How to clean makeup brushes/DIY cleaner by EnKore

Since I started using higer quality makeup brushes, I've always used baby shampoo to wash them on a weekly basis.  I know, I know, I should wash them more often, but the shampoo dries out my (already dry) hands, and I've noticed that, if I use it too much, it makes my brushes not soft and sort of frizzy.  I hate the idea of spending $11 for mac cleaner for 7.9 ounces of cleaner.

I was watching previous tutorials from EnKore's youtube channel when I found a really easy recipe for brush cleaner and how to clean your brushes. I did not come up with this recipe myself.  I followed EnKore's recipe, and he gets all the credit for that.  Links will be at the bottm of the entry for the videos I watched on youtube.

I was kind of hesitant at first to try the home made recipe.  It wasn't that I didn't trust his recipe, but since I recently acquired some MAC brushes, I didn't want to ruin them.  You can't have reward without risk, so I figured why not?

Here's what you need:

* Distilled or purified bottle (I used aquaf

ina, since I didn't want to have to buy a whole jug) - $1.38

* Rubbing alcohol, either 70% or 91% alcohol.  I chose 91% because it will dry faster

*Leave-in conditioner.  It *must* be the spray-in kind, not a gel or cream.  The only kind I could find was Nexus - $9.42 (I didn't want to spend that much, but I'll use it on my hair, 

too!)

* baby shampoo (I had this at home, and it came from the Dollar Store)

* Spray bottle - $0.98

* Dish detergent (preferably Palmolive, not pictured)

* A cup for mixing (white cup from home)

* 1 cup, 1/4 cup, 1tbsp measuring units (from home)

* spoon (for mixing)

* Funnel (optional)

After a trip to Wal-Mart, I spent $15.68 for the ingredients, including a roll of paper towels, because we were out.  His directions are easy to follow and took less than three minutes to mix together.  Here are his ingredients for one batch.  Because the spray bottle I bought was so big, I made two batches.

1 cup water

1/4 cup alcohol 

1/2 tbsp dish detergent

1/2 tbsp baby shampoo

1 tbsp leave-in conditioner

Combine all ingredients in a cup or container.  Stir slowly and try not to let the ingredients bubble or foam (mine foamed a little from the leave-in conditioner).  Pour the ingredients from the container into the spray bottle, using the funnel to help.  The reason I bought a spray bottle was to clean the larger brushes.  I also bought a small jar -$0.64 to use to clean the brushes.

Here's what I did.  I poured a little bit of the brush cleaner into the jar and submerged the first brush.  DO NOT adgitate!  You do not want the brush cleaner to become dirty from the shadows/blushes.  Let it sit in the cleaner for a few seconds then wipe the brush on the paper towel.  Use back and forth motions, do not go in circles!  Circle motions will damage the bristles of your brushes.  Wipe the brush on the paper towel until the excess liquid is off the brush.  Repeat until there is no more color coming from the brush.  Set brushes horizontally on a towel, do not dry vertically.

I was COMPLETELY surprised at how well the cleaner worked!  It left my brushes feeling soft and conditioned.  The liquid itself has a slightly alcohol-y smell, but it didn't dry my hands out like I thought it might.  I washed the brushes maybe an hour and a half ago and the smaller ones were dry  about 30 minutes after I washed them.  It cut through my Fluidline eyeliners like they were nothing!  I know I'm bad about cleaning my brushes on a daily basis, but I know this will improve that.

Links

* Watch EnKore's recipe for DIY brush cleaner

* Watch EnKore's video on how to clean makeup brushes

* Watch EnKore's video on how to deep clean your brushes - should be done once a week