# Help! How do I clean a stained brush?



## RedRibbon (Sep 14, 2010)

Hey everyone, 

I need some help.  I recently bought a MAC 239 and I have been using it with black, dark blue and dark purple eyeshadows.  I've washed it since and the brush went back to its usual white colour.  I have used practically every colour with it and it always washes clean.

HOWEVER!! I recently used a green/greeny blue eyeshadow with it and it has stained the brush.  I have washed the brush a million and one times and it won't come clean.  The sides have come clean but when you look down at the brush, you can see the green staining (i.e. the part of the brush you tap into the shadow).

Does anyone have any tips on how to clean this? I don't want to be too harsh with it because it will knock the hairs out of place but the stain is really bugging me. 

Thanks! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





PS, re. cleaning..I have been cleaning it with a clarifying shampoo (as I do for all my brushes and it has done nothing).


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## Strawberrymold (Sep 14, 2010)

I use Shisedo white lucent cleanser on my brushes and it takes off everything. If you live by a Sephora I would ask for a sample and try this.


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## GucciGirl (Sep 14, 2010)

Here is a really simple way to clean your brushes. Get a saucer plate and drop a bit of antibacterial dishwashing liquid on it. Then get some extra virgin olive oil (straight out of the kitchen if you have it) and put the same amount on top of the dishwashing liquid. Rub your brush in this a few times and you will start to see all the color in your brush breaking down. Then rinse and dry. The oil acts as a makeup remover and conditioner while the soap cleanses and disinfects. Hope this helps!


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## ywill (Sep 14, 2010)

I use Pink soap that you can our purchase from Michael's craft store or any craft store. It took out the stains in  my brushes. 

http://www.misterart.com/store/image...?group_id=7783


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## elektra513 (Sep 14, 2010)

I have 2 options that I use for this issue:
1) MAC Brush Cleanser: Dampen the brush with water, pour a little amount of Brush Cleanser in your hands. Gently swirl the brush in there till it gets foamy. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then rinse. Repeat till stains are gone. 1-2 times should be good.

or 

2) Dawn dish liquid: Same method as above, but after rinsing follow with hair conditioner (I use a moisturizing formula) for 1-2 minutes. Then a final rinse w/water.

Good luck.


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## VAQTPIE (Sep 14, 2010)

For stained white bristles, I agree with the olive oil/mild soap mixture. Works every time.  I follow that with just mild soap/baby shampoo and rinse.

MAC's cleanse off oil will also work.


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## kittykit (Sep 15, 2010)

I use Johnson's Baby shampoo to wash my brush. It removes all stain on the brush, including my La Roche Posay liquid foundation which always stains my 187 and 188 brushes.

If that doesn't work, try MAC brush cleaner.


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## RedRibbon (Sep 15, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Strawberrymold* 

 
_I use Shisedo white lucent cleanser on my brushes and it takes off everything. If you live by a Sephora I would ask for a sample and try this._

 
We don't have Sephora in the UK (boo!) but I will see what Ebay says.

 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *GucciGirl* 

 
_Here is a really simple way to clean your brushes. Get a saucer plate and drop a bit of antibacterial dishwashing liquid on it. Then get some extra virgin olive oil (straight out of the kitchen if you have it) and put the same amount on top of the dishwashing liquid. Rub your brush in this a few times and you will start to see all the color in your brush breaking down. Then rinse and dry. The oil acts as a makeup remover and conditioner while the soap cleanses and disinfects. Hope this helps!_

 
Brilliant idea! I usually use the clarifying shampoo and that takes all the colour out, I'm just confused as to why the green stained but the rest didnt.

 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *ywill* 

 
_I use Pink soap that you can our purchase from Michael's craft store or any craft store. It took out the stains in  my brushes. 

http://www.misterart.com/store/image...?group_id=7783_

 
I will have to find a UK version of this..

 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *elektra513* 

 
_I have 2 options that I use for this issue:
1) MAC Brush Cleanser: Dampen the brush with water, pour a little amount of Brush Cleanser in your hands. Gently swirl the brush in there till it gets foamy. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then rinse. Repeat till stains are gone. 1-2 times should be good.

or 

2) Dawn dish liquid: Same method as above, but after rinsing follow with hair conditioner (I use a moisturizing formula) for 1-2 minutes. Then a final rinse w/water.

Good luck. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 
 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *VAQTPIE* 

 
_For stained white bristles, I agree with the olive oil/mild soap mixture. Works every time.  I follow that with just mild soap/baby shampoo and rinse.

MAC's cleanse off oil will also work._

 
 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *kittykit* 

 
_I use Johnson's Baby shampoo to wash my brush. It removes all stain on the brush, including my La Roche Posay liquid foundation which always stains my 187 and 188 brushes.

If that doesn't work, try MAC brush cleaner._

 
Thanks! I will try all these suggestions and get back to you.  The "leave to soak" method makes sens but I'm always panicked that if I leave them for too long, the water and liquid ill get into the ferrule and weaken the glue.


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## elektra513 (Sep 15, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *RedRibbon* 

 
_Thanks! I will try all these suggestions and get back to you.  The "leave to soak" method makes sens but I'm always panicked that if I leave them for too long, the water and liquid ill get into the ferrule and weaken the glue._

 
Just lay them flat. You don't have to count out exactly 5 min, but just a few minutes to wait. Keep the brushes tilted south while rinsing them (bristles pointing down) or laying them flat and it'll be fine. And only run the water on the bristles, not the rest of the brush.

If that idea were true, then laying them flat to dry would be a no-no as well, but that's the best way to dry brushes to keep the ferrule and glue safe.


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## naturallyfab (Sep 15, 2010)

I usually use johnson's baby shampoo, but for tough stains, olive oil works wonders


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## pinkita (Sep 16, 2010)

i always use MAC Brush Cleanser


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## jackieheartsyou (Sep 16, 2010)

I use Dove bar soap for all of my brushes and I have quite a few white-bristled brushes. I just swirl them on the bar of soap and then rinse. It works wonders and I consider Dove really gentle.


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## miss_supra (Sep 19, 2010)

MAC's cleanse off oil works wonders + mild shampoo. 

My 187 brush always gets stained from foundation and with cleanse off oil it is back to white.


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## AshleyDanielle (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks for all the tips with the soap/olive oil. It got my 187 and 168 nearly stain free after they had been stained foreverrrrr!


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## rjsmom84 (Jan 19, 2011)

Again, Olive Oil is the best. I had a brush that had been stained for 3 months. Nothing I tried worked. I saw Enkore's video on Youtube about using olive oil to deep clean brushes. I just put some on a paper towel and rubbed the brush around in it and it came clean immediately. I now clean all of my brushes with olive oil before washing them with baby shampoo.


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## AshleyDanielle (Jan 19, 2011)

My 168 has been stained by NARs orgasm blush.....and I was able to get most of it out using the olive oil and dove method. I can still see a hint of the pink but it does look a lot better than it did before  Any tips to get it COMPLETLY out?


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## myluckypenny (Jan 19, 2011)

I make my own brush cleanser thanks to Enkore's recipe you can find on Youtube.  Then I pour it into an empty foaming cleanser bottle and use the foam-soap version to clean w/... it's light, doesn't leave residue like soap+oil, and you can see when the brush is clean when the foam is white while swirling ur brush in it on your hand.  =D


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## roLLerGrrL (Jan 19, 2011)

I agree with the EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). I find that it gets rid of EVERYTHING. I would just use it on its own in a bowl & swirl it around - the colour should just "fall away".

  	Once you've finished swirl in Baby Shampoo to get rid of the oil & rinse.


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## rjsmom84 (Jan 24, 2011)

roLLerGrrL said:


> I agree with the EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). I find that it gets rid of EVERYTHING. I would just use it on its own in a bowl & swirl it around - the colour should just "fall away".
> 
> Once you've finished swirl in Baby Shampoo to get rid of the oil & rinse.


 
	Yeah...I just used Olive Oil on my brush and the color literally fell off. The oil is suppose to strip the color. So, if you try the oil by itself that may help it come completely clean. I use dark foundation and a lot of pigmented blushes,  they come 100% clean as long as I do olive oil by itself and then the baby shampoo.


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## makeupbymichyt (Jan 24, 2011)

First wash with some baby shampoo and then use some mac brush cleaner, thats what i use on my white hair brushes. If you dont have time to shampoo it the mac brush cleaner (pink one) should work alone!


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## AiriMagdalene (Jan 27, 2011)

I don't suggest doing this ALL the time, only in cases of emergency, but this is what I do.
  	Find a shot glass or an old candle tin or some sort of small, little cup type thingamajig. Pour just enough Clorox 2 [a bleach alternative and stain remover and color booster. Do NOT use normal bleach, only colour safe bleach!] into it to cover the stained bristles but NOT the ferrule of the brush. Set it in there for about five minutes, and then swirl it around like the agitator of a washing machine for a few minutes. Then do the same thing with water to get all of the soap residue out, and dry the brush with the handle facing upward and the bristles facing down so you won't get anything running into the ferrule and degrading the glue.


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