Tools that aren’t cleaned can become breeding grounds for bacteria, that at best leave your complexion looking a little dull, and at worst, could increase your skin’s sensitivity as well as inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea and acne. It could also mean the effects of your amazing moisturizer, retinol, acids and other fantastic skincare products might be compromised.
One in six UK skincare users have never EVER washed their beauty tools
We know from our recent study that one in six UK skincare users have never EVER washed their beauty tools and almost half only wash theirs once a month or even less frequently than that1.
So - if you’re trying to think back to when you last gave your beauty kit a good scrub-down, our beauty experts have provided step-by-step tips advice on how best to clean different beauty tools in this guide. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Foundation Brushes
How often should you clean your foundation brush?
Almost half (45%) of UK skincare users who own a foundation brush admit they have never cleaned their it and only 15% of people give their makeup brushes a clean on a weekly basis.
We recommend cleaning your foundation brush around once a week, to avoid a build up of dirt, grime and old makeup.
Why do you need to clean your foundation brush?
The moisture in foundation creates a damp, warm environment that bacteria find especially welcoming. A foundation brush will also pick up sebum, excess skincare and dead skin cells as you buff it across your complexion. So, before you know it, your brush will be teeming with a cocktail of all the things bacteria love, and that’s bad news for your skin.
How to clean a foundation brush
Angle the bristles of your brush under running water until damp. Take care not to get too much water on the rest of the brush as this can damage the finish or loosen the glue that keeps the hair in place.
Take either a dedicated brush cleaning solution or baby shampoo and massage into the bristles.
Repeat this until the water runs clear.
Lie your brush flat on a clean towel and leave until fully dry.
Don’t have time for this? Don’t stress. A short-term quick fix is to spritz your brush with a brush cleansing spray that contains alcohol before wiping it with a clean cloth or tissue. This won’t remove all the product from the bristles and restore your brush's fluffiness, but it will reduce the number of bacteria that are present.
And if you want to be hygiene-conscious? After you’ve cleaned your foundation brush, try to store it in a clean sealed makeup bag rather than loose in your drawer or on display.
Gua Sha
How often should you clean your Gua Sha?
According to our research, where we spoke to over 1,000 skincare users in the UK, a massive 73% of skincare users who own toning/sculpting devices say they don’t clean them. One in 10 say they clean them between once a week and once every three weeks, but we’d recommend these tools should be cleaned after every single use.
Why do you need to clean your Gua Sha?
Not only do sculpting tools like Gua Shas have direct contact with your skin, they’re also introduced to multiple different formulas - from oil-based serums to milky moisturizers, so they definitely need a clean to prevent bacteria build up.
How to clean a Gua Sha
Use a microfiber or muslin cloth and use it to distribute a little warm, soapy water onto the tool.
Work the soapy water onto the tool, making sure you have dislodged and removed any residual skincare.
Use a fresh cloth or towel to dry your tool thoroughly. Don’t put it away until it is completely dry.
Eyeshadow Brushes
How often should you clean your eyeshadow brushes?
A massive 42% of UK skincare users say they have never cleaned their eyeshadow brushes and only 16% treat their eyeshadow brushes to a weekly clean.
Ideally, if you apply eyeshadow every day, aim to wash your brush twice a week.
Why do you need to clean your eyeshadow brushes?
Eyeshadow brushes can harbor a similar number of bacteria to foundation brushes and it’s even more important to keep them clean as they’re coming in close contact with your eyes. Dirty brushes could even cause eye infections - which is not what anyone wants when innocently applying a smokey eye. Just like foundation brushes, eyeshadow brushes are best kept in a clean, sealed makeup bag when you’re not using them.
How to clean eye shadow brushes
Angle the bristles of your brush under running water until damp. Take care not to get too much water on the rest of the brush as this can damage the finish or loosen the glue that keeps the hair in place.
Take either a dedicated brush cleaning solution or baby shampoo and massage into the bristles.
Repeat this until the water runs clear.
Lie your brush flat on a clean towel and leave until fully dry.
Skincare Headbands
How often should you clean your skincare headband?
Almost 61% of people who use a headband to push the hair off their face when completing their skincare routine have never thrown it in the washing machine in between uses. For the people who do wash them, they do it on average once every three weeks, with just 10% giving them a weekly clean.
Aim to pop it in the laundry once a week and store it in a clean, dry place between uses once it’s had a chance to dry.
Why do you need to clean your skincare headband?
A fabric skincare headband will prevent your bangs (or wispy baby hairs) from getting involved in your skincare routine. It soaks up any excess cleanser, scrub, face mask, or topical formulas like Vitamin C skincare that get too close to your hairline - and they can get pretty grubby if they’re never washed.
How to clean your skincare headband
Check for any deep or dried-on stains. If you spot any, pre-treat with stain remover spray.
Pop in the laundry with similar colors. Washing at 86 degrees should be enough for it to come out sparkling clean.
Leave it to dry fully - either on a washing line or drying rack. Make sure the fabric is completely dry before putting it away.
Skincare Bottles
How often should you clean skincare bottles?
Although they’re not technically skincare tools, depending on where they’re stored, skincare bottles, tubes and jars can still pick up a fair amount of dirt and bacteria, so we recommend wiping these down and cleaning them every week.
Why do you need to clean skincare bottles?
If you apply any product to your face with your hands, chances are you will have just picked up the skincare bottle with the very same hands. So, if that’s dirty, you can transfer the dirt and bacteria to your face.
How to clean skincare bottles
Remove traces of the product from the bottle’s exterior by either rinsing with water wiping with a tissue or cloth.
Use water and a little liquid soap to clean the packaging.
Rinse thoroughly.
Dry the bottle out either by leaving it upside down or using a cloth.
Take an antibacterial cloth and wipe down your bottles and tubs of skincare and beauty products once-to-every-other-week. Keep the wipes in the same place as your skincare stash as a reminder to do it.
Facial Rollers
How often should you clean your facial roller?
Close to two in three (61%) skincare users never wash their facial roller after they’ve used it on their face. Ideally, you should clean yours before and after every use and store it in its own pouch, box, or bag in between uses.
Why do you need to clean your facial roller?
Facial rollers, like jade rollers, have been used for centuries for lymphatic drainage in order to de-puff, sculpt and reduce tension in the face. To give them enough slip to move across the skin without dragging, they’re best used with an oil, serum, or moisturizer, which means that after you’ve finished your at-home facial massage there will be a layer of product left on the tool.
It’s also likely to pick up some dead skin cells and sebum along the way too. If you store it on the side between uses, it’ll pick up dust and debris, and if it’s in a drawer with the rest of your skincare it can attract dirt and product residue from them too.
How to clean a facial roller
Use a microfiber or muslin cloth and use it to distribute a little warm, soapy water onto the tool.
Work the soapy water onto the tool, making sure you have dislodged and removed any residual skincare.
Use a fresh cloth or towel to thoroughly dry your tool and do not put it away until it is completely dry.
Beauty Sponges
How to often should you clean a beauty sponge?
More than half (53%) of UK skincare users admit they haven’t ever cleaned their beauty sponge. Nearly 11% say they do it on a weekly basis though, which is a little better.
This is one of the tools that has the most contact with your skin, so we recommend cleaning it at least once a week. We never want to promote waste, but beauty sponges do need to be replaced more often than makeup brushes, purely because they can’t withstand the cleaning process as well and they can start to lose their absorbency or disintegrate.
Why do you need to clean your beauty sponges?
If you’ve ever seen one of those videos on social media where someone cuts their beauty sponge in half to see what’s growing inside, you’ll know why it’s so important to clean your sponges. Just like makeup brushes, they can soak up sebum and foundation – both of which are damp, so will help to create a playground for bacteria.
How to clean your beauty sponge?
Dampen your sponge by holding it under warm running water.
Massage either a dedicated beauty sponge/brush cleansing solution or baby shampoo.
Repeat the process followed by rinsing and squeezing until you can’t see any more product on the sponge and the water runs clear.
Leave to dry on a clean towel or cloth.
Blusher & Powder Makeup Brushes
How to often should you clean your blusher/powder brushes?
Interestingly, this is one of the beauty tools that we seem to clean the most, with a third of people (33%) washing them more than once a week. However, more than one in three of us (38%) say they’ve never cleaned theirs.
Like foundation brushes, blusher and powder brushes should have a weekly clean.
How to clean makeup brushes?
Angle the bristles of your brush under running water until damp. Take care not to get too much water on the rest of the brush as this can damage the finish or loosen the glue that keeps the hair in place.
Take either a dedicated brush cleaning solution or baby shampoo and massage into the bristles.
Repeat this until the water runs clear.
Lie your brush flat on a clean towel and leave until fully dry.
Face Cloths
How often should you clean your face cloth?
Half of us never clean our cleansing cloths, for example muslin cloths, after use. 12% do clean their face cloths once a week and one in three (31%) say they clean it more than once a week, so it appears to be an all or nothing situation with face cloths.
Why do you need to clean your face cloth?
Two key reasons – you’re using it to take the dirt and makeup off your face and it gets wet every time it’s used. Through that process, you’re transferring things like makeup, SPF, and old skin cells onto the cloth, which (when left damp by the side of your sink) then creates a breeding ground for the kind of bacteria that thrive in warm, wet conditions.
For this reason, we recommend washing your face cloth after every time it’s used.
How to clean your face cloth
This first step is optional, but if your cloths are particularly grubby, you may want to pre-treat with a stain remover spray.
Pop in the laundry with similar colors. Washing at 86 degrees should be enough for your cloths and reusable pads to come out nice and clean.
Leave to dry fully either on a washing line or drying rack. If you put them away when they’re still a little damp, you’ll invite bacteria to breed.
Skincare & Makeup Bags
How often should you clean your beauty bag?
40% of UK skincare users have never washed their beauty bags. While it’s important to keep your skincare or makeup bag clean, you probably only need to wash it once a month.
Why do you need to clean your beauty bag?
As this doesn’t come into direct contact with your face, it’s not as pressing to keep beauty bags as spotlessly clean, but this is probably where you store all your skincare and makeup, so there’s no point in having beautifully clean products and tools and then storing them somewhere that’s not been washed for years.
How to clean your makeup bag or skincare bag
Take everything out of the bag. If you have time, give each of these items a quick clean with a disinfectant wipe or cloth.
Exactly how you clean your makeup bag will depend on the fabric it’s made from. For example, it may be possible to pop a fabric bag in the laundry (just check the care label first) while a leather bag will require specialist cleaning products.
Thoroughly dry your plastic makeup bag with a dry cloth or tissue before refilling.
Ready for a clear-out? Shop BEAUTY PIE's range of brushes here.
Methodology
Survey data: Created with Censuswide – polling 1,047 skincare users in the UK – aged 16 and over. All data correct July 2023.
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