The $10 Beauty Cleaning Tool I Never Knew I Needed (and Now Can’t Live Without)

If there’s one thing that grosses me out, it’s a dirty makeup brush. As a self-proclaimed beauty obsessee, I take pride in keeping my makeup tools clean, both for the sake of my brushes and my skin. In fact, I even took it so far as to invest in one of those automatic brush cleaners for a more effective clean. While using said device during one of my weekly brush washes, I thought to myself, “I wish I had a cleaning tool like this for my hairbrush.” This then led me down a rabbit hole, searching for a product that could make one of the most irritating beauty chores easier. Then I found it: the Denman Hairbrush Cleaning Brush — and I’ve never looked back.

Ergonomically designed for a comfortable grip, this cleaner features a three-way design that finally takes the struggle out of cleaning your hairbrush. First, there’s the pointed end: This acts as a pick, breaking and pulling tangled hair from brushes with ease. Then, there’s the brush head: lined with stiff bristles, it works deep into the base of any brush, scrubbing and lifting away dirt and debris. Finally, there’s the angled bristled end: This part is great for getting in between the grooves of a hairbrush with detailed precision to either attack hard-to-reach buildup or brushing away any remnants of dirt that can linger after a deep clean.

Here’s how I personally use it. My go-to hairbrush is a paddle brush and as someone with very long, thick hair who can’t live without dry shampoo, you can bet brush gets… gunky. I start with the pick, loosening the trapped hair and removing what I can that way. Then, I go in with the angled end and brush out any dust so I can get to the good part: the base. With a little bit of shampoo (nothing fancy, I reach for a good ol’ bottle of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo), I use the brush head to get into the base of my brush and scrub — picture it as a scalp massage, just for your brush. After that, I give my brush a rinse and go back in with the angled end to finely comb through the base and make sure I’ve removed all the buildup. What I’m left with is a brush that looks as good as new — all in about 15 minutes.

Before this brush, cleaning my hairbrushes was a painstaking time grab that involved scissors, tweezers, an extra toothbrush, and a 30-minute soak. And even with all that, my brushes never looked as good as they do now. Want to put one to the test for yourself? You can get your hands on your very own Denman Hairbrush Brush Cleaning Brush for just $10. You may just want to pick up a couple as gifts, because chances are you’ll be telling everyone you know about it, too.

Buy: Denman Hairbrush Cleaning Brush, $9.95