That cosmetology school teacher told me to use rubbing alcohol on brushes and it ruined mine

My instructor at Jolie Academy swore by dipping brushes in 70% rubbing alcohol between clients. I did that for about 3 months and noticed my bristles getting all stiff and frayed. Turns out alcohol breaks down the glue inside ferrules over time. I lost about $120 worth of brushes before I switched to a proper brush cleaner spray. Has anyone else had a teacher give them advice that just wrecked their tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.taylor1d ago

Oh yeah that alcohol thing is a trap. I had an instructor tell me the same thing and I wrecked a nice set of MAC brushes before I figured out what was happening. The glue inside the ferrule gets brittle and then the bristles just start falling out in clumps. What worked better for me was a gentle brush soap and then just letting them dry flat on a towel overnight. Takes longer but my brushes actually last now instead of turning into shedding messes.

charles9191d ago

I had a friend who went to a different cosmetology school and her teacher told her the same thing about alcohol on brushes. She followed that advice for about 6 months before her expensive blending brushes started shedding like crazy. The bristles would just fall out when she tried to use them. She figured out later that the alcohol was eating away the glue holding everything together. I told her about what @wright.taylor said about brush soap and drying flat, and she tried that method with a new set of brushes. Now she has a whole system where she cleans them gently once a week and they look like new even after a year.