Not only can dirty makeup brushes cause breakouts and infections, they can also ruin the quality of your brush. Read: Those soft, lovely bristles you loved swirling over your face in the beginning can turn hard and abrasive, which can irritate and scratch your skin, making it way less fun to apply makeup.

Okay, we've hammered home the importance of clean brushes -- but you can't just stick your makeup tools in the dishwasher. To wash bristled brushes, makeup artists recommend using a mild cleanser, or even baby shampoo.

Put a squirt of cleanser onto your hand and swirl the brush around in it, letting water lightly run over your hand. Keep the handle of your brush dry to prevent the glue that holds it together from breaking down.

Cleanse your brushes in the evening (best done while binge-watching the new season of "Orange Is the New Black."), because it will take them approximately all night to dry.

Lay them out flat on a paper towel, which won't retain as much water as a regular towel and will cut down your dry time. This way, water won't seep into the bristles and damage the glue holding them to the handle. As an added bonus, it will help your brushes keep their shape -- because what good is an angled contour brush if it loses its curve?

We get it: Waiting for your brushes to air-dry feels like it takes forever. But don't be tempted to zip through the process by blasting them with your hair dryer -- this can cause the glue that holds your brushes together to come undone, resulting in damaged brushes that, at the least, shed all over your face, or at the worst, become unusable.

In addition to your bacteria-fighting deep-cleans, it's sometimes also necessary to cleanse your brushes between uses. A prime example: When you're using multiple shades of eye shadow. Instead of busting out the soap and water, choose a spray cleanser. Mist your brush with it, then wipe it off on a clean towel to get rid of color buildup. This will prevent your eye shadow from looking "muddy," and will help you get the best color payoff.