How To Clean A Pencil Sharpener Blade

I have a confession to make. I've never cleaned my makeup pencil sharpener. I clean my brushes regularly, toss out old and expired makeup, and even wipe downwards my eyelash curler—just I've completely overlooked my sharpener for as long as I tin can remember. But thinking well-nigh safe and sanitation, it occurred to me that, in social club to go on my centre and lip pencils fresh and make clean, this oft-used beauty tool probably needs some regular TLC, too.

Since it's spring cleaning flavour, we asked Rebecca Restrepo, the global makeup artist for Elizabeth Arden, to give us the low-downwardly on sharpener upkeep. Turns out, it'due south a cinch! When Restrepo is working on clients, she thoroughly sanitizes her sharpener after every use. But for your ain personal-use sharpener, she recommends the following routine.

Weekly

Empty the shavings and lead from the sharpener'due south inner compartment. Dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol) and work your mode around the inside of the compartment also every bit the blade. The booze acts equally a disinfectant.

Monthly or every few weeks

Sanitize the sharpener past wiping it down thoroughly with a Beauty So Clean cosmetic sanitizer wipe. These wipes are designed and formulated to eradicate potentially harmful bacteria, including e.coli and staphylococcus.

Supervene upon your sharpener...

Restrepo says the shelf life of a makeup sharpener is relatively long; she'due south had her own personal ane for about a year (she swears past the Muji's). "If it's kept clean, it should be fine, even if information technology's accumulated a lot of shavings," she says. Just if you contract an heart infection or break out near your lips, she recommends immediately tossing the sharpener—along with any makeup that may be contaminated.

Lastly, we wondered...could a clean graphite sharpener get the job done? In a compression, yeah, says Restrepo, "merely they're simply non designed for cosmetics." And never sharpen your corrective pencils with a used graphite sharpener."

Also! Kevyn Aucoin'southward The Precision Pencil Sharpener, pictured here, has a footling surreptitious that renders the cotton swab role of this article irrelevant. The niggling ruby stick fastened is actually removable, and designed for the very purpose of de-gunking shavings. Pretty convenient!