It’s a good idea to keep your beauty tools clean to avoid exposing your skin to anything nasty. Image by Adobe Stock.
Changing your bed sheets, washing your clothes, wiping down your kitchen counter – all of these tasks are ingrained into our daily, weekly or monthly routines, but do you pay as much attention to cleaning your beauty tools? Well, you should. Beauty tools such as our makeup brushes, tweezers and eyelash curlers breed bacteria from a buildup of dirt and oil on our skin and makeup residue, so using these tools over and over again exposes your skin to all kinds of nasties, unless you clean them frequently. So, we have put together a guide on how to clean and maintain your favourite gadgets, not just for cleanliness but to protect your investment and prolong the life of your beauty tools, because let’s face it – beauty isn’t cheap!
Makeup brushes
The most notorious offender for harbouring germs and bacteria, no matter how expensive they are! If you’re like me and you don’t wear makeup every day, cleaning your brushes doesn’t need to be as frequent, but if you are a daily makeup wearer then aim to clean those brushes once a week. You don’t even need a fancy brush cleaner, here is a pro tip – use a baby shampoo and a drop of olive oil to clean your brushes. The oil will help to loosen the makeup and the shampoo will finish the job. Drop a couple drops of olive oil onto a paper towel and gently scrub the bristles with the oil, then drop a small amount of the baby shampoo into your palm and swirl the brush in it, massage the bristles with your fingers then rinse under warm water, being careful not to get the handle of the brush wet. Repeat again as necessary.
Tweezers
Bet you’ve never thought to clean your tweezers? Well, think again! Metals tools such as tweezers should be cleaned with antibacterial soap and water and scrubbed with an old toothbrush. You can then sterilise the tips of the tweezers by dipping a cotton bud into some rubbing alcohol to kill any lingering bacteria.
Heated styling tools
The first step for cleaning heated styling tools is to always make sure they’re unplugged and cool. Then dab a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and clean the surface area thoroughly. You might need to do this a few times to remove the build-up of oil and product. Follow by wiping the alcohol off with a damp cloth.
Hairbrushes, combs and accessories
Remove as much hair as possible, dampen the hairbrush and work some shampoo into the bristles to loosen any dirt and product build-up, then pop into a sink of warm water and let soak for 15 minutes.
Facial roller
It is important to wipe your facial roller down with warm water and a cloth after each use, but once a week you’ll want to spritz the roller with rubbing alcohol to remove any bacteria. Wipe the residue off with a damp towel.
Eyelash curler
Like your tweezers, your eyelash curler will also accumulate bacteria and because they are going near your eyes, you’ll want to clean these often to prevent any nasty infections. Use a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol to clean the surfaces that curl the lashes. Wipe dry then leave overnight to dry.