How to Clean Beauty Blender the Right Way

Ahhh, the beloved Beauty Blender! This egg shaped sponge has taken the beauty world by storm over the past few years, and has become the ‘brush’ of choice for novices and professional makeup artists alike. Why? Probably because they allow you to blend in your foundation smoothly and effortlessly, and they give you a streak-free and dewy finish to your face. Buuuut there is just one downside to this praised makeup tool - they can be SO tediously hard to clean. But fear not beauty lovers! We’re here to tell you how to clean a beauty blender the right way!

The Basics

Ok so there are many tips and tricks out there online that tell you how to clean a beauty blender. But some of them are less than ideal. We’ve got three ways that you can get your little sponge looking as good as new! They include: the microwave method, baby shampoo, and last but not least, the blendercleanser. Let’s find out more:

The Microwave Method

This technique is probably the easiest, but not really the fastest. But it really does work! Here’s what you need to do:

Items you will need include:

- Skin gentle soap

- A microwavable mug cup

- A microwave!- Dirty beauty blender

- Small washcloth

- Paper towel

Items for The Microwave Method

Step 1: Pour the soap into the clean mug until it is just under half way full. Then fill the mug with water.

Step 2: Give it a gentle stir and then slowly insert your dirt beauty blender into the mixture. Make sure the blender is completely submerged into the water.
Beauty Blender submerged into soapy mixture

Self-taken

Step 3: Put the mug into the microwave, and heat it on full power for 1 minute.

Step 4: Once the timer goes off, gently remove the mug from the microwave. Remember, the mug and the water will be hot, so it would be wise to use a washcloth to protect your hands!

Step 5: Remove the beauty blender from the mug and squeeze it as hard as you can. When you do this step you should see that the water coming out of the blender is very dirty, and brown from the makeup!

Step 6: When you have squeezed as much water as you can out of the blender, repeat this process again until your sponge is shining and clean! It may take a few rounds until you feel like your egg-shaped bestie is totally clean and good to go. Leave it to air dry.

Baby Shampoo

The Baby Shampoo method is a great way to thoroughly cleanse your beauty blender, although it can be a little time consuming.

Items you will need include:

- Small dish

- Baby shampoo (we recommend using Johnson’s Baby Shampoo)

- Teaspoon

- Dirty beauty blender

Items for Baby Shampoo Method

Self-taken

1. Fill the small dish with warm water so that is around 3/4 full. Next, squeeze a large drop of baby shampoo into the water.

2. Grab the teaspoon and begin to gently mix the water and shampoo until it becomes a foamy mixture.

Stirring the foamy mixture

3. Next, submerge the dirty beauty blender into the mixture, making sure there is enough water to completely cover it. Squeeze it 2 to 3 times to ensure the water has become adsorbed into the sponge. Now leave it to soak in the water for 30 minutes.

4. As the beauty blender is soaking, you will begin to see that water will change color. It will basically become dirty looking due to the foundation and makeup being drawn out from the sponge and into the soapy water. The beauty blender will also look a lot bigger than it normally does, due to the expansion caused by the absorbed water.

Mixture after 10 minutes        

Mixture after 20 minutes        

5. After 30 minutes, it’s time to clean! Remove the beauty blender from the dish, and gently squeeze a small amount of baby shampoo onto the most stained areas.

6. Now gently rub the shampoo into the sponge using a massage like technique. Squeeze the blender like this for 2 to 3 minutes to ensure the blender has absorbed the shampoo.

Squeezing the dirty beauty blender

7. Next, run warm water from the tap and place the beauty blender directly in the waters path. You will see the makeup running away from the sponge, it is extremely satisfying! Give the sponge a squeeze whilst you are doing this to remove excess makeup. Keep doing this until the water runs clear and the sponge is fully clean.

8. Last but not least, turn off the water and squeeze out any excess liquid from the sponge. Now dry it with a paper towel or clean washcloth and leave to dry until your next use!

Let Beauty Blender air dry

BlenderCleanser

By using a BlenderCleanser that is made specifically for cleaning beauty blenders and makeup sponges, you will be able to be certain that you won’t be dabbing any harsh chemicals onto your skin afterwards. Most BlenderCleansers are soy-based and have no skin irritants or harsh dyes.

Items you will need include:

- BlenderCleanser (We suggest this Beauty Blender BlenderCleanser).

- Dirty beauty blender

Step 1: Pour a small drop of BlenderCleanser onto the dirty beauty blender. Squeeze and massage the liquid into the sponge until it lathers up.

Step 2: Keep lathering and massaging the sponge until you think the stains are gone.

Step 3: Rinse with warm water. Continue rinsing and squeezing the blender until the water runs clear. If makeup is continuing to pour out of the blender, repeat steps 1 and 2 again.

Step 4: Leave the beauty blender to dry in a room with good air circulation. Make sure that it is totally dry before you use it to apply makeup.

Note: For blenders that haven’t been cleaned in over 2 weeks, leave it to soak for a few hours in a mixture that contains 1 part BlenderCleanser and 3 parts water.

Whichever method you opt for, these three techniques are how to clean a beauty blender the right way. You’ll be left with a beautifully clean blender that will be free from bacteria, dirt and clogged makeup and will allow you to perfectly blend your makeup on smoothly and effortlessly.