I have tried a few cleaners that are specific to cleaning makeup brushes and sponges, ranging from liquid cleansers to a brush shampoo and although they did clean my makeup tools, they were a little pricey compared to what I use now.

How often to clean makeup brushes and sponges?

I clean my makeup sponge every morning, just before doing my foundation, and my brushes are cleaned weekly but how often do they actually need cleaning?

According to GLAMOUR Magazine any brushes or beauty blenders that come in contact with liquid textures should be cleaned at least two to three times a week. Whereas, brushes used for just powders can be cleaned once a week. This is because bacteria prefer moist conditions and therefore, those brushes and sponges used for liquid-based makeup will accumulate much more micro-organisms compared to tools used for dry powders.

Not regularly cleaning your makeup tools will lead to skin complaints like clogged pores and breakouts, and could even lead to infections if you are using dirty brushes on open wound (like a freshly-picked spot).

Liquid cleaners

I have tried the Easy Pour Brush Cleaner from ISOCLEAN and the Brush Tonic Brush Cleanser spray from BPerfect Cosmetics which are no-rinse, quick-drying solutions that remove germs, dust, dirt, makeup, bacteria and dead skin from your makeup tools. This means, for example, you can use your powder makeup brush within minutes of cleaning it with these solutions.

Unfortunately for me, both of these solutions have caused me to have major breakouts. I still have plenty of this solution left, and as I don’t like waste, I use them to do a deep clean of my brushes every so often. So I will initially clean my brushes with one of the solutions and then wash the brushes in soap.

Brush shampoo

I started off using the EcoTools Makeup Brush and Sponge Shampoo which was great at cleaning my brushes but when I started to run out of this shampoo I wondered if there was a cheaper alternative. I decided to try out some face cleanser but they didn’t really foam up very well.

I then started to look at the compact soaps, the ones you tend to get in a tin, but again these were expensive too. This then led me to question, why can’t I use a normal bar of soap?

What do I use now?

I knew I wanted a soap that had antibacterial properties, that would lather up easily and would be easy enough to wash off – as I didn’t want to be stood at the sink for ages rinsing my brushes.

That is when I came across the Wright’s Cleansing Traditional Soap. This bar of soap contains an active ingredient with natural antibacterial properties and is dermatologically tested. It also costs less than £1 from my local ADSA store.

I have been using the Wright’s Traditional Soap for a few weeks. It lathers up really well for both my makeup sponges and brushes and rinses off just as easy too. My brushes and sponges don’t feel dried out but nor do they feel as though they are coated with moisturisers.

Sources

Sheilla Mamona and Emma-Jade Stoddart. Here’s how to really deep-clean your makeup brushes. Published 23 March 2025. https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/how-to-clean-makeup-brushes

Trinny London. How to clean your makeup brushes to avoid unnecessary breakouts. Last accessed 30 May 2025. https://trinnylondon.com/uk/blog/how-to-clean-your-makeup-brushes