Make-up brushes are constantly being used on the face, so it's crucial they are kept clean if you want to avoid unnecessary breakouts and keep your skin looking its best.
But it seems many people might be making a big mistake when cleaning their brushes that could be putting them at risk of more serious issues such as fungal infections.
This is due to the amount of bacteria that can build up on brushes and make-up sponges between washes.
So how can you avoid this error and make sure your brushes are at their best? According to Hannah Pycroft, the co-founder of Spectrum Collections, it's important to ensure you're washing your brushes at least once a week and that you're doing it properly.
Speaking to The Mirror, she said: "It can be incredibly difficult to keep on top of cleaning when you're busy, especially your make-up brushes.
"The brushes you use on a regular basis should be cleaned at least once a week to help prevent product build up and any bacteria growing. When you don’t clean your brushes it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and E.Coli.
"When you leave your brushes uncleaned, they eventually begin to grow bacteria from product-build up, even unused brushes can also collect dust and dead skin.
"On top of this, if brushes are used on an active breakout, this can also contaminate your make-up products if the brush is uncleaned.
"It then becomes a cycle of using an unclean makeup brush, a contaminated make-up product which then is used on your skin - this can cause potential breakouts and even more seriously, fungal infections."
Hannah continued to explain that as well as potentially causing grim reactions, dirty brushes can also change the way you apply your make-up and the look you were attempting to achieve.
"Dirty brushes can even affect makeup application, old liquid foundation over time will congeal and cause the bristles to stick together," the expert warned.
"While the build-up of eyeshadow can cause your eyeshadow to look muddy and can also alter the colour and texture of your eye makeup."
Hannah's top tip is to use clean water and brush soap to wash your brushes - and definitely don't do anything drastic like attempting to put them in the washing machine or dishwasher.
"This can be incredibly harmful to the bristles of the makeup brush and you can end up damaging them. We would always advise people not to put them in the dishwasher or washing machine and instead use clean water to keep their makeup tools fresh."
Guide to correctly cleaning your brushes
"It's the task that we all hate to do but it's so important for your brush health and skin health," says Hannah.
"We have three solid brush soaps at Spectrum for you to choose from and they have a handy silicone mat in the lid.
"First wet the soap and the brush bristles and work the bristles into the soap to really build up a lather.
"Next use the silicone lid to really break down any stubborn product build-up and get the brush clean.
"Rinse the bristles and give them a light squeeze to get rid of any soap product.
"For foundation and concealer brushes you may want to give them a double cleanse just to make sure you've really gotten rid of any product that's living in those bristles.
"If doing this, rinse and squeeze the brush again to remove all soap product."
Finally, the experts advise you to hang the brushes upside down if you can to dry, to ensure any water left in the bristles drops off.
And they recommend washing two or three smaller brushes, like eye make-up brushes at the same time to make life easier for yourself.
Do you have a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
