How to Wash Concealer & Lipstick Off Your Makeup Brushes

There are plenty of makeup brush cleansing tutorials out there on the web. If you've landed here, I'm sure you've read them. But if you've followed all those instructions and still find you can't get all the makeup out of your brushes, you're not alone.

I've washed my makeup brushes using makeup brush specific shampoo, baby shampoo, Dawn dish washing soap and God only knows what else. Most of them came out clean. But I could never quite wash off concealer, lipstick, foundation, or any other creamy products (products that contain emollients). I'd wash and wash and there'd still be product left behind.

Does this sound familiar? Well get ready to breathe out a sigh of relief. Makeup artist extraordinaire James Vincent recently gave me the secret to getting all of your brushes squeaky clean. Here's what you do:

• Get your brush wet (but only the bristles!)
• Wash with face wash
• Rinse
• Wash again with your regular brush cleanser (in my case, baby shampoo)
• Rinse
• Set down to dry
• Look at your brushes and remember what they looked like before you ever used them

Here's why it works: Ingredients in face wash do a better job of breaking down emollients. The first wash breaks them down and the second wash rinses them away.

Note: I find I need to scrub a little more to get lipstick out, particularly if I'm working with bright colors. 

Problem solved. Now got get all that gunk off your brushes!