Pin Busting: Deep Cleaning your Beauty Blender

this post now has a new home! Come check it out at bedlambeauty.com

Welcome to the first installment of "Pretty Girl Science Pin Busting". With the plethora of bullshit pins out there nowadays, I think it would be a public service to start testing them out. How often do you see something on Pinterest and scream "noooooooooo!" Maybe that's just me?

A while back, I stumbled onto this pin detailing how to get the stains out of your Beauty Blender. It definitely caught my attention, as I have a fairly stained knock-off that I love and adore. But like so many things on Pinterest, I figured it was 90% bullshit. Guess what, it isn't!

Here is where I started:

My very well-loved, knock-off Beauty Blender. (seriously, if the real deal works as well I will buy them by the pound). My foundation has never looked so good as it does when applied with this thing. But, being a bit of a wackadoo, the staining bugs me. I have tried scrubbing it against the dog grooming glove, which worked fairly well for almost all the spots. I do worry about the glove shortening the lifespan of my sponge, especially if I fork over the $20 for the real thing. I've tried washing it after every use, massaging it for nearly 10 minutes, and brushing it with a toddler toothbrush. Nothing got it completely clean. Until now.

Step One: Soak in Warm, Soapy Water

regular old handsoap + warm water

Nothing fancy here. I used some gentle hand soap and some warm water in a small bowl. I dropped my sponge in there, and squished it a few times. You can already see the foundation rehydrating in the picture below. I left it in there about half an hour.

like a spa day 

Step Two: Soap it Up

After it soaked for 30 minutes, I could already see a difference. I was starting to get very hopeful at this point. I could also see the water was tinged a slightly beige color from the foundation...which was kinda creepy. I had only used the sponge once since it's last bathing.

those bubbles didn't last long

Because I don't (yet) have the Beauty Blender Solid Cleanser, I used my bar of Dr. Bronner's Rose Castille Soap. It's what I generally use to clean the rest of my brushes...and it smells nice. As per the instructions on the pin, I rubbed my sponge against the soap and massaged.

hippie soap

Step Three: Massage and Rinse

After about three minutes of massaging, the sponge was noticeably cleaner. I rinsed it well under running water and rolled it in a towel to absorb the excess water. It's practically brand new! I can't believe this worked!

This pin is definitely legit. If you have a makeup sponge (or maybe even those disposable wedges?) that you can't get completely clean, this will absolutely be your favorite thing ever!

as good as new!

And because it fascinated me: the bowl of water, post-soak. Gross. I can't believe that was hiding in my sponge.

ew. it looks like chicken broth.