One of the questions that I see being asked a lot is whether you should wet your makeup brush before application or not. So I thought that it would be a good idea to answer that here before you got the wrong idea.

You should not wet a makeup brush because it will ruin your look for various reasons ranging from consistency to the shape of the brush.

But what are these negative side effects, and how can you avoid them? That is why I made this article, to help you avoid these mistakes and have a look you want.

It mess with the foundation’s consistency

One of the big reasons you don’t want to get your brush wet is to prevent the water from messing with the consistency of your makeup. Suppose water were to get into your makeup, then it would destroy the consistency of the makeup. The effect of this is loose and runny makeup will lead to streaking whenever you apply it.

So as you can tell, this is the opposite of what you would want to happen when you apply your makeup. So it is best to avoid letting the water mix with your cream or liquid foundation if you don’t want this to happen.

It warps the brush

Another reason you may want to avoid getting water on your makeup brush is that it alters the shape of the brush itself. Whenever you buy a makeup brush, it has been made with a specific shape in mind. This shape is designed to help you apply makeup in the best way to look great.

Now, if you get the end of the brush wet, then problems will start to happen. The water gets into the bristles and weighs them down. This changes the shape of the brush, which will result in the makeup going on incorrectly. It will be out of place and have weird streaks to it, which will make it seem like clown makeup.

It destroy the look of powdered makeup

Keep in mind that all of the effects that we have been discussing this far have been liquid makeup. If you use a wet brush on powdered makeup like a foundation, then the effect is much worse.

This has to do with powder-based makeup that mixes with water will result in clumping. The look will appear splotchy and uneven, not to mention just not attractive to anyone.

So it is a good idea for you to just keep your powder makeup as far away from water as possible if you want to keep it looking good.

Why do people think you should wet the brush?

This is a common misconception, and it comes from the fact that a wet often seems more flexible. This is not the case, and even instructions that call for dampness do not ask you to put the brush in water.

Often, this mistake also seems to emerge because many don’t believe that a dry brush can apply properly. Well, they can, and it is one of the most common forms of applications.

This isn’t the only reason that people develop this confusion, though. The other two are cleaning a brush with water and cleaner, and the makeup sponges are usually damp. So let’s go ahead and break down those two things a little more so that you have a better idea.

Cleaning a makeup brush.

So after you are done applying your makeup, you will want to clean your brushes. When cleaning your brushes, you can use water but only briefly. Make sure that the water is warm and use it only briefly. You can then apply a cleaner and rinse it out to have a clean makeup brush next time.

a damp sponge work instead

It is not uncommon to use sponges to apply makeup, which might be where some of the confusion comes from. When sponges are used to apply liquid makeup, they often become wet, which might be why some people confuse the two. This is okay for sponges, though, because they absorb the moisture and keep it from spreading around.