Me and My Makeup Brushes

Buying make up brushes can be expensive.  For a long time I've had a few "higher end" brushes, but I bought them in my younger days when parting with money was a lot easier.  Now that I'm more frugal most of the brushes in my collection are Sigma Beauty Brushes.  They were a great option for me when I was just starting to wear make up more often.  I wanted a complete collection of soft and durable brushes for a lot less than what the more known makeup companies were selling them for.  After having them for almost 2 years now, I'm noticing that the larger brushes are starting to show their age -- shedding hairs and wobbly ferrule (the metal part).  However, the more pricey makeup brushes that I invested in years ago are still holding up.  Which means, I'll be replacing my failing Sigma Brushes with more the durable brands as they fall apart.   I figure this is way more cost effective than buying a whole set at once. ;)

But regardless of the price/quality differences, I haven't been very good to my brushes.  I do spot clean them, but I can literally count on one hand the number of times that I've given my brush collection a good deep cleaning over the last year (shameful, I know.). ...But Wednesday was the Night.  There was some much needed quality time spent with me, my brushes, and one of my fave TV shows, Criminal Minds.

I've got some inexpensive store bought brush cleaners (Sonia Kashuk and Ulta) that I use to spot clean when I'm using a different product/color with the brush, but I've recently run into a Homemade Recipe that I make on the cheap.  I add the following to a spray bottle and shake it up for easy use:

Deep Cleaning:

When I deep clean my brushes, I just use a moisturizing shampoo (or baby shampoo) and warm running water: (1) in the palm of my hand I swirl the brushes in the shampoo, rinse and repeat until the water runs clean.  (2) Then I reshape the hairs with my fingers and lay them down flat to dry on a paper towel.

Tip: Don't let the brushes dry standing up or get water on the handle (above the ferrule).  It loosens the hairs and increases shedding.