Spring-Cleaning Beauty Edition: How to Maintain Your Brushes, Styling Tools, Tweezers, and More

POPSUGAR Photography | Diggy Lloyd
POPSUGAR Photography | Diggy Lloyd

While you're going through old clothes and tidying up for Spring cleaning, your makeup and skincare essentials deserve some much-needed maintenance, too. Washing your makeup brushes every few weeks is a start, but there's more to it than that. Spring cleaning your beauty products involves everything from removing stray hairs from brushes to wiping down razors and tweezers and cleaning off product buildup to keep items bacteria-free. Completing these tasks not only helps keep your skin germ-free but also lengthens the life of your tools.

Ahead, find out how to Spring clean everything from your eyelash curler to your tweezers and even your blow-dryer filter to start off the new season on the right foot.

How to Clean Your Eyelash Curler
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

How to Clean Your Eyelash Curler

Keep germs at bay and your eyelash curler in tip-top shape by using nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol and a cotton pad to clean off any mascara buildup. It may also be time to replace the rubber pad in your curler to ensure it still curls to the best of its abilities.

How to Clean Your Brush
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

How to Clean Your Brush

Use the straight end of a rattail comb or a pen to loosen and lift hair and debris stuck in between the brush bristles. Then, wash the brush with shampoo and water, and allow it to dry upside down on a towel before using it again.

How to Clean Your Tweezers
POPSUGAR Photography | Sheila Gim

How to Clean Your Tweezers

Overtime tweezers can become dull from use. When that happens, use a fingernail file or sandpaper to help fine-tune the edges. Then, wipe down your tweezers with a cleaning solution to get rid of bacteria.

How to Clean Your Flat Iron and Curling Iron
POPSUGAR Photography | Sheila Gim

How to Clean Your Flat Iron and Curling Iron

The black gunk that builds up on heat styling tools, like your curling iron or flat iron, is the result of scorched hair product. Eliminate the grime by wiping the plates with alcohol, baking soda, or acetone — while the tools are safely off and unplugged. Avoid harsh scrubbing, though, which may scratch the finish on your iron.

How to Clean Your Blow Dryer
POPSUGAR Photography | Maria del Rio

How to Clean Your Blow Dryer

When your hair dryer starts cutting off on you, you know it's time for a thorough cleansing. After unplugging it, take a toothbrush and run it over the vent at the back of the tool. Depending on your dryer's make, you can twist off the vent(s) or open up the unit to loosen the lint inside. Once you reassemble, your hair dryer should run like new.

How to Clean Your Pencil Sharpener
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

How to Clean Your Pencil Sharpener

A pencil sharpener is a must-have for any makeup kit. In order to sharpen a dull blade, unscrew the body to access the razor inside. Then, swipe it against a whetstone (or any knife sharpener).

How to Clean Your Mascara Wand
POPSUGAR Photography | Mark Popovich

How to Clean Your Mascara Wand

If your mascara wand is full of gunk, spritz the brush with alcohol and wipe it with a paper towel. Then, let the brush dry completely before dunking it back in the tube.

How to Clean Your Comb
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

How to Clean Your Comb

You may not have Barbicide (the blue disinfectant liquid used at salons) at home to clean your hair tools, but here's a quick way to get your combs in tip-top shape. After all the hair is removed, use an old toothbrush dipped in shampoo to scrub the base of the tines where lint collects.

How to Clean Your Pumice Stone
Getty | George Doyle

How to Clean Your Pumice Stone

Pumice stones are often forgotten but need to be cleaned just like your other beauty tools. Clear a pumice stone of dead skin after a manicure-pedicure by scrubbing it with a dry brush and hot water.

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes
Getty

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Be sure your makeup brushes aren't the cause of your acne and extend their life by deep cleansing them once a month. Your complexion (and wallet) will thank you.