Having clean beauty tools sponges is an absolute must for me. Not only do clean sponges help with better makeup application, but sponges are bacteria, collectors. Whether you’re using a regular sponge to wash dishes, or are using a beauty blender sponge for your makeup, they collect dirt and bacteria. And did you know that the bacteria in your beauty sponge can cause breakouts, and damage your skin? Keeping your beauty tools clean not only protects your skin, but it can also extend the life of your products. In return reduces the cost for you, since you don’t have to purchase tools as often – win, win! In the post below, we’ll walk through how to clean and disinfect your beauty sponges!

What You Need to Disinfect and Clean Beauty Blenders at Home

• Beauty Blender Soap or Dial soap

How Do You Disinfect Your Beauty Blender / Makeup Sponge?

Hint: the same way you disinfect your kitchen sponge – your microwave!

Quickly heating your damp sponge in the microwave kills bacteria that live on your makeup sponge. How does this work? The microwave heats up the bacteria and kills a lot of harmful germs.

Steps for Cleaning Your Beauty Blender in the Microwave

• Wet your beauty blender.
  • Important: Don’t place a dry beauty blender in the microwave because it may melt your beauty sponge.
• Fill a microwave-safe bowl with water and dish soap.
• Place the beauty blender in the bowl
• Microwave it for 30 seconds – 1 minute (Watch your sponge carefully. The time will vary depending on your microwave).
• Once it’s done, take out the bowl and allow for the water and sponge to cool (you don’t want to burn yourself!)
• Once your sponge has cooled, squeeze out the excess water and follow the steps below.

How to Clean Your Beauty Blenders and Makeup Sponges

*Note: I didn’t disinfect my beauty blenders for the photos below. I wanted to show you the difference in cleaning your sponges without disinfecting with a microwave.

Below is a step by step tutorial on how to clean makeup sponges.

• Run your sponge under the running water

• Next, rub your sponge up against the dial soap (I used a sample from Beauty Blender in the photos below)

• Lather the sponge in your hand and rinse the sponge under the water. Repeat the steps above until the sponge is clean, and no more product is coming out.

• Squeeze your sponge to remove any excess water. Next, press the sponge into a clean towel to remove the remaining water.

• Lay the sponge on a clean towel to dry.

After I realized that there weren’t too many steps to help keep my beauty sponges clean, I added this to my Saturday/Sunday night routine. Although I try to clean them every week, I have been guilty of going a few weeks in between washes. (That’s why I have more than one sponge 🙂 ) Want to learn more about how often you should be cleaning your sponges and makeup brushes? Read my post here.

Also, if you’re interested in learning how I clean my makeup brushes, read my post here.