Sooo I see people ask all the time “How do I clean my brushes?”. Well this is how I do it!

1. Assemble items: dirty brushes, dish soap, olive oil/grapeseed oil, a small bowl, towels or brush guards and jars.
2. Prepare drying station! Now this all depends on whether you are going to be using brush guards for drying or towels. If you’re using towels then I suggest laying out a hand towel on the counter, then rolling up a hand towel and placing that at on one end of the other hand towel, then take a wash cloth or two depending on how many brushes you’re going to be washing, roll that up and place it further down on the hand towel from the other rolled up towel. This provides a downward angle for your brushes to dry so water doesn’t get into the ferrule.
3. Select a brush and wet it making sure you keep the bristles pointed down.
4. If you’re like me and you have a giant costco sized container of dish soap you can pour some into a small bowl and dip your finger in to add soap to your hand, if not then just pour a little soap about the size of a pea into your hand and just a few drops of oil.
5. Now you may take your wet brush and swirl it around your hand until the bubbles are nice and dirty.
6. Once you’ve sufficiently swirled your brush around and dirtied your bubbles you may now rinse your brush. Again make sure you keep it angled down to avoid any water damage to the glue inside the ferrule. I like to rinse off my hand at this time and swirl the brush around my hand a little bit to make sure it gets squeaky clean.
7. Once you’re done rinsing squeeze the excess water from the brush from the ferrule down to the bristles. If the water isn’t clean when you squeeze it out simply repeat step 5 and 6 until the water squeezes clean.
8. Now that you’ve squeezed the excess water from your brush you’re ready to dry! If you are choosing to use brush guards simply slide on the brush guard from the tip of the handle towards the bristles and place the brush guard down in a cup or jar to dry. If you’re using the towel method simple lay your brushes bristle down on the wash cloth and handle up on the rolled up hand towel. This gives your brushes a slight downward angle so water doesn’t drip back into the ferrule and damage the handle or glue causing bristles to fall out.
9. Just rinse and repeat for all your brushes!

And uh that’s it. It’s pretty easy!

Now how often should you clean your brushes? Honestly? Every day is ideal, but most people don’t take the time to do that. I keep on hand several essence shadow and liner brushes, they’re cheap and work really well. This way I can rotate out without having to wash them as often. My other brushes I try to wash once a week but here’s a handy guideline:

Foundation Brushes - Foundation brushes really should be washed at least once a week, if you suffer from acne it’s more beneficial to your skin if you wash them daily. If you’re not up to that then I suggest keeping several foundation brushes on hand so you can rotate.
Finishing Powder, Bronzer and Blush Brushes – Clean these at least once a week.
Eyeshadow Brushes - Unless you’re rotating them out I’d really recommend cleaning them every two – three days.
Eyeliner Brushes – These should be cleaned after every use, especially if you’re using a foiling medium or sealant.

Now why is it important to keep your brushes clean? Washing your brushes on a regular basis helps keep them free of old makeup, dirt and debris, bacteria, oil, and dead skin cells. It’s even more important for those who suffer from acne or other skin problems. Keeping your brushes clean helps take care of your skin. It also increases the life of your brushes, meaning over time you spend less money on replacing them. Keeping your brushes clean also helps prevent excess oil, bacteria and such from getting into your makeup[1. I know mineral makeup is very unlikely to breed bacteria unless say water is introduced, but let's be on the safe side shall we?]. And on that note, please don’t share, and please don’t use the icky testing stations at Sephora and other places… It’s a breeding ground for infection and really gross.

Next DIY installment will be on how to keep your makeup sanitary!

1 tablespoon raw honey
turbinado sugar[1. you can use regular white sugar if you don't have turbinado sugar. Just make sure it's a finely ground sugar, or you'll have really sore lips!]

Optional:
grapeseed oil
lemon juice

Also you’ll have to forgive my red skin in the photos below. I’ve been trying witch hazel and it’s causing my skin to be really dry and irritated. So no more witch hazel.

Mix up the ingredients in a glass bowl, I suppose any bowl works, I used glass. Apply to your face and let it sit for about 20 minutes. This is best to do if you’re going to be taking a relaxing bath as the honey will melt and drip. To remove you can either use a warm damp wash cloth, or wet your hands and scrub the sugar in a little then rinse with warm water. The sugar doesn’t melt so you can use it as a mild exfoliator before removing the mask. And no the Spirulina doesn’t stain your face green.

I’m so pretty I could be the swamp thing! On the bright side, Spirulina never tasted so good. Teehee

Grapeseed oil is wonderful for skin, it’s rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and protein,. The antioxidants in the oil are called procyanidolic oligomers (PCO’s), known for their health giving properties, and are more powerful than vitamin C and vitamin E.
Grape seed oil is known for its anti aging effects. Polyphenols can help slow the process of aging, as well as having anti inflammatory and anti oxidant properties, which makes it great for helping clear up acne. Grapeseed oil contains a high amount of linoleic acid, which is a fatty acid essential for the health of the skin and cell membranes. This is the reason why it makes such a wonderful moisturizer, as it really nourishes your skin helping keep it smooth and subtle. It is known for its ability to lock in moisture, leaving your skin feeling more supple and smooth, and it does not leave a greasy feeling, which makes it ideal to use on all skin types.

The nutrients in grape seed oil are easily absorbed into the skin, instead of sitting on top of the skin, this also helps to fight free radicals and stop some of the enzymes that destroy collagen, elastin and other connective tissue. As it is a natural oil, it will inhibit problems such as fine lines and wrinkles, caused by the loss of collagen and elastin. Along with vitamin C, grapeseed oil is able to help the skin with the production of collagen.

Now a little info on Spirulina and raw honey!

Spirulina has many nutrients and is full of protein. The beta-carotene in Spirulina is 10 times more concentrated than what you find in carrots. It’s 60% protein and has all nine amino acids and is the only whole-food source of the fatty acid Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). GLA helps reduce the symptoms of skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, dry scalp syndrome and more. One very important vitamin group essential in providing skin nutrients that spirulina contains is B Complex. These B vitamins are also especially important for healthy nerves and tissue as well as unusual phytonutrients for overall health and cleansing. Spirulina is also high in Iron[1. the iron in Spirulina is easier to absorb than normal iron supplements.], magnesium and other trace minerals. Spirulina is an excellent supplement to take internally, but it also has wonderful skin benefits.

If you know me in person, which many of you probably don’t, hah, you know how much I love raw honey. Now I’m talking about real, raw honey, not the processed junk you buy at the store. We get our honey from a local beekeeper. Love the blackberry raw honey. Raw honey is an amazingly healthy, yummy, well goo. Raw, unprocessed honey contains, pollen with 22 amino acids, 27 minerals and a spectrum of vitamins, along with honeycomb, antioxidants and 5,000 live enzymes. It is full of catalase enzymes which help the body fight free radicals. These and other enzymes found in honey get destroyed if the honey is heated to more than 104 F to promote faster extraction from the comb. Raw honey is also rich in many flavanoids such as pinocembrin, pinobanksin, chrysin, galagin, acecetin, quercetin and kaempherol, which help the body attack allergens, viruses, and carcinogens. In addition to these benefits, honey is packed with vitamins and minerals including riboflavin(B12), niacin(B3), pantothenic acid(B5), vitamin B6, folate(B9), vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Propolis is a substance the bees use not only as a sealant for the small cracks in the hive but also to build immunity in their young(like colostrums for mammals). Many humans respond with an allergic reaction when ingesting pure extracted Propolis, but when the Propolis is mixed in the honey, the body generally, is able to absorb it without any problems. Propolis is used for treatment of inflammation, viral diseases, ulcers, , superficial burns, canker sores and gingivitis, and can be used as an antiseptic dressing on open wounds. It also is believed to have an antibiotic, antifungal, and even immuno-modulatory function.

I love raw honey.