The germs hiding in your make-up bag and how often you should clean it

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Make-up sponges were especially prone to contamination with 96% showing fungal contamination.” “E.coli causes soft tissue infections including serious conditions such as cellulitis and necrotising fasciitis,” says Dr Lee, “Staphylococcus causes boils, blisters, impetigo and cellulitis, and fungi in make-up include candida, aspergillus and penicillium and these can cause fungal skin rashes on the facial skin.” When it comes to how you clean your make-up bag, you first need to start with a declutter. “For fabric bags, check if they are machine-washable or spot-clean with a gentle detergent.” How often you should clean your tools and how to do it The experts say if you’re using liquid products, you should be cleaning your make-up tools after every use, while powder products should be more than once a week. “We never want to promote waste, but beauty sponges do need to be replaced more often than make-up brushes,” explains Beauty Pie‘s beauty expert Lottie Winter, “purely because they can’t withstand the cleaning process as well and they can start to lose their absorbency or disintegrate. “Products with additives and stabilisers will have longer shelf lives, but could cause irritation to sensitive skin types.” Out-of-date make-up can be the underlying reason for skin breakouts, rashes and infections.