There’s grimy, and then there’s 11 million bacterial colonies living rent-free in your makeup brush grimy. According to a recent study by QS Supplies, the average makeup brush has more bacterial life than a public toilet seat—about 20,000 times more, to be exact. And if that doesn’t make you want to boil your brush set in holy water, it should at least make you pause before your next contour session.
Most of us dip the same brush or sponge into the same foundation, day after day, without giving it a second thought. But that trusty brush you’ve been using since 2019? It’s not so much a beauty tool and more a petri dish with a handle. The study swabbed brushes, sponges, and bathroom surfaces to see just how disgusting they really are. The results were genuinely upsetting.
Makeup brushes were the worst offenders, crawling with nearly 11 million colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria. The majority—72%—were Gram-positive rods, which are about as charming as they sound and commonly tied to breakouts, irritation, and skin infections. The other 28%? Gram-negative rods, the tougher, antibiotic-resistant type you really don’t want anywhere near your pores.
Sponges weren’t innocent either. The average one had 96,000 CFUs, all of them Gram-negative. For context, that’s almost seven times dirtier than a dog’s tennis ball, which is routinely chewed, dragged through grass, and buried in unspeakable places.
The vanity where your makeup lives turned out to be filthier than expected. Tests found 35 times more bacteria on it than the bathroom doorknob, which isn’t exactly a sterile surface either, considering how often it’s handled post-toilet or with toothpaste still on your fingers.
The wild part? None of this is hard to fix. You don’t need a lab-grade sterilizer—just wash your damn brushes once a week with soap and water. Let them dry fully. Don’t cram them back into a damp bag that also holds a leaking lip gloss and a few rogue Advils. And maybe, just maybe, wipe down the counter once in a while.
Your face deserves better than a brush that’s seen more bacterial action than an airport kiosk. Clean your tools. Not for your “glow,” not for your “routine”—but because no one wants to get a staph infection from a bronzer brush.
The post Your Makeup Brushes Are Holding 20,000 Times More Bacteria Than a Toilet Seat appeared first on VICE.
