup look its best—you can book with me at christinaflach.com.