How a Makeup Brush Cleaner Machine Actually Works
Before walking through the steps, it helps to understand what the machine is actually doing. Once you get it, everything else clicks into place naturally.
Most electric makeup brush cleaner machines are spinner-type devices. They use centrifugal force — the same outward spinning energy behind a washing machine drum or a salad spinner — to pull product, oil, and bacteria out of the bristles. When you dip a spinning brush into your cleaning solution, the motion agitates the fibres and dislodges everything trapped inside, including buildup that's worked its way deep into the base of the bristles where manual washing can't reach.
The drying stage works on the same principle. Once you raise the spinning brush above the water, the centrifugal force flings water outward and away from the bristles, leaving them near-dry in under 15 seconds. This is a meaningful improvement over hand-washing, which typically requires laying brushes flat on a towel for anywhere from six to twelve hours depending on how dense the bristle pack is.
Bowl-type machines — where brushes sit bristle-down on a spinning pad inside a cleaning bowl — follow a slightly different process but rely on the same core physics. The spinning pad drives the bristles against a textured surface, loosening product, while the cleaning solution in the bowl washes the debris away.
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What You Need Before You Start
Getting everything ready before you begin makes the cleaning process quicker and less messy. Here's what to gather:
- Your makeup brush cleaner machine. With its collar set and cleaning bowl placed on a flat, stable surface near a sink.
- A mild cleaning solution. Baby shampoo, gentle liquid soap, or a dedicated brush cleaner shampoo all work well. More on choosing the right one in a moment.
- A clean towel or paper towel. For laying clean brushes on after the drying cycle, and for wiping down any water that lands outside the bowl during spinning.
- A water source. Lukewarm water works best — cold water won't activate your cleanser as effectively, and hot water can soften the glue inside the brush ferrule, which leads to shedding over time.
- Your dirty brushes. Gather everything you want to clean. Working through several in one session is more efficient than doing one at a time on different days.
One thing you don't need: a specialised cleaning solution sold by the machine's manufacturer. The vast majority of electric brush cleaners work perfectly with mild soap or baby shampoo you likely already have at home. Dedicated brush shampoos are a nice-to-have, not a requirement.
Step-by-Step: How to Use a Makeup Brush Cleaner Machine
These steps apply to spinner-type machines — the most common kind, where a motorised handle spins the brush inside a separate bowl. If you have a bowl-type machine with a spinning pad, jump ahead to the next section.
Fill the cleaning bowl
Pour lukewarm water into the machine's bowl until it reaches about one-third full. Add a small drop of your cleaning solution — you need far less than you might expect, about the size of a pea. Too much soap creates excessive foam that makes it harder to see when the brush is clean, and leaves residue on the bristles after drying.
Select the right collar
Most machines come with a set of silicone collars in multiple sizes — typically 8 different diameters covering brush handles from around 3mm up to 30mm. Pick the collar that fits snugly around your brush handle. The fit should feel firm but not forced. If the collar is too loose, the brush will wobble during spinning and won't clean evenly. If it's too tight, you risk cracking the handle. When in doubt, go slightly larger — a collar that grips rather than crushes is the right choice.
Attach the brush to the spinner
Insert the brush handle into the collar until you feel or hear a click — this confirms the connection is secure. An unsecured brush can detach mid-spin, which sends it flying out of the bowl. With the collar seated properly, the brush head should hang freely downward, bristles facing down. This orientation is intentional: it keeps water and cleaning solution away from the ferrule — the metal ring connecting bristles to handle — where moisture causes the most damage over time.
Dip the bristles and start the spin cycle
Lower the spinning brush head into the cleaning solution — bristles only, stopping just below the ferrule. Do not submerge the ferrule or the handle. Press the power button to start the motor. Keep the brush submerged in the bowl and spin for 10 to 20 seconds. For lightly soiled brushes, 10 seconds is usually enough. For a heavily loaded foundation or concealer brush, give it the full 20 seconds. You'll see the water change colour as the product lifts from the bristles — that's exactly what you want to see.
Rinse with clean water
Pour out the coloured, soapy water from the bowl and refill with fresh lukewarm water. Dip and spin the brush again for 5 to 10 seconds. This rinse cycle removes any leftover soap and loosened product from the bristles. If the water still looks noticeably cloudy or tinted after rinsing, repeat once more. For heavily used brushes — particularly those used with cream or liquid formulas — two rinse cycles are not unusual.
Spin dry — keep the brush inside the bowl
Lift the spinning brush above the water level while keeping it inside the bowl. This step is important: the centrifugal spin flings water outward, and if the brush is outside the bowl, water sprays all over your bathroom. With the bristles spinning above but still inside the bowl, any flung water lands in the bowl rather than on the mirror, counter, or your clothing. Spin for 10 to 15 seconds. Most brushes will come out nearly dry at this point — slightly damp on the very inner bristles, but no longer visibly wet.
Lay flat to finish drying
Remove the brush from the collar and lay it flat on a clean towel with the bristles hanging slightly over the edge, or angled gently downward. Never stand wet brushes upright in a cup or holder — this lets residual moisture run down into the ferrule and handle, which weakens the adhesive over time and leads to shedding. Most brushes cleaned with a spinner machine are ready to use again within 30 to 60 minutes, compared to the 6 to 12 hours required after hand-washing.
How to Use a Bowl-Type / Spinning Pad Machine
Bowl-type machines work differently from the spinner design above. Instead of attaching to a motorised handle, you place the brush bristle-down onto a spinning pad inside a cleaning bowl. Here's how to use them:
- Fill the bowl to the indicated fill line with lukewarm water and a small amount of cleaning solution.
- Place brushes bristles-down onto the spinning pad. Align them gently so the bristles contact the pad surface evenly.
- Run the machine for the cycle time specified in your model's instructions — typically 30 seconds to a few minutes depending on the machine and how soiled the brushes are.
- Lift and rinse. Remove brushes, empty and refill the bowl with clean water, and run a short rinse cycle with brushes placed back on the pad.
- Dry carefully. These machines often don't have a drying cycle, so lay brushes flat on a clean towel to air-dry after the wash. The machine's spinning pad reduces the amount of water retained in the bristles, so drying time is shorter than full hand-washing.
Bowl-type machines are particularly good for powder brushes and blush brushes, which are wide and flat and don't always fit well into the standard collar system of spinner-type machines.
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Best Cleaning Solutions to Use (and Ones to Avoid)
The cleaning solution you choose makes a real difference — both in how well the brush gets cleaned and in how long the bristles last. Here's an honest look at the options:
Baby Shampoo
Baby shampoo is the single most recommended solution by makeup artists and dermatologists for routine brush cleaning. It's gentle enough for both natural and synthetic bristles, rinses out completely without leaving residue, is affordable, and widely available. A small drop per brush is all you need — its low-suds formula means it won't foam up excessively in the spinning bowl.
Dedicated Brush Cleaning Shampoo
Products formulated specifically for makeup brushes — such as brush shampoos and brush soaps — are designed to break down makeup pigments and oils while conditioning bristles at the same time. They tend to rinse out faster than regular shampoos and leave bristles soft and reshaped after drying. If you clean brushes frequently, a dedicated formula is a worthwhile investment for bristle longevity.
Gentle Liquid Soap / Castile Soap
A drop of gentle dish soap or pure castile soap works well for brushes with heavy product buildup — particularly foundation and concealer brushes loaded with liquid or cream formulas. These soaps are more effective at cutting through oil than baby shampoo. The trade-off is that they can be slightly drying on natural bristles if used as the only cleanser over a long period, so pairing them with a conditioning brush soap for alternating cleans is a smart approach.
Rubbing Alcohol (for sanitising)
Isopropyl alcohol is excellent for sanitising brushes — it kills bacteria on contact. However, it should be used as a supplementary sanitising step rather than a primary cleanser. On its own, it doesn't remove product buildup effectively, and frequent alcohol-only cleaning dries out and damages bristles over time, particularly natural ones. If sanitising is a priority — for sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, or when sharing brushes is unavoidable — a quick spray of diluted alcohol on the bristles after machine cleaning is a safe addition to your routine.
What to Avoid
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| What to Avoid | Why | Better Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Hot water | Softens ferrule glue, causing shedding | Lukewarm water only |
| Harsh shampoos / sulphate shampoos | Strip natural bristles, cause fraying | Baby shampoo or brush shampoo |
| Dish soap alone (long-term) | Dries out natural-hair bristles over time | Alternate with conditioning brush soap |
| Olive oil or coconut oil | Leaves residue, can affect colour application | Purpose-made brush cleanser |
| Undiluted rubbing alcohol | Damages bristles, dries glue over time | Diluted spray as an occasional sanitiser |
| Boiling water or steam | Melts adhesive, warps handles | Lukewarm water always |
How to Adjust Your Technique for Different Brush Types
Not every brush needs identical treatment. Here's how to adapt the process based on what you're cleaning:
Foundation and Concealer Brushes
These are the most heavily loaded brushes in any kit. Liquid and cream formulas penetrate deep into the base of the bristles and can dry hard if left too long. For these brushes, use the full 20-second spin in the cleaning cycle and don't skip the second rinse. A drop of castile soap or dedicated brush shampoo works better than baby shampoo alone for breaking down thick liquid product. If a foundation brush hasn't been cleaned in a while, repeat the cleaning cycle with a fresh bowl of solution before rinsing — one pass may not be enough.
Eye Shadow and Detail Brushes
Small, tapered, and often packed with pigment, these brushes need a lighter touch. Choose the smallest collar that fits the handle without forcing it, and use the gentle setting if your machine has multiple speed modes. A 10-second spin is usually sufficient — these brushes hold less product than face brushes and clean faster. If your machine's spinner feels too powerful for delicate eye brushes, consider hand-cleaning them with baby shampoo and using the machine only for your larger brushes.
Powder and Blush Brushes
Large, full powder brushes accumulate a lot of dry product that releases quickly in the spinning bowl — you'll see the water cloud with colour almost immediately. These brushes are typically thicker and require a slightly larger collar. The bristles are also denser, which means they hold more water even after the spin-dry cycle. Give these brushes an extra 15 seconds of drying spin, and expect them to need slightly more towel drying time than slimmer brushes.
Contour and Highlight Brushes
Angled contour brushes have an asymmetric shape that can make the spin cycle uneven. Hold the spinner level and make sure the bristles are fully in contact with the cleaning solution before starting the motor. If the brush spins lopsided, adjust the collar grip. Natural-bristle highlight brushes are delicate — use baby shampoo exclusively and skip any soap with sulphates or alcohol.
Natural Bristle Brushes
Brushes made with natural hair — squirrel, sable, goat — require more care than synthetic alternatives. Use only gentle, conditioning cleaning solutions. Avoid hot water. Keep spin times shorter (8 to 10 seconds rather than 15 to 20). After drying, reshape the bristles gently with your fingers before laying them flat. Natural bristles absorb water more readily, so the post-spin drying period on a towel will be slightly longer than with synthetic brushes.
Common Mistakes That Damage Brushes (And How to Avoid Them)
Most brush damage from machine cleaning isn't caused by the machine — it's caused by a handful of very specific habits that are easy to break once you know what they are.
Dipping the metal ring and handle into water — even briefly — lets moisture seep under the ferrule, loosening the adhesive that holds bristles in place. Always keep only the bristle head in the cleaning solution.
Spinning the brush while it's raised above and outside the bowl sends water flying everywhere. Keep the spinning brush inside the bowl during the dry cycle, just raised above the water level.
Too small and the collar cracks the handle. Too large and the brush wobbles, cleaning unevenly and risking the brush detaching mid-spin. Test the fit before pressing the button.
Standing wet brushes in a holder or cup lets water run down into the ferrule and handle. Always lay brushes flat or angled downward to dry — bristles over the edge of a surface is ideal.
Hot water softens the glue bonding bristles to the ferrule and can loosen the lacquer on wooden handles. Lukewarm water cleans just as effectively without the damage risk.
Leftover soap residue in the bristles causes irritation on the skin and alters how makeup applies. Always run at least one clean-water rinse cycle before drying.
How Often Should You Clean Your Makeup Brushes?
This is one of the most common questions around brush care, and the honest answer is: more often than most people are currently doing it. Here's a practical framework based on brush type and how your skin responds:
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| Brush Type | Recommended Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation / Concealer | After every use (or daily) | Liquid formulas harbour bacteria quickly; oxidised product changes application quality overnight |
| Contour / Blush | Every 2–3 uses | Cream or powder contour builds up and affects colour accuracy |
| Eye shadow brushes | Weekly, or when switching between very different shades | Pigment contamination between colours affects shadow blending |
| Eyeliner brushes | After every use | Fine tip picks up bacteria from the lash line; eye area is sensitive to infection |
| Powder / Setting brushes | Weekly | Dry product doesn't breed bacteria as quickly; weekly is sufficient for most people |
| All brushes (acne-prone skin) | After every use if possible | Bacteria transfer is a direct trigger for breakouts; frequency matters more here |
The reason most people don't clean brushes as often as they should is simple: hand-washing is time-consuming and inconvenient. A foundation brush takes 5 to 8 minutes to wash properly by hand and then 6 to 10 hours to dry. With an electric machine, the same brush takes under a minute to clean and 30 to 60 minutes to be fully dry. The barrier disappears, and frequency follows naturally.
If you want to understand more about whether the investment in an electric machine makes sense for your specific routine and skin type, our article on whether automatic makeup brush cleaner machines are worth it walks through the full comparison honestly.
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Keeping Your Machine Clean and Working Properly
Your brush cleaner machine is a tool that works with water, soap, and pigment — so it accumulates residue over time just like any cleaning device. A small amount of regular maintenance keeps it working effectively and prevents the build-up that can reduce motor performance.
After Every Use
Empty and rinse the cleaning bowl immediately after you're done. Letting soapy, pigmented water sit in the bowl allows residue to build up on the plastic surface and eventually causes staining that's harder to remove. A quick rinse under the tap takes 10 seconds and keeps the bowl clean long-term.
Weekly (or Every Few Uses)
Wipe the silicone collars clean with a damp cloth. Makeup residue can accumulate in the collar's inner surface, particularly if brushes pick up a lot of cream formula product. Rinse the spinner head itself under running water — don't submerge the motor housing, but the part that contacts the brush handle can be rinsed safely.
Monthly
Give the machine a full wipe-down. The exterior housing can accumulate soap splatter and water marks over a month of use. A soft cloth dampened with a gentle all-purpose cleaner removes this easily. Check the collar set for any cracking or deformation — silicone collars last a long time, but if they've become loose or misshapen, replacing them ensures the brush fit remains secure during spinning.
Storage
Store the machine dry. After rinsing, allow all components to air out before closing any storage case or drawer. Storing wet components together creates the conditions for mildew growth — not ideal for a tool you use on your face. If the machine came with a carrying case, leave the case open for an hour after cleaning to let everything dry fully before storing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but with more care than you'd use for synthetic bristles. Use only gentle, conditioning cleaning solutions like baby shampoo — avoid anything with sulphates or alcohol. Keep spin times short (8 to 10 seconds) and use cooler lukewarm water. Natural bristles absorb more water and benefit from extra time flat-drying on a towel after the spin cycle. Handle them gently when reshaping the bristle head after cleaning.
Most machines come with 8 collar sizes covering handles from approximately 3mm to 30mm in diameter. Hold the collar against your brush handle before inserting it — it should slide on snugly with light pressure. You shouldn't need to force it. If you're between sizes, choose the slightly larger option. A secure but not overly tight fit is what you're aiming for, so the brush spins steadily without wobbling.
Yes, particularly for denser brushes. The spin cycle removes most of the water but rarely gets bristles 100% dry, especially in the inner core of a thick brush. Lay the brush flat on a clean towel after the spin-dry cycle. Most brushes will be fully dry within 30 to 60 minutes. Larger kabuki or powder brushes may take slightly longer — up to 90 minutes for the very densest bristle packs.
It depends on how dirty they are and what products they've been used with. For lightly used brushes cleaned regularly, working through several in the same bowl is fine. Once the water looks very dark or cloudy, replace it — cleaning a brush in already-dirty water defeats the purpose. For foundation and concealer brushes with heavy buildup, fresh water per brush gives the best result. Always use fresh clean water for the rinse cycle.
Most electric brush cleaners aren't designed for very small tools like spoolies or fine eyeliner brushes. The smallest collar may not grip a spooly handle securely, and the spinning motion can distort fine bristle tools. For these brushes, a quick hand-wash with baby shampoo and lukewarm water is safer and takes only seconds given how small they are. Save the machine for your larger tools.
For deep cleaning and drying speed, a machine wins clearly — it removes product from deeper in the bristles than most manual washing achieves, and it dries brushes in minutes rather than hours. Hand-washing is perfectly effective when done carefully and consistently, but that consistency is where most people struggle. The convenience of a machine that handles a foundation brush in 45 seconds makes daily or after-each-use cleaning genuinely practical rather than aspirational. For a detailed breakdown, our article on manual vs automatic brush cleaning covers the comparison in full.
For daily use, a spinner-type electric machine paired with baby shampoo or a dedicated brush shampoo is the most practical combination. The machine handles the mechanical cleaning in under a minute, and the gentle cleanser keeps bristles in good condition over time. For quick between-uses touch-ups — say, switching shades during a makeup session — a spray brush cleanser applied to a tissue and swirled against the bristles works well as a fast option that doesn't require water at all.
No — electric brush cleaners are designed specifically for brushes with a handle that slots into a collar. Makeup sponges like beauty blenders don't have handles and can't be secured to the spinner mechanism. Cleaning sponges by hand with a gentle soap and warm water, or using a silicone cleaning mat, is the correct approach for those tools.
