This is why you should never skip washing your make up brushes

If this doesn't make you wash them, nothing will

wash make up brushes
(Image credit: Rex Features (Shutterstock))

If this doesn't make you wash them, nothing will

A girl's make up brush collection is one of her biggest pride and joys – Check out our round up of the best make up brushes and find your new favourite beauty tool. Washing your make up brushes, however, can seem like a real drag at times, and is a practice we all sometimes overlook.

But this Instagram picture of the possible effects of not washing them is so shocking that we guarantee you'll never give it a miss again. Seriously.

Australian model Anthea Page uploaded the below picture of an eye infection she received, which was as a result of a make up artist's brushes not being cleaned properly before they were used on her. Make up artists are supposed to clean their brushes between each client, but clearly this protocol was ignored by said artist on this occasion.

Anthea contracted the infection after a recent four day fashion shoot. She wrote that, despite calling out the make up artists for their unhygienic practices, her comments were ignored and she went home with a very painful looking eye infection. She is now on medication from her doctor in order to treat it. Yikes.

A photo posted by on

'This is not my first time receiving an ailment from a dirty makeup brush and unfortunately in my line of work I doubt it will be the last but please be aware of this if you ever come close to a makeup kit so you can keep yourself safe and healthy' she urged her followers.

Even if you only ever use your brushes to do your own make up, it's still so important to keep them clean to avoid a build up of bacteria, or getting clogged pores or nasty infections such as conjunctivitis.

Washing them at least once a fortnight in hot soapy water is an absolute must when it comes to brush hygiene, and it's good to use a make up brush cleaning spray in between washes. Speaking of cleansing, are you using the right cleanser for your skin type? This quiz will tell you...

This calls for a serious make up brush cleaning sesh tonight, if you ask us...

Lucy Abbersteen
Beauty Contributor

Lucy is a freelance beauty editor and contributor at Marie Claire, and has written for titles including Glamour, Refinery29, Popsugar, woman&home and more. She was previously Marie Claire’s junior beauty editor. During her career, she’s covered everything from backstage beauty at fashion week to interviews with famous faces like Drag Race royalty and Little Mix. As for her beauty ethos, she’s a big advocate for not having to spend a fortune on beauty products to get good results, and when she’s not got beauty on the brain you’ll find her reading or hanging out with dogs.