Properly cleaning your exfoliating brush determines whether you use a gentle exfoliating tool that unclogs pores and one that unclogs pores and covers them with bacteria. Exfoliating your skin with an exfoliating brush, sometimes called a facial brush, moves bacteria, oils and dead skin from your face to the brush head bristles. Additionally, the warm, damp air of your bathroom creates the optimal environment for bacteria growth. Killing the bacteria on your exfoliating brush isn't difficult, but it does require thoroughly cleaning the brush head before and after every use.
Wash your exfoliating brush under hot water while flicking the bristles with your fingers. Rinsing dead skin cells or other solid matter from the surface gives the antibacterial soap better access to the bristles.
Stick the head of the soap dispenser down to the base of the brush head and squeeze a nickel-sized amount of antibacterial soap into the bristles. Remove the dispenser and squirt an additional nickel-sized amount of antibacterial soap on top of the brush-head bristles. Applying soap to the top and bottom of the brush-head bristles ensures thorough cleansing.
Massage the bristles clockwise with your fingers for one minute, then switch directions and repeat for another minute. Massaging the brush in both directions lets the antibacterial soap clean all sides and angles of the bristles.
Rinse your exfoliating brush with hot water and dry the bristles thoroughly with a paper towel. Drying the exfoliating brush helps prevent further bacteria growth.