Kylie Jenner was the first to espouse the benefits of using skincare brushes in a viral video a few years ago. While applying moisturiser to the face with a large Artis Oval Brush was pretty novel at the time, brushes have become more commonplace in the skincare arena ever since. Clarisonic and Foreo introduced us to cleansing brushes. Likewise, face mask brushes have become their own burgeoning beauty category, allowing us to mimic the blissful interlude between the exfoliating and massage stage of a facial, when a mask is applied with light brush strokes, at home.
Now MAC is making skincare brushes go mainstream with its 001 Serum-Moisturizer Hybrid Skincare Brush – and it’s proving to be the dark horse of the brand’s new Hyper Real skincare line. As its moniker implies, this domed brush is designed to lay down your serum and moisturiser for a dewy base – in this case, the Hyper Real Serumizer Skin Balancing Hydration Serum and Hyper Real SkinCanvas Balm Moisturizing Cream, both of which are powered by a cocktail of Japanese peony, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and ceramides for a strong, cushiony skin barrier.
And it’s not as gimmicky as it sounds, say dermatologists. Given our skin is on an emotional see-saw in winter, skewing spotty one minute and dry as sandpaper the next, how we apply our serums and moisturisers becomes even more important.
For starters, applying skincare with a brush changes how the product sits on the skin and allows you to distribute it more easily. For this reason Dr Salome Dharamshi, dermatologist and founder of Sky Clinic, believes a skincare brush is particularly good for combination skin if you want to take a patchwork approach and apply different products to your T-Zone than your cheeks. “You can even use a stippling motion to pack more moisturiser onto drier areas,” he adds.
Another reason Erin Ball, executive director of global education for MAC, is a fan of the 001 skincare brush is that it also gently exfoliates to create a smooth canvas. “Depending on what brush you use, the bristles can help to lift dead cells from the skin’s surface and the massaging gesture across your skin can also boost lymphatic drainage,” confirms Dr Kajal Babamiri, dermatologist at CLNQ.
She caveats this by warning against “using scrubbing motions as this can damage your skin and affect product application,” while Erin recommends always moving the brush “in upwards, lifting motions starting at the centre of the face and moving towards the hairline until the entire face has an even application.”
Then there’s the fact that a brush saves you from wasting any product. “Skincare is expensive,” says Dr Dharamshi. “If you are squirting creams and serums onto your hands, they can be absorbed into the skin, whereas if you dip a small brush into your moisturiser or put serum straight onto the bristles, you use a much smaller quantity of product.”
Hygiene is another factor as products with pumps or pipettes can also be applied directly onto a skincare brush without the risk of transferring bacteria from your fingertips to your skin, which increases the risk of breakouts.
As ever, of course, all of this hinges on good brush hygiene. “Using a brush is more hygienic than using your fingers but only if you clean them often, even daily if possible,” says Dr Dharamshi, who also notes that you should “use different brushes for each skincare product to avoid cross-contamination.”
The best skincare brushes to apply your serums, moisturisers and face masks:
For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR’s Acting Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.
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