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You are here: Home / DIY / Clean it Up: Two Ingredients to Get your Makeup Sponge Squeaky Clean

Clean it Up: Two Ingredients to Get your Makeup Sponge Squeaky Clean

June 10, 2015 Leave a Comment

During a field trip to Ulta in search of the perfect foundation for my favorite female, she asked me a question I had never really though of: when should you throw away your makeup sponge?

Uhhh-Never?

Or at least until it disintegrates into tiny pieces. At that point I would consider that a pretty good indicator to repurchase. Not to say that I wouldn’t double up on these babies. Truth be told, I own multiples. But I’m a makeup hoarder so…there’s that.

My motto is; if it still works, keep it and keep it clean. That also holds true for many other inanimate objects in my life. Shoes, technology, random household decor, all of it. Not to say you can’t also have a new or upgraded version of said item. Let’s not get crazy. 

See what I mean? Hoarder. 

Now if you are the owner of a Beauty Blender or a generic complexion sponge, you are aware of the difficulties in getting all of the foundation stains to disappear. In my search for the perfect cleanser, I’ve spent more pennies than I’d like to count. And hours of scrubbing and squeezing? Perpetual dish-pan hands would be an accurate representation. 

And then genius struck!

Remember when we were all taught by Pinterest that you can remove makeup with oil? Sure you do. So then, if oil is makeup’s kryptonite, why don’t we use it to rid our brushes and blenders of stains and gunk? Why not, indeed. 

Squeaky Clean Sponge Routine

Let’s get steppin’—

1. Get your sponge nice and soaked with tepid water. *FYI: Tepid means slightly warm or lukewarm. My friends thought I should explain just in case. Now you have your word of the day. Maybe I’ll do a giveaway next month for anyone who can use it correctly in a sentence.  

2. Pour a dab of Olive Oil and a dab of Antibacterial Soap on a dish (or in the palm of your hand, which is what I normally do). Swirl your sponge it and and let the oil get up in it’s business.

3. & 4. Squish and squeeze pushing the water and soapy oil mixture from the inside of the sponge to the surface. Almost like what I would imagine milking a cow would be like. Possibly? Sort of? 

5. Continue this process of adding a smidgen of soap and oil and rinsing thoroughly with water until you have a blemish-free sponge. 

Step By Step Tutorial for a Clean Complexion Sponge

So now that your sponges are immaculate, fill it full of product and do it all over again tomorrow.

Just kidding. I only do intense cleaning like this once or twice a week. On a daily basis, I do the lazy thing and just use an antibacterial cleaner.

So what do you think? Is olive oil makeup kryptonite or do you think I’m insane? This question is slightly rhetorical…

♥Liz

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: beauty blender, chemical free, cleaning, diy, makeup sponge, makeup tools, natural

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa @ Midwest Glam

    June 12, 2015 at 12:43 am

    I’ve never tried using oil. I usually use just antibacterial soap and it works ok. Or I could just be too lazy to walk to the kitchen for the olive oil haha. I’ll try it out next time I deep clean my BB. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  2. Dana Fashina

    June 11, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    THANK YOU for this!
    Thank you so, so much ..

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 11, 2015 at 9:10 pm

      Haha! You are welcome!

      Reply
  3. thecraftymummyblog

    June 11, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    Need to give it a go! Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
  4. alexandrawritenow

    June 11, 2015 at 2:25 pm

    This is such a helpful post! 🙂

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 11, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      Thank you! I’m glad I can spread the word about germ-free makeup sponges 😉 😉

      Reply
  5. Infinitely Awkward

    June 11, 2015 at 6:48 am

    Finally my prayers have been answered! I was looking for the best method to clean my blender for a while now, as nothing worked well enough so far. So thank you! 🙂

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 11, 2015 at 6:51 am

      You are welcome! Those buggers are hard to clean. Go figure…it’s a sponge so… lol 🙂

      Reply
  6. thebeautifiedblogger

    June 10, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    I hate to throw my sponges away, too! Especially my beauty blender! I’ll have to give the oil trick a try! Thanks for the info! 🙂

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 10, 2015 at 5:56 pm

      Yes! I have only thrown one away and that’s because it was years old and I put my thumb nail right through it! I’m much more gentle now 🙂

      Reply
      • thebeautifiedblogger

        June 10, 2015 at 7:36 pm

        Hahahahaha! I may have to part with my pink beauty blender soon and break out my back up. Trying to get as much out of it as possible!!!

      • Liz

        June 10, 2015 at 7:37 pm

        It’s a sad, sad thing! I wish they lasted forever!!!

  7. Karen Rees

    June 10, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    Brill post Liz… I’m hoping to invest in a beauty blender so will definitely keep these tips in mind when it comes to cleaning 🙂 Thanks for sharing lovely <3 Karen xo

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 10, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      Thank you Karen!! You will see how stained up these beauty blenders get but luckily they do come clean 🙂 you will definitely enjoy it once you buy!!

      Reply
      • Karen Rees

        June 11, 2015 at 3:18 pm

        Oh really Liz?! Must make sure I look after it and deep cleanse it regularly… hopefully that’ll help prolong the life 🙂 X

  8. StyledWithJoy

    June 10, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    I use this method on my brushes once in a while when I want those pink and brown makeup brushes to become white again! So good!

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 10, 2015 at 12:43 pm

      It really gets through the gunk!!!

      Reply
  9. Style Domination

    June 10, 2015 at 12:23 pm

    Thanks for sharing!!! I just bought a Beauty Blender, so this post is really timely!!

    Reply
  10. MaSa

    June 10, 2015 at 9:16 am

    Great tip!! 😊

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 10, 2015 at 9:25 am

      Thanks! <3

      Reply
  11. TheMakeupCase17

    June 10, 2015 at 8:23 am

    You’re actually supposed to clean your sponges after every 1 to 3 uses. At least that’s what I’ve read. I wash my Beauty Blender after every 2 uses because it’s otherwise just gross.

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 10, 2015 at 8:27 am

      I wash my everyday before I use it…I just don’t always use oil 🙂 On a daily basis I use an antibacterial and every few days I give it the deep clean 🙂 🙂 Gotta keep those microbes at bay!!! 😉

      Reply
  12. Kay Grace

    June 10, 2015 at 6:18 am

    I’ve tried the baby soap and olive oil combo but I’ve never thought of adding anything anti-bacterial! I think I’ve just had a ‘duuuhhh’ moment lol Great post! <3 x

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 10, 2015 at 6:19 am

      That was me as well! I saw this dish soap sitting there and thought, “why the hell not”. Finally something that works!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Liz! I'm a Nutritionist turned blogger and food photographer who followed her passion for all things healthy...ish! I'm into plant-based meals, cheese boards, gluten-free waffles, and Wine Wednesdays. That's a thing, right? about me!

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