The 14 Best Makeup Brush Cleansers to Freshen Up Your Go-To Tools

Best Overall

MAC Cosmetics Brush Cleanser

$33 $25 at Amazon $20 at Nordstrom View on Maccosmetics.com

Key Ingredients: Sodium trideceth sulfate, hydrolyzed wheat protein | Size: 7.9 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

There’s a good reason why the MAC Cosmetics Brush Cleanser is a longtime best-seller. It’s super easy to use—you can apply it directly to the brush or onto a towel and rub the brush against the towel—and it helps condition bristles while cleaning them. It’s a top pick for Kaicker, who says that it’s extremely effective at removing debris from brushes.

Best Budget

e.l.f. Cosmetics Daily Brush Cleaner

$6 $5 at Amazon $6 at Target $5 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Alcohol denat | Size: 2 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Not only is this a super affordable pick, but it’s also very portable, making it the ideal addition to any makeup bag. Mist the quick-drying spray onto your brushes after each use to ensure they’re fresh and ready to go for the next day.

Best Drugstore

Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Gel

$7 $5 at Amazon $5 at Ulta $7 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, glycerin | Size: 4 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

This wallet-friendly pick has a gel-like consistency, lathers nicely, and rinses and removes residue easily. It also pairs beautifully with a brush-cleaning mat (keep reading for our favorite one of those). And since it’s alcohol-free, you don’t have to worry about it drying out your natural bristle brushes.

Best Antimicrobial

Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner

$18 at Amazon $24 at Sephora $32 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Isoparaffin hydrocarbon, hydrotreated heavy naptha | Size: 8 oz, 32 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

This is a staple for many pro makeup artists, largely because it’s not just a cleanser. It’s a 99.99% antimicrobial disinfectant, making it the choice for anyone who wants to ensure their brushes are completely bacteria-free. The pro-grade formula works equally well on synthetic and natural bristles alike, and it comes in three sizes.

Best for Sensitive Skin

EcoTools Makeup Brush Cleansing Shampoo

$7 at Amazon $7 at Ulta $7 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Decyl glucoside, sodium lauryl sulfoacetate | Size: 6 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Cleaning your brushes regularly is even more imperative if you have sensitive skin, but making sure you do so with a gentle cleanser is also paramount. The last thing you want is a formula that’s potentially going to elicit more irritation, which is why this pick is ideal. It’s gentle, plant-based, free of potentially irritating fragrance, and it’s dermatologist-tested. Just FYI, it’s meant to be used for a weekly deep clean rather than a daily freshening.

Best Mat

Sigma Beauty Brush Cleaning Mat

$30 at Amazon $25 at Verishop.com $38 at QVC

Key Ingredients: Silicone | Size: 9 x 6.5 in. | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Up your cleansing game by pairing your fave cleanser with this clever multi-textured mat. Suction it to your sink, and you can effectively clean all your makeup brushes in one fell swoop; it touts seven different textures designed to clean all sizes and types of brush. Just swirl your brushes against the mat and let the BPA-free silicone nubs do the hard work for you.

Best Solid

Jenny Patinkin Vegan Makeup Brush Soap

$19 at Amazon $19 at Dermstore $19 at Credo Beauty

Key Ingredients: Coconut milk | Size: 2.6 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Solid cleansers are the choice for travel since there’s no stressing about spills. This popular solid is a great option for anyone who wants a natural, vegan-friendly cleanser. It contains coconut milk, vegetable-based glycerin, and vitamin E. Plus, it’s naturally antimicrobial and antibacterial and also deeply conditioning for your bristles.

Best Wipes

Artis Brush Cleansing Wipes

$19 $15 at Amazon View on Byartis.com

Key Ingredients: Alcohol | Size: 30 wipes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

While it’s advisable to deep clean your brushes frequently, it’s not always possible. If you're in a rush or on the go, these cleansing wipes provide an easy alternative. All you have to do is gently massage the bristles with these wipes until they’re free of product build-up, let the brush dry for a few minutes, and you’re good to go.

Best for Sponges

Beautyblender Blendercleanser Solid Pro

$37 at Amazon $45 at Ulta $43 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Sodium palmate | Size: 5.3 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Brushes aren’t the only tools that need to be cleaned regularly. Reach for this option for your makeup sponges. The solid cleanser is a revamped formula of the brand’s best-selling wash. Now it contains charcoal to further help pull out gunk and grime from both sponges and brushes. While it is pricey, it does come with a silicone scrubbing mat to aid in the cleaning process and double as a convenient drying stand.

Best Electric

Ricris Makeup Brush Cleaner and Dryer

$32 $27 at Amazon

Size: Package, 5.63 x 5.51 x 4.21 in. | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If you really want to make the brush cleaning process easier and more foolproof than ever, this electric device will do all of the hard work for you. Attach your brush to the electric spinner (it features attachments for eight different sizes), add some water and the cleanser of your choice to the bowl, turn it on, and watch in amazement as the gunk and residue immediately come off. Dump out the liquid and spin again to get your brushes dry in 10 seconds flat.

Best Spray

NYX Professional Makeup On The Spot Makeup Brush Cleaner Spray

$17 at Amazon $10 at Ulta $10 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Cetylpyridinium Chloride | Size: 4.05 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

When you need to clean your brushes in between applying makeup, reach for this handy spray. It dries quickly and doesn't need to be rinsed, making it great to use on the go or when you're applying different shades and don't want to mix them up. This lightly scented option from NYX cleans and disinfects brushes, and leaves them feeling soft.

Best for Deep Clean

Sigma Beauty SigMagic Brushampoo

$19 $13 at Amazon $13 at Walmart $19 at Nordstrom

Key Ingredients: Coconut oil | Size: 6.76 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

There’s something deeply satisfying about using a foaming brush cleanser like this one from Sigma Beauty to get your brushes extra sudsy and squeaky clean. It lathers up nicely thanks to coconut oil, not sulfates (a synthetic detergent that can cause skin irritation), so bristle softness and quality are maintained. It even helps get rid of tough foundation and blush stains. This large bottle should last quite a while, too, as a little goes a long way.

Best Quick Clean

Brushean Makeup Brush Sanitizer

$89 at Amazon $67 at Verishop.com View on Brushean.com

Size:  9.8 x 3.5 in. | Color: White and gold

In an ideal world, we’d properly lather, rinse, and dry our full collection of makeup brushes each week. But real talk: who has that kind of time? If you want to keep your brushes bacteria-free between washes, reach for this sanitizer, which uses UV-C light and ozone technology to eliminate 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. Simply pop your brushes inside the chamber (it fits seven), close the lid, and press the button. Five minutes later, they’ll be good to go.  

Best Natural

Jane Iredale Botanical Brush Cleaner

$20 at Amazon $20 at Bluemercury.com View on Janeiredale.com

Key Ingredients: Witch hazel, grapefruit oil, seaweed extract | Size: 4 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If you wouldn’t use chemical products on your skin then why would you use them to clean your makeup brushes? This quick-drying cleansing spray from Jane Iredale relies on a cocktail of botanical ingredients to remove grime and reduce bacteria, including antimicrobial witch hazel, and conditioning grapefruit oil and seaweed extracts. A quick spritz and you’ll have cleaner, fresher, fluffier brushes in a flash.