Brush Cleaning: Cosmetic Brush Soap vs Bog Standard Baby Shampoo and Sponge

One of my New Year's resolutions was to clean my make-up brushes weekly. It’s fair to say that I’ve failed that challenge. I can’t remember exactly when the moment happened, but February had barely been and gone before I realised that old habits were proving hard to break – I reckon my brushes are still getting cleaned about only once every three weeks! Tut tut!

One thing I have been more successful at, though, is finding a better way of cleaning them. Is using a sponge and a bog standard baby shampoo just as effective as using a specially formulated soap or liquid? You’ll find lots of debate on the subject online.

Here, I’ve pitted the two methods against each other to find out for myself.

Barbara Hofmann Special Brush Cleaning Soap*

Pros:

Quick and easy. It’s a one step process. Simply wet brush bristles with warm water and swirl around in the soap to create a gentle lather. Repeat until clean and then rinse under a tap.
Minimal mess. The only thing that gets mucky is the soap itself. To clean up, simply put the soap under a cold tap until the water runs clear. Pat dry with kitchen towel and leave to air dry before replacing the tin lid.
Travel friendly. The tin is small and pops easily inside a bag or suitcase. Also, being a soap there’s no risk of liquid leaks!
Newness. Brushes come up like new in next to no time

Cons:

Comparatively expensive – the soap costs £5.21 (offer price at time of post), as against £2.60 (or thereabouts) for the sponge/baby shampoo combo

Sponge and Baby Shampoo

Pros

Comparatively cheap (see above)
Convenient – Most of us have a sponge and shampoo kicking around the house (baby shampoo is best as it is generally very gentle).

Cons

More kit - sponge and separate shampoo needed
Harder work. It takes more elbow grease to get brushes clean
Messy. Once you’ve finished cleaning your brushes, you’ll need to wash the sponge out with soap and warm water to get it clean again. Easier said than done!
Not very portable - risk of shampoo leaks if taking on travels.

Conclusion

The specially formulated brush cleaning soap may cost a few extra quid but it wins hands down.
You can buy the Barbara Hofmann Special Brush Cleaning Soap from Beauty Crowd here.

*PR Sample