How often should you wash makeup brushes?

The short answer

Wash the brushes you use with liquid or cream products once a week. Powder brushes can go two weeks. If it has been months instead of weeks, you are in good company, and the fix is smaller than the guilt suggests.

Why does the timing depend on what you use?

Liquid and cream products stay wet in the bristles, so they build up faster than powder does. That is why a foundation brush needs a weekly wash, and a powder brush can wait a little longer.

Dermatologists agree on the direction, though not on every number. The American Academy of Dermatology keeps it simple and recommends washing every brush every 7 to 10 days.

Cleveland Clinic splits it by product: once a week for brushes used with wet products, every two weeks for brushes used around the eyes, and once a month for brushes used with dry powder.

We landed between the two, because a schedule only works if you keep it.

What happens when you wait too long?

Nothing dramatic happens on day eight. What changes is how the brush works: product hardens at the base of the bristles, and the brush starts moving makeup around instead of blending it.

You notice it in small ways first. Foundation goes on streaky. Yesterday's bronzer shows up in today's blush. The bristles feel stiff where they used to feel soft. Makeup collects at the base of the bristles, where you can't see it, so a brush can look fine and still work badly.

Waiting also makes the wash itself harder. Dried foundation takes more scrubbing to lift than fresh foundation does, and scrubbing is hard on bristles. A short wash every week is gentler on a brush than a long one every few months.

Dermatologists have their own reasons for the schedule, and they are worth reading at the links above. We will stay in our lane, which is the brush.

What is the five-minute version?

Wash only the brushes that touched liquid or cream this week. If you wear foundation and concealer, that is two or three brushes and about five minutes at the sink.

Time is the real obstacle. When a Harris Poll for Anisa International asked 638 women who use makeup brushes in 2015, 39% said they clean them less than once a month and 22% said they never clean them.

The most common reason was that washing and drying take too long. So make the job smaller.

1. Wet the tips under lukewarm water with the bristles pointing down. Keep water away from the ferrule, the metal band that holds the bristles, because there is glue inside it.
2. Put a drop of brush cleanser or mild soap in your palm and swirl the brush in it.
3. Rinse, and repeat until the water runs clear.
4. Squeeze the bristles in a clean towel and reshape them with your fingers.
5. Set them to dry, bristles down or flat with the tips off the counter edge.

Powder brushes join every second week. That wash takes a little longer, and it is still shorter than the one you have been putting off.

If you would rather not stand at the sink, the Pivura 3-in-1 washes up to ten brushes at a time, depending on their size, and dries them in about two hours. Washing by hand works. The machine just makes the habit easier to keep.

What we tested

We timed it at our own sink: three brushes, 5 hours from first rinse to towel.

How do you dry brushes so the washing lasts?

Dry them bristles down, or flat with the tips hanging off the counter edge, and never upright in a cup. The American Academy of Dermatology warns that upright drying lets water run down the brush and loosen the glue that holds the head to the handle.

Plan on overnight. Cleveland Clinic's guidance is to leave brushes to dry overnight, which makes Sunday evening a good time to wash. Check that they are fully dry before you put them away.

Common questions

How do I know a brush needs washing now?

Look for three signs: the bristles feel stiff or clumped, your makeup goes on streaky, or color comes off when you swipe the dry brush across a white tissue. Any one of them means wash it today, whatever the calendar says.

Can you wash makeup brushes too often?

Weekly washing with a gentle cleanser is what dermatologists recommend, so frequency is not the risk. Method is. Use lukewarm water, keep it out of the ferrule, and dry the brush bristles down.

Is baby shampoo okay for washing makeup brushes?

Yes. Cleveland Clinic lists baby shampoo and dish soap as mild soaps that do the job. A cleanser made for brushes is a choice, not a requirement.

How long do makeup brushes take to dry?

By air, plan on overnight. Check the dense ones, like foundation brushes, before you use them.

Where this sits in the Ritual

Clean is the first step of the Pivura Care Ritual: Clean, Dry, Store, Protect. Each step protects the work of the one before it. See the full ritual.

Victor Abengowe is the founder of Pivura, a brush care company based in Knoxville, Tennessee. He started it to help people keep the brushes they already own.

Sources

• American Academy of Dermatology, How to clean your makeup brushes
• Cleveland Clinic, How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes, October 29, 2025
• Skin Inc., Harris Poll for Anisa International, surveyed April 20 to 22, 2015