How to Clean Out Your Makeup Bag

Everyone knows that keeping up a regular cleaning routine is important for your health but that doesn’t mean we’re always following best practices. Now with the COVID-19 outbreak, there’s no better time to take your spring cleaning to the next level.

For us beauty lovers, that means using this opportunity to clean something that we apply to our face every day – our makeup. But how do you know your makeup cleaning regimen is enough? From when to throw out old makeup to explaining how to properly clean your brushes, we cover all your makeup cleaning needs!

How Old is Too Old?

First things first, you don’t want to waste your time sanitizing makeup that’s just going to go right in the trash. When cleaning out your makeup bag, the first step you need to do is determine what you can keep and what makeup supplies have overstayed their welcome. We know that with so many types of makeup, it can feel overwhelming to figure out how long you should use something before tossing it. Don’t worry because there are some simple questions that will make this a lot easier!

Liquid, Powder, or Pencil

Knowing the type of makeup and what’s in it is the baseline for determining when they should be thrown out. Since bacteria grows easier in moist places, your liquid and cream makeup supplies will only last around six to twelve months. Thankfully, the dryness from your powder and pencil makeup allows you to use those supplies for a much longer lifespan of two years.

Natural Ingredients

Using natural ingredients in your makeup can be a big benefit for your skin but it will sacrifice its shelf life. Just like food, makeup with natural ingredients won’t last as long as those with preservatives. Make sure you’re paying attention to your skin and if you notice an area that’s constantly becoming irritated, it might be time to throw out your favorite foundation!

Trust Your Instinct

If you ever find yourself doubting if it’s time to part with your makeup, you could always make a judgement call by checking for anything that looks off. Abnormal texture, discoloration, and a strange odor are some things to let you know that it’s doing more harm than good!

How to Clean What’s Left

Now that you’ve cleared out your makeup bag, you can focus on what you’re keeping and give them a good cleaning. Like knowing what to throw away, there are different ways to sanitize your makeup depending on what type it is. Here are some things to keep in mind as you get started!

Makeup Brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes is huge! Just think about how often those are touching sensitive areas on your face like your eyes. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourage us not to touch our faces, we can’t stress enough how important it is to spend time properly cleaning your brushes. Not sure you’re doing it the right way? From start to finish, here are the five simple steps you need to do to wash your makeup brushes:

• 1. Mix a small amount of soap with warm water.
• 2. Wash the brushes with the water and gently massage the bristles.
• 3. Rinse out brushes with clean water.
• 4. Lay them out over a countertop to keep their rounded shape.

Remember that your brushes also don’t last forever and they will need to be replaced at least after two to three months.

The Makeup Itself

Don’t forget to sanitize what’s actually being applied to your face: the makeup itself! Many makeup supplies are easy to clean with the hardest part just remembering to do it. For example, all you need to do for your pencil supplies is sharpen them every once in a while and you’re good to go!

Others will take longer to disinfect like your lipstick and eyeshadow but it’s nothing you can’t handle! All you have to do for those is scrape off the top layer you’ve been using for application and soak what remains in rubbing alcohol. It’s a little thing but it makes a huge difference!

Your Makeup Bag

The last thing you want to do is to put all your hard work and dump it into a dirty bag. While your makeup is still out, take the opportunity to wipe off where it’s stored to get rid of any makeup marks from last year’s mascara. An antibacterial wipe should do the trick!

Learn More About Clean Makeup

We hope that you’re all following good cleaning practices with your makeup and in general. If you ever want to know more about beauty cleaning tips or what this time means for your career, our team at Moler Beauty Academy is always here to chat. Stay safe, everyone!