Anybody make their own brush cleaner?

glamqueen1

Well-known member
I wouldn't use alcohol on brushes, it dries out the hairs. Someone once wrote you should wash brushes as you wash hair- with schampoo and conditioner. I use a good, natural olive-soap for my brushes.
 

talste

Well-known member
I've heard the same info as glamqueen1, So I just use a body shop tea tree facial cleaner (tea tree for the anti bac properties) and then a conditioner also.
 

user79

Well-known member
Actually, brush cleanser should have alcohol in it to disinfect. Washing the brushes with shampoo is fine, but it won't disinfect them completely. I tried a variation of Enkore's recipe but I honestly didn't like it. The pharmacist told me that for alcohol to be at all effective in killing germs, it needs to be at a ratio of at least 70%. So if you mix less than that with water it won't really do anything. I still haven't found a good home recipe, I prefer to wash my brushes even thought it's more time consuming, brush cleanser leaves a weird finish on them.
 

glam8babe

Well-known member
i used to use nothing but MAC brush cleanser until i started using water and dove soap
what i do is:
- use mac brush cleanser to get off most of the dirt (it doesnt seem to get everything off!) i do this by using kitchen towels and pouring the cleanser on then rubbing the brushes in it until theres nothing else coming off.
- then i take all my brushes to the bathroom sink, fill the sink up with warm water and put dove soap in it so its soapy
- then dip my brushes in and keep squeezing the hairs so theres nothing left
- then leave them on the kitchen window sill with the window open to dry off

it works a treat!
greengrin.gif
and my brushes have never been so clean!
 

talste

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissChievous
Actually, brush cleanser should have alcohol in it to disinfect. Washing the brushes with shampoo is fine, but it won't disinfect them completely.

I agree brush cleaners needs to include a [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]disinfectant [/FONT]however I still believe the denatured alcohol (surgical spirit, isopropyl alcohol, methylated spirit) dries out the hair (hence my use of tea tree products.)

I just stumbled upon this info that relates to my concerns with using denatured alcohol on natural hair bristles.

It's actually from another post taken from the Beauty of Color sub forum

Article

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]1. ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL:[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular] This is a solvent and denaturant (poisonous substance that changes another substances natural qualities). Isopropyl alcohol is found in hair color rinses, body rubs, hand lotions, after-shave lotions, fragrances and many other cosmetics. This petroleum-derived substance is also used in antifreeze and as a solvent in shellac. Natural hair reacts very badly to isoalcohol and this ingredient should be avoided at ALL costs. It will dry your hair out and break it off. According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, inhalation or ingestion of the vapor may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis and even coma.

END

So while rubbing alcohol is not necessarily a "must have" ingredient in your brush cleaner the use of an antimicrobial agent certainly is. [/FONT]
 

Kuuipo

Well-known member
My brushes are real hair, so I wash them like I wash my own hair (not in alkaline baby shampoo, very drying and strips colour) . I use 8 parts John Freida Brunette shampoo and 2 parts vodka. (Vodka cleans residue, makes hair shiny and fresh without drying it out)
 

k.a.t

Well-known member
Hmm, but if you add a conditioning agent to your brush cleanser won't that prevent the alcohol from drying out your brushes? I'm so confused...
 

talste

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by k.a.t
Hmm, but if you add a conditioning agent to your brush cleanser won't that prevent the alcohol from drying out your brushes? I'm so confused...

No, I don't add a conditioning agent to my brush cleaner, the way I clean is generally a 2 part method.

Clean then Condition

I don't religiously condition my brushes that's the reason I don't like the idea of using denatured alcohol.

It's only my method, not the holy grail of brush cleaning. I'm sure thousands of girls here use the denatured alcohol but I opt not to.
 

user79

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by talste
I agree brush cleaners needs to include a [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]disinfectant [/FONT]however I still believe the denatured alcohol (surgical spirit, isopropyl alcohol, methylated spirit) dries out the hair (hence my use of tea tree products.)

I just stumbled upon this info that relates to my concerns with using denatured alcohol on natural hair bristles.

It's actually from another post taken from the Beauty of Color sub forum

Article

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]1. ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL:[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular] This is a solvent and denaturant (poisonous substance that changes another substances natural qualities). Isopropyl alcohol is found in hair color rinses, body rubs, hand lotions, after-shave lotions, fragrances and many other cosmetics. This petroleum-derived substance is also used in antifreeze and as a solvent in shellac. Natural hair reacts very badly to isoalcohol and this ingredient should be avoided at ALL costs. It will dry your hair out and break it off. According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, inhalation or ingestion of the vapor may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis and even coma.

END

So while rubbing alcohol is not necessarily a "must have" ingredient in your brush cleaner the use of an antimicrobial agent certainly is. [/FONT]


Where was that taken from, from what article? I think that's a pretty bold statement to make, that alcohol will definitely cause your hair to break off. I can def believe that it can dry it out, but there are conditioning agents in brush cleanser as well. Also, even if you do use a brush cleanser, you really should be washing your brushes with water and some kind of soap once a week anyway. Brush cleanser is best used for in between, not to entirely rule out manual washing.
 

talste

Well-known member
Goodness, I never knew my brush cleaning methods & reason for them would create such controversy here,
winks.gif


As mentioned previously the article I copy/pasted was actually found on the beauty of color board, I came across it during an unrelated search and just used that one as it summed up pretty much what I had previously heard. I'm sure if you search "isopropyl alcohol" you should be able to find it to.

Here is more in depth info on why I choose NOT to use rubbing alcohol on my brushes.

Some facts about alcohol
By Tonya McKay (NaturallyCurly.com)

We have all heard the advice that it is best to avoid the use of products that contain alcohol, as it can be drying to the hair. This is especially true for those of us with curly hair, which has the tendency to need all the moisture it can get. However, we often get a little baffled; because we see ingredients including the word ‘alcohol’ in many of the products we buy, including those that are labeled as conditioning products. The explanation is a fairly simple one: some alcohols can cause dry, frizzy hair while others can act to condition your hair!

This apparent contradiction in performance is due to the structure of the alcohol. Alcohols are a class of materials defined by certain characteristics. They have a nonpolar carbon chain and a polar hydroxyl group (an oxygen atom bonded to a hydrogen atom) bonded to one of the carbons in the chain (most often at the end of the chain). We'll look at the various types of alchohols.

Short-chain alcohols
This group includes ethanol, SD alcohol, SD alcohol 40, Alcohol denat, Propanol, Propyl alcohol and Isopropyl alcohol.

Due to similarities with water molecules, the very small alcohols (ones with fewer than 3 carbons in the tail) are slightly miscible (capable of mixing) in water, while they can also dissolve oil and other ingredients that are not miscible with water. Thus, one function they can serve is to dissolve polymers or other additives prior to their addition to the aqueous portion of the formula.

These types of alcohols evaporate quickly due to their low molecular weight, and for this reason are often used as an additive to help decrease the time it takes for hair to dry. However, this can create dry, frizzy hair as it may cause the cuticle to be roughened and/or oil and water to be removed from the hair along with the alcohol (remember, these are often use as astringents for our skin for just this reason). Another function of these lower molecular-weight alcohols, particularly ethanol (SD alcohol, SD alcohol 40, Alcohol Denat) is to ensure the proper, even spreading of styling products onto the hair.

Fatty alcohols
This group includes Lauryl alcohol, Cetyl alcohol, Myristyl alcohol, Stearyl alcohol, Cetearyl alcohol and Behenyl alcohol.

These larger alcohols are typically derived from natural sources, and have 12 or more carbons per molecule (typically 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20). This higher amount of carbon content makes these molecules oilier (also referred to as ‘fatty’). For this reason, they are often used as an emollient in skin and haircare products. They give a smooth, soft feeling to the hair shaft by helping the cuticle to lie flat on the surface of the hair. However, if used in excess, fatty alcohols can combine with the natural sebum found on the scalp and form a sticky substance that makes the hair look greasy.

Another function these fatty alcohols typically perform in shampoos and conditioners is as thickeners and as nonionic surfactants and emulsion stabilizers. In fact, a fatty alcohol content of 4-5% is very common for this purpose; especially in products where there is a need to keep the price lower than that of a formula containing an expensive polymer that could achieve similar results.

Miscellaneous alcohols
Benzyl alcohol is a non-volatile alcohol used as a preservative in products. It should not impact the texture or feel of your hair. Propylene glycol is most often used as a humectant, because it has a hydroxyl group at each end of the molecule. This makes it much more hydrophilic (water-loving), so that it can attract and hold water to the hair.

Conclusion
Some alcohols may cause our delicate curly hair to be dried and frizzy, and we do well to avoid those in most cases. However, other alcohols such as cetyl alcohol can help to condition our hair and make it soft and manageable. In general, curlies might want to be cautious of short-chain alcohols, and not so worried about fatty alcohols, benzyl alcohol or proplyene glycol. As with all ingredients, it is always best to use trial and error as a method for determining what gives you the best results.


Now, Please just accept I clean my brushes my way, you clean your brushes your way, no one is 100% right or wrong here, more important things to worry about in life than trivial issues like cleaning brushes, ay.
 

IDontKnowMomo

Well-known member
Thanks for all of this info, guys!
I already wash my brushes weekly but I was wanting a way to make something like macs brush cleanser to use in between full washes.

I recently found brush cleaner wipes at Sallys, and they have been working just fine until I decide to mess around with making my own brush cleaner.
 

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