The Tools Of Beauty

We collaborated with Ecover to answer questions about natural beauty...

Here is the post from August:

Over the past ten years I have worked with hundreds of women, teaching them about makeup, how to apply it, what colors to choose and how to care for and clean their tools. I’m always shocked that the majority of women, while they are brilliant in many other ways, are often lacking some basic information when it comes to dealing with beauty products.

Most women know to clean a kitchen knife after using it or that they shouldn’t keep milk or eggs for a year in the fridge… but the majority of women I meet have never washed their makeup brushes. I’ve been told by some women that they simply throw out their brushes when they start to look really dirty. Not to worry, Ladies, I know the only reason that you have been doing these things is because you didn’t know any better. I am here today to help you learn about what you need and how to best care for these very special tools.

First, I would recommend that you invest in some good brushes. If you care for them, you will have them for the rest of your life (a Green Closet concept carried over to your beauty regime). I’d also love for you to have a range of brushes at your disposal:

• 2 big fluffy brushes (for powder, bronzer or blush)
• one firm eye shadow brush
• a fluffy eye shadow blending brush
• angle brush for eyebrows
• a pointy liner brush
• an eyelash curler is always good to have (make sure that you keep an eye on that rubber piece that protects your lashes, when that gets worn down, you can replace it)

How to care for your brushes:

• Store your brushes out in an open, cool, and dry place, if possible. I like to clean mine every 2-3 weeks, but it depends on how much you use them.

To clean your brushes:

• Wet the brush and add a drop of gentle shampoo (or Ecover soap)
• Gently swirl the bristles around in the soap (I like to do this all in the palm of my hand)
• Rinse under the water until all the soap is gone
• Dry the brush by squeezing out excess water with a towel and reshape brush
• Then lay the brush on a clean towel and let the bristles hang over the counter to dry

Jessa Blades

Ecover’s Natural Beauty Expert

 Image via Emily Gilbert