Makeup brush
A tool held together by glue and used on skin, which is why the dermatology answer is about where the water goes rather than what is in it.
Start here
What this is, what tends to go wrong with it, and what to do about it.
What tends to go wrong
- Makeup· no established method
An emulsion of oil, pigment and often silicone, formulated to stay put on skin. Two of those three need different treatments, in the right order.
Why it is difficult: Emulsification, Solubility and polarity
The science behind this: Why made-up objects fail where they are glued
In detail
A makeup brush is a bundle of bristles crimped into a metal ferrule and held there with ADHESIVE, and that adhesive decides the whole procedure. A dermatology body's instruction rinses only the TIPS, because submerging the whole head eventually dissolves the glue joining head to handle. The same constraint governs drying: brushes are laid FLAT with the tips overhanging an edge, never stood upright in a container, because water then runs down into the ferrule and loosens the same glue. Two instructions, one mechanism. The cleaner is unremarkable and deliberately so — lukewarm water with a tablespoon of gentle or clarifying SHAMPOO, swirled or massaged in the palm, rinsed and repeated until the water runs clear, then squeezed out in a dry paper towel. No disinfectant is prescribed, which is worth noticing on a tool used on skin. The interval is hygiene-driven rather than cosmetic: every 7 to 10 days. Sponges are treated differently by the same body and cleaned after every use. Brushes are not to be shared.
Why
- Makeup brush is explained by Why made-up objects fail where they are glued
Related
- Makeup brush is commonly affected by Makeup
Sources for this page
Sources
How to clean your makeup brushes
American Academy of Dermatology Association · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That brushes are washed every 7 to 10 days, that only the tips are rinsed because submerging the head dissolves the ferrule adhesive, that the cleaner is lukewarm water with gentle or clarifying shampoo worked until the water runs clear, and that brushes are dried flat with tips overhanging rather than upright. (states this directly)
When to toss your makeup and sunscreen
American Academy of Dermatology Association · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That the same body gives sponges a different interval — cleaned after every use — and attributes the 7-to-10-day brush interval to studies. (states this directly)