Makeup brushes fall into two categories: ones made with animal hair and ones made with synthetic bristles. Today’s synthetics are actually better than animal-hair brushes, for many reasons. While the feel of a high-quality synthetic brush may be similar to an animal-hair one, there are actually many differences between the two.
Here are just some of the benefits of using a synthetic brush over one made with animal hair:
- Synthetic brushes are easier to clean.
- Synthetic brushes repel bacteria and dirt better than animal hair does.
- Many people have allergies to animal hair.
- Synthetic brushes shed less, if at all.
- Synthetic brushes work with both cream and powder makeup products.
- Buying a synthetic brush is the only way that you can know for sure that no animal was harmed in the creation of the brush.
Animal hair, like human hair, is porous, which means it absorbs things like bacteria. Although you may wash your brushes regularly, some dirt or bacteria may remain in the bristles of an animal-hair brush. Synthetic bristles actually repel dirt and bacteria, making them much easier to clean because they get less dirty to begin with. As a general rule, makeup artists do not use animal-hair brushes for cream products for this reason. If you apply a cream-based product with an animal hair brush, the brush will likely absorb the product, staining and ruining the brush. When you purchase a synthetic brush, you are actually getting two brushes in one! For example, someone who uses animal hair brushes would need two separate brushes—one for powder eye shadow and one for cream eye shadow. If you own a synthetic eye-shadow brush, you can use that same brush for both cream and powder products. In fact, today’s high-quality synthetics will pick up just about any makeup medium with ease, including powder-based products!
