Tips on Cleaning Makeup and Paint Brushes

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How to Clean Your Paint Brushes and Makeup Brushes

When you first buy paint brushes and makeup brushes, they are so soft, clean, and neat. After using them, paint brushes tend to get crunchy and always have a bit of leftover paint on them.

Makeup brushes usually have the entire middle smashed into a tangled mess and the outer strands of the brush are pointing in every direction.

No matter how rough your paint brushes and makeup brushes look and feel, we can help you get them clean and soft again.

Clean Paint Brushes are Great for Housecleaning!

Paintbrushes are such handy tools with so many more uses than just painting. A lot of household items can be cleaned with a paintbrush. It’s nice to have several soft, clean paintbrushes for tackling jobs like cleaning lampshades, mini-blinds, electrical equipment, caning, wicker, filters, screens, and even artwork.

If all of your paintbrushes are still coated in paint with random pieces of newspaper that you laid them on when they were wet, you need to do some cleanup! Even if you don’t do a lot of painting jobs, paint brushes are great for getting into delicate or tight spaces when you’re cleaning!

Get the Paint Thinner!

If your paint brushes are already dried and stiff, you can revitalize them. If there is dried paint on them, you’ll need turpentine for oil paint brushes.

If the paint was water-based, you might be able to soak it for a long time to get it pliable, but turpentine is easier. Gather all of your nasty paint brushes and take them to a well-ventilated area like an open garage or your driveway. Fill a bucket with a few inches of turpentine. Insert one brush at a time and work it against the bottom of the bucket to make it pliable again. Then you should be able to “slosh” the brush around a bit to get the paint thinner in between the bristles.

The paint should come off pretty easily, even if it’s older paint. For oil paint brushes, do not soak or rinse with water after the turpentine. It can make oil brush bristles dry. Simply brush them out on something disposable like paper towels, newspapers, or work cloths that you can throw away.

For water-based paint brushes, after brushing off some of the turpentine, wash the brushes in soapy, warm water to get the paint thinner out of the bristles. Allow your brushes to air dry.

Turpentine and Paint Thinner Cleanup

Turpentine and paint thinner are very strong chemicals that require special care when you use them. For safety reasons, there are some tips you should follow:

• Always allow disposable items with paint thinner on them to dry completely before throwing them away
• Storing rags or cloths with turpentine on them is dangerous. Either wash them immediately or let them dry and throw them away
• Never store these chemicals in plastic containers
• Paint thinner is best kept under the kitchen sink (latched if you have small children) or somewhere safe inside instead of garages and sheds that can get very hot in the summer
• Wear protective eyewear when working with paint thinner. It can easily splash and can cause serious eye damage
• Turpentine fumes can cause illness and damage to your nasal cavities. Always make sure that you use it in a very well-ventilated area
• Never smoke or use these chemicals near flames

How To Soften Stiff Brushes

If your brush is free from paint but very stiff, you can get it back to almost new.

If it’s a water-based paint brush, soak it in hot white vinegar for about 15 minutes. Wash afterward with dish soap and warm water, then let it air dry. If you need a little help smoothing the bristles and getting them all straight again, use a paint brush comb while the brush is still wet.

For oil paint brushes that have become stiff and dry, you can smooth some Vaseline into the bristles. Store it with the Vaseline on the brush. When you are going to use the brush again, dip it into a little paint thinner first, then dry slightly with paper towels.

Makeup Brush Cleaners

Makeup Brushes can be very expensive to replace, so they are definitely worth cleaning. There are makeup brush cleaners on the market, but if you’ve ever tried one, you know that most of them are terrible.

Many make the hairs fall completely out, and most of them have a really strong chemical smell that remains on your makeup brush and can’t be good for your skin! Instead, try a homemade makeup brush cleaning solution of either 2 parts water to 1 part Woolite or a cup of water with a tablespoon of baby shampoo.

Be Gentle when Cleaning Makeup Brushes

It’s important to only get the cleaning solution onto the hairs of the brush. If you go up to the metal part, the hairs may fall out. Gently dip your brush into the cleaner until you can’t see the makeup on the brush. If your brush is mashed in the middle, use a wide-tooth comb, hair brush, or toothpick to gently untangle the bristles.

Gently dry your makeup brush on a clean, dry towel without pulling on the bristles. Allow it to air dry overnight, and you have a clean, soft makeup brush again!