DIY Makeup Brush Cleaning Board +Brush Cleaning Tutorial & Makeup Brush Cleaner Recipe

If there's one thing I refuse to think about, it's how dirty my makeup brushes are. Makeup brush cleaning has always seemed like chore that never really has the results I want. (Don't even ask me how long it's been since I last tried to clean them).

Between all the foundation, concealer, and eye shadow caked on the bristles of my brushes, I just assume dunk them in acid before I try to clean every last drop of makeup off of them.

Until I saw the Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Mat. I saw it and I knew that my makeup brush cleaning problems were solved. That is, until I saw the price tag. It was $25. Granted, I've seen simple things priced extremely higher than this but considering $25 is another tube of my favorite Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick... I wasn't convinced to buy it yet.

The more I thought about it, the more I was sure I could make something at home to clean my brushes. That's how I came up with the idea for this DIY makeup brush cleaning board. I've seen a lot of people work wonders with hot glue, so why not me?

Afterall, makeup brushes can be so cute just like this studded couture 10 piece brush set from BH Cosmestics, you just have to keep them clean so you can show them off!

After doing research on other makeup brush cleaning boards, I bought a $1 plastic cutting board from Dollar General and stocked up on some hot glue. After making sure the surface was clean, I started planning what patterns I would use and where I would put them.

Most makeup brush cleaning boards have a series of lined, dotted, swirled, and scalloped patterns. I chose to use two sized dots, one swirly circle, two sized straight lines, a scalloped line, and a hashed pattern on my board.

Once I knew where I was going to place them, I got to gluing! The most challenging part was the little stringy bits that always happen when you're hot gluing stuff. Once I was done, I cleaned up the strings and let the rest dry. After that, my makeup brushes were ready to be cleaned!

This DIY makeup brush cleaning board does wonders. You can even make one inside a plastic container so you don't have to use it over the sink!

Keep reading to find the step by step guide on making your own makeup brush cleaning board and my handy makeup brush cleaner recipe and makeup brush cleaning tutorial.

Make Your Own Makeup Brush Cleaning Board

Materials:

• Plastic Cutting Board
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue

Steps:

1. Prep the cutting board by taking all the stickers off and cleaning its surface so the hot glue sticks better.
2. Use a pencil to mark off the different sections of your makeup brush cleaning board. As you can see from my board, I placed a large circle in the upper left hand corner with hash marks underneath it, various sized lines on the right hand side, and two different sized dots at the bottom of the board.
3. Use hot glue to put your patterns into place!
4. Let it dry and start cleaning your makeup brushes!

BONUS!!!! Makeup Brush Cleaner Recipe & Brush Cleaning Tutorial

If you've made your DIY makeup brush cleaning board and you have your dirty makeup brushes ready, but you forgot that you need something to clean your brushes with, I'm here for you. I'm giving you my favorite makeup brush cleaner recipe.

This is a very simple recipe that uses ingredients you probably have around the house right now: Water, Dawn Dish Detergent, and Olive Oil. Mix them all together and you've got yourself a cleaner that will get even the deep down, dried on makeup out of your brushes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Warm Water
• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 1 TBS Dawn Dish Detergent

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes:

1. Mix the ingredients of the makeup brush cleaner in a small bowl.
2. Take a dirty brush and swirl it around in the cleaner.
3. Place your DIY makeup brush cleaning board underneath the faucet.
4. Move your brush back and forth across the corresponding patterns. Continue until water runs clear.​
5. Leave your brushes out, preferably upside down, until dry.

You can use this to clean your makeup sponges too! Soak up all the cleaner in the sponge and move it over the large bump pattern until the water runs clear. CAUTION: running the sponge roughly over the smaller bumps could cause you to lose chunks of sponge. Trust me. I learned the hard way.

Makeup Brush Cleaning Board Patterns

You may be wondering why you need so many different patterns to clean your makeup brushes. In theory, you could use one pattern to clean all your brushes but that would not be as effective as using multiple patterns.

Your makeup brushes are all different sizes so it only makes sense that different sized patterns will clean each brush differently. I have listed the differences in patterns and brushes below but if you ever can't remember which is which, just remember that bigger patterns are for washing big brushes and little patterns are for washing little brushes.

• Large Bumps: wash face brushes
• Thick Lines: rinse face brushes
• Thin Lines: refine face brushes
• Hash Marks: wash eye brushes
• Scalloped Lines: rinse eye brushes
• Circular: refine eye brushes
• Small Bumps: refine any brush

And that's it! That's my comprehensive guide on making a makeup brush cleaning board and makeup brush cleaner. I hope you found this helpful! If you did, share it with your friends!

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