14 Reasons You Should Be Terrified Of Dirty Makeup Brushes

Most of us are busy little bees. We've barely got time to read all of our emails, never mind taking 10 minutes to give our makeup brushes a once-over. It turns out that cleaning the things that touch your face is actually super important to your overall health. Cleaning your makeup brushes on the regular can not only lead to a better makeup application, but can actually improve your complexion. Those are the good things-as for the bad, consider breakouts and pinkeye among some of the fun things you can expect to contract if you're a) lazy about scrubbing those brushes that you paid a fortune for or b) sharing your makeup brushes with others, besties or not. These rules extend to your makeup bag too. Take a minute and give it a solid wipe-down, or if you can, toss it in the wash. For those of you that are very delicate with your pricey brushes, there are many products out there to help you properly clean your products (check out Sephora), some do not even require water. Make sure to wash then because otherwise bacteria can gather-which can then be spread to your face. Not a fun at all.

If you're still not convinced, take a look at some of the best reasons we've found to keep those brushes crystal clean. From insect nests to staph infections, it's not pretty.

14 Bugs

This is the MOST TERRIFYING THING EVER. Apparently, not washing your makeup brushes on the regular can attract bugs. Cosmopolitan posted a video in September of 2015 of a young Stevie Miller discovering a black spot in her Beauty Blender. What she thought was a speck of dirt ended up being not one wee bug, but quite a few living inside of the makeup sponge. So if that doesn't motivate you to bust out the soap, we don't know what will.

13 Wrinkles

Putting makeup on is all about looking your best, right? So get this-cosmetic brushes sort of exfoliate your face. Not washing your brushes means that dead skin cells gather on your brush over time, making them rougher and more abrasive than they should be, which wears on your skin after awhile. Leading to-you guessed it-some premature (and unfortunately, fairly permanent) wrinkles.

12 Clogged pores

Most of us believe that if we steer clear of touching our faces, we'll keep our pores clear. Not so. Using dirty brushes is pretty much the equivalent of wiping a kitchen sponge across your face. Which sounds super lovely, right? If you've noticed that your face is having a hard time (and you've ruled any other obvious variables), consider giving your makeup brushes a solid once-over.

11 To avoid staph infections

Ok, so this is probably one in a million (those are actually the odds), but you can actually contract things like staph infections from using a community makeup brush. Apparently, an Australian resident contracted a staph infection from a friend via a pimple after using her makeup brush. Her immune system couldn't fight off the infection, which has led to a state of near-paralysis for the young woman, according to Women's Health Magazine. So as much as you love your friends, you probably love living a carefree life more, so protect those brushes like you would your own toothbrush (and we hope that you aren't sharing that hygienic tool either, no matter how much you love your bestie or lover).

10 Expiry dates

Different products have separate best-before dates. Like the food you eat, makeup can go bad, especially if you're an occasional user. While many people keep separate brushes for different cosmetic products, some don't, which can lead to cross-contamination. Spreading the residue of these products across your face makes for a shoddy makeup job and can lead to breakouts galore.

9 Because you're fond of your eyelashes and want to keep them

Your eyelashes are a pretty prominent feature on your face. While your eyelash curler is not technically a brush, it is definitely a tool that you use on your face. Which means that you should consider giving it a good scrub once in a while, unless you want to look like someone threw a transistor radio in your bathtub. The truth is, gunk builds up on those things, which means an influx of bacteria coming fairly close to your eyeballs. So either replace the pads (yes, you can do that) or give them a cleaning.

8 Bacteria

This is sort of why dirty brushes can lead to a lovely acne outbreak. Like most things that you don't wash over time, brushes accumulate all sorts of things. From dust to dirt to sebum, brushes are a magnet for bacteria. Not cleaning your brushes means that you're basically taking that foundation you just spent a fortune on and mixing it in a pee-filled sandbox, and then spreading it all over your face. Ew.

7 Swelling and puff face

We can't say it enough. Not washing those brushes is bad news. If you're constantly suffering from a puffy face, consider giving your makeup tools a scrub. Something could be irritating your skin, which is making for your imperfect complexion. So before you start dropping the dollars on new products, make sure that your brushes are on the up and up.

6 Poor results

If you're a stickler about getting that look just right, you probably already know that the state of your makeup brushes is super important. If you're having trouble blending shadows, or your face isn't turning out the way that you would expect following a makeup application, give your brushes a wash-chances are that has something to do with it. The more you scrub your brushes, the better they get-so don't be shy.

5 Acne

That's right. Every time your makeup brush touches your face, it's also touching whatever germs are hanging out there. Over time, it can make for a very dirty brush. Often, people use a product and notice a breakout shortly after-well, news flash. Sometimes it isn't so much the product as the germies on your brushes. So if you're not washing those brushes, you're basically just smudging dirt across your face.

4 To avoid getting feces on your face

Most of you probably keep your makeup brushes in the bathroom. Guess what? Every time you flush, a haze of toilet water floats up from your toilet-which is why the majority of people clean their washrooms on a regular basis. That being said, if you have a tiny bathroom, you'd better make sure that you're cleaning those babies on the regular. If you have the luxury of a larger space, great. But still wash them once in awhile-and try to keep the toilet seat down.

3 Disease

Turns out being a prude in the bedroom isn't enough. If you want to avoid contracting things like pinkeye, and potentially, herpes, make sure you dip those brushes in hydrogen peroxide every once in a while. (Especially those poor dears that live with roommates.) The rule to avoid contracting any weirdo diseases? Like your lipstick, you shouldn't pass those makeup brushes around.

2 Because you want to take care of your nice things

Makeup brushes aren't cheap. They're actually a pretty pricey object, which is only another reason why you should take good care of them. For instance, if someone sprayed a bit of piddle on your favourite handbag, you'd probably be pretty peeved, right? That's why you should invest in a decent brush cleaner, or at the very least, some baby shampoo and give your brushes a wash. This will extend their lifetime by years. It'll probably extend the lifetime of your face too, if we're being honest.

1 Because you should just keep your stuff clean, period

Take a minute and access the importance you lend to maintaining your personal hygiene. You wear deodorant, take regular showers, ensure that your hands and feet don't look like you've been washing dishes for the last six months straight. The same goes for your makeup kit. That stuff goes on your face. Think about that for a minute, and then think about all the things you wouldn't want to touch your face. And then decide on a cleaning schedule for your makeup brushes and move on with your life.