best way to clean brushes? what's your system?

Ok... nevermind... just found the sponge thread. Ivory soap is what I need.

I love Ivory. remember to condition your brushes afterwards with something like Masters.

My 2 favorite cleaners are Ivory bar soap and the best house hold disinfectant is white vinegar.

Jenny

I am a flip flopper trying to find my favorite. I like the pink soap and have also done the liquid Ivory. I have used the SillyFarm brush bath too - but was concerned about the lavendar and tea tree oil - my red headed daughter always gets irritated by lavendar products.

Ivory bar soap to wash brushes and sponges.

70% isopropyl alcohol to sanitize while working.

NOTHING in the rinse water.

I use old Masters brush cleaner & conditioner on my sponges & brushes with lots of rinse water to make sure no residue is left in them.
Susan

I use baby shampoo on site then wash with ivory at home.

I have to wash my brushes between each child. I drop my brushes in a tray with the baby shampoo and water. (All my brushes are plastic handled as wood would fall apart after awhile). When I get a break or my helper will clean them and set them aside to dry. I do not resue my sponges. Once used on one child, they are thrown away. As you can guess, I go through a lot of sponges.

I have hand sanitizer for the picky parents but I am not required to use an alcohol product. I am happy about that because all my new brushes (another impulse buy) were expensive and alcohol did dry out my former brushes. Little bits started falling out. I do not want a repeat.

Are using cosmetic wedges since you have to throw out the sponges?

ok this will seem like a silly question - do you pour the isopropyl alcohol over the brushes to sanitize or swish the brush in a cup with the alcohol?
Thanks!

Rosenberg-Cox wrote:I use baby shampoo on site then wash with ivory at home.

I have to wash my brushes between each child. I drop my brushes in a tray with the baby shampoo and water. (All my brushes are plastic handled as wood would fall apart after awhile). When I get a break or my helper will clean them and set them aside to dry. I do not resue my sponges. Once used on one child, they are thrown away. As you can guess, I go through a lot of sponges.

I have hand sanitizer for the picky parents but I am not required to use an alcohol product. I am happy about that because all my new brushes (another impulse buy) were expensive and alcohol did dry out my former brushes. Little bits started falling out. I do not want a repeat.

OMG, you throw away your sponges!!!!! I want to work behind you, I'd be taking them home with me and washing 'em to reuse. This must bring up your cost per face a lot.

Of course, I guess that's a really nice thing knowing that your face is being painted with a new sponge. I can see where parents would really like that.

Jenny

katyabbott wrote:ok this will seem like a silly question - do you pour the isopropyl alcohol over the brushes to sanitize or swish the brush in a cup with the alcohol?
Thanks!

Seperate container of alcohol. they need to be saturated, and then allowed to dry.

I do use cosmetic sponges for smaller rainbow, etc but in general I use mostly the sponges from Michaels. I can get them between 40% to 50% off everytime and cut them into thirds. SO the cost is reasonable. I have also picked up the car sponges at the dollar store and cut them up into about 12 pieces but my kids have told me they think they are scratchy. I am not allowed to reuse the sponges here.

I use to use alcohol but my former set of brushes started falling apart (the little strands in the paint). I do not use alcohol anymore since I am not required to.

Where are you? I would think that using one sponge per person without double dipping would be enough of a requirement. If you have to throw away the sponge after use, what do you have to do with your brushes? Can you double dip, reload them while painting the same person? do you carry enough brushes to use one per color per person? Can you clean, and reuse or do you have to clean, sanitize and dry before reuse? How much water do you carry and use? inquiring minds want to know.

I think that we need to keep up our standards of sanitization, and I'm always looking to improve. However, I double dip my sponges and my brushes, and I don't keep with one sponge per person. I keep a small bucket under my table to to throw my used sponges and my wipes into....more wipes then sponges, because I will wipe a face, my hands, or whatever....and average a couple of wipes or more per person. My brushes are one per color....and Black and White get a few, because some make better dots, some make better teardrops, but they just sit, half loaded with paint until I use them again during a given event. I sound like such a slob compared to your set up. I like to think that I start really clean and fresh though, I gotta be doing something right.

Jenny

Midwest, Kansas and Missouri (each having their own set of requirements) mostly. I can not reload the brushes on the same person when using the cakes, which is why I use more liquids (so I can just throw away or wipe off what is left on the pallet) for detailing, then get a new brush for the next kid. As soon as I am done with the brush it goes in to a 'bath' of sorts with baby shampoo and water until I can wash it and set it to the side to dry. I have A LOT of brushes! The brushes clean and dry on site. (I also have a little battery operated dryer they can sit under). The sponges are not considered washable by 'unknown' who decided this and are listed as disposable. Thus I can not reuse them. I carry a minimum of four 2 litter bottle of water to every job.

I really do not mind as I agree with this rule. I have seen some painters with 'rainbow stains' on sponges that I would not let my kids go to. They may be clean but do not look clean and since I have seen some painters reusing sponges on dirty faces and runny nose kids (not any of us, of course), I just choose not to go to them. I am not judging them, I am just choosing.

I am going to try my first sponge head brush though and see if they (Cosmetology board) will allow it. Although KS does not have set rules just for face painting, this falls under the rules for general cosmetics and hair stylists, wow, they have a lot of rules. (Ex: I can not use hair clip to hold any hair back, only disposable hair pins - one per person). I think it will be all right in Missouri as thier rules are not as enforced. It is the dotter wand. To date, I have been using qtips (disposable). I made just need to buy a lot of them if it is determined to be non disposable (as I think it will be for it has a handle).

It may sound like a lot but it really is not. I am a brush painter more than a sponge painter anyway. The sponges are so cheap after the coupon, it really isn't anything. Parents have told me how impressed they are with the steps I take to prevent contamination. I have worked with many sick and dying kids for 3 years now (a job I got because of the steps I take with sanitation of my supplies). Seeing their faces or arms when painted makes it all worth it.

I realy don't mind throwing away the sponges. Honestly.

If you don't want any stains, I think the only trick is to wash your brushes + sponges as soon as you get home. :\
Does anyone know another trick?

For cleaning my material after a gig, I've been using the yellow Sunlight soap bar (Made for clothes cleaning). I find it more effective than regular soap to get the makeup out. And it smells like lemon! Mmm!

As for cleaning my material during a contract, I've been using good old water (which I change often) and I have a bottle of 70% alcool to desinfect at times. But I find that straight alcool is hard for the brush. I've also been using baby wipes to clean brushes quickly. And I've been using all kind of different "push" type products to clean the brushes quickly, but like it's been said, it doesn't clean water-based makeup very well.

I may give a try at Shannon's technique for cleaning brushes and sponges. Hoep you don't mind, Shannon! It's always been a problem for me and I'm extremely conscious about health safety.