Last time I counted, I had over 80 makeup brushes. EIGHTY!! I know, it’s ridiculous. Judge me all you want, but it’s part of the job description as a self-proclaimed beauty addict. Anyway, do you know how long it takes to clean every single one of them? Freaking forever. I loathe this task, but it has to be done.

I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to spend money on special makeup brush cleansers. I don’t believe in some spa glove thing. I don’t need a specific cleanser for my beauty blender. I use stuff I have on hand around the house. It gets the job done, and does it well. I make sure to take good care of my brushes and not let them go too long in between baths.

I’ve found a couple of methods on how to clean makeup brushes that work really well for me. I am going to share them today in hopes one of these methods works well for you. I don’t do one specific way every time, it just depends on what and how much needs to be cleaned.

Clean Makeup Brushes in a Dish Soap Soak

This has now become my absolute favorite way to clean makeup brushes. I will take a few mason jars and fill the bottom of them with a good coating of dish soap (yes, we’re talking Dawn) and then top it off with some warm water about halfway up. I take my brushes and swirl them around in the soapy water and let them soak for a few minutes. Then I will take them out one at a time and rinse them under warm water. If some need extra attention, I will clean them individually with the soap.

It’s important to note that the soak method is not the way to do it every single time, and you can’t let the brushes soak for too long. Getting too much moisture in the brush ferrule can be damaging. I like to do this weekly when I have a big batch to clean, and not for a deep clean session. If I am going for a deep clean, I will clean brushes individually with dish soap, and it works amazingly. My thoughts are if Dawn is okay to clean animals with, it’s okay to clean makeup brushes with. I have not found that it is damaging to any of them. Using dish soap individually on my beauty blenders is the best way I’ve found to clean them. I love the results!

Clean Makeup Brushes with Dove Bar Soap

I absolutely love this method for spot cleaning. If I’m doing my makeup, and I get a brush super dirty (especially eyeshadow brushes), I’ll spot clean it with a bar of Dove Soap (rubbing it around on the bar and rinsing with warm water) and put the brush up to use for next time.

Clean Makeup Brushes with Baby Shampoo

This used to be my absolute favorite way to clean my brushes, but I feel like it takes forever when you’ve got a lot to clean. What I like about this method, though, is it is very gentle to brushes, and leaves them soft. I like to do this when I have about 10 or less to clean.

Clean Makeup Brushes with Olive Oil

I wouldn’t exactly call this method “quick” if you were to do this with every single brush, but it is absolutely the best way to clean concealer brushes, or to remove any stubborn products lingering on brushes. No matter how much cleaning I do, sometimes concealer just doesn’t want to budge. Pouring a little olive oil in a small dish and swirling around the bristles practically melts the makeup away from the brush. I will then follow up with either baby shampoo or dish soap and individually clean the brush. Added bonus: this is very conditioning to the bristles! One thing you can do is dip a brush into olive oil and then do the dish soap soak. It leaves the brushes very soft and shiny.

An important note about drying: I towel dry my brushes as much as I can one by one, and try to set them on a downward angle to get completely dry. I try to avoid as much water in the ferrule as possible.

What is your favorite way to clean makeup brushes? More importantly. how often do you clean them? Come on, fess up.