Are you one of the 60% of women who rarely wash their make-up brushes? Germs can easily build up on make-up brushes, meaning we should be washing them once a week.
Whether you have 27 different eye shadow brushes or just one fluffy brush that does it all, you're probably not cleaning them enough. In fact, at least 60% of us don’t wash our make-up brushes as often as we should.
That statistic does not surprise me considering how time-consuming the act is. I can barely remember to take my make-up off, let alone wash my brushes! Experts recommend washing your brushes at least once a week. I know, I laughed too. But the idea of cleaning your brushes is no joke.
"Interestingly, 65% of women who clean their brushes do so to avoid bacteria, breakouts and blemishes.
"They understand the consequences, but they still don’t clean them as often as beauty experts recommend," said Anisa Telwar-Kaicker, founder and CEO of Anisa International.
The survey said 39% of women wash their brushes less than once a month (a cough), and 22% admit to never washing them (cough, cough).
We learned in school that bacteria love warm, moist places to grow.
Your manky foundation brush that you’ve been using for five years is now the ideal spot for bacteria such as staphylococcus, streptococcus and E. Coli. Ew. Brushes clogged with old make-up is feeding ground for growth and mutation of germs.
Keep your make-up brushes in your bathroom? Well, I hope you leave your toilet seat down because one flush of a toilet can send millions of germs upwards and out, which settle on your favourite blender (and your toothbrush!).
The build-up of make-up gunk in your brushes and the germs that come with it don’t stay invisible forever. They can result in breakouts on your face, which can further result in nasty infections.
The pores on your face get clogged with dirt from the brush which causes spots, and the germs can infect these spots. Furthermore, all your hard work can go to waste because dirty brushes tend to lose their power, meaning your make-up doesn’t look as fabulous as it could.
While the bacteria found on the brushes are not the scariest germs out there (they’re found on your bodies too, after all), leaving brushes months on end only allows them to build and build and build...
My advice?
Wash them as often as you can, which really means when you remember. It's not as hard we think either: use baby shampoo or good old fashioned soap, and watch with joy and disgust as the months of foundation, concealer and eyeliner run out.
While we have you, click here to find out how often you should wash your tanning mitt.
