Imagine using the same brush on your face for months on end without ever cleaning it. You never know what kind of microorganisms could be lurking underneath the bristles. It is not a pleasant thought. We spend so much trying to take care of our skin that it only makes sense to allow clean beauty implements and makeup brushes to come in contact with it.

Every two weeks one should make it a habit to take out all beauty implements and makeup brushes from storage containers and clean them. This is really important if you want to preserve the quality of your brushes. Cleaning your makeup brushes regularly helps keep your makeup fresh, and free from dirt and bacteria. It removes skin oils and old, oxidized colors that cling on the brushes after every use and may cause breakouts on the skin. Remember to also include hair brushes, combs, nail tools, pencil sharpeners and tweezers in the cleaning process. By following these simple steps below your brushes will look brand new again. It’s simple, easy and fast.

What You Need:
1. A plastic container
2. Paper towels or cloth towels for drying
3. A clean sink
4. Soap

5. Germicide and Disinfectant

Steps:

1. Pre-clean beauty implements with regular soap and water. Notice that I also included my compact powder sponge.

2. Lay them out on a towel to dry. Make sure that the makeup brushes are positioned with the handles pointing upward so that the water will not weaken the glue that bonds the bristles together.

3. Purchase a plastic container like this one. Fill it up with water all the way to the first line.

4. Go to your local beauty supply store and purchase a disinfectant that can be used on salon tools or equipment like Hydrocide Germicide and Disinfectant.

5. Dilute an ounce of the Hydrocide in the water. Soak your beauty implements in the solution for 10 minutes.

6. Rinse well and let air dry. If you need to use your brushes right away, you can use a hair dryer and put it at a low heat setting. This will dry your brushes quickly.

TIPS: 
1. Soak your hair brushes and combs separately as they tend to be dirtier and take up more space.
2. You can also use brush cleaning spray in between makeup sessions. Just spritz it on the brush and rub the brush against a paper towel or tissue to get rid of the product buildup.

Clean beauty tools equals clear skin! Plus, makeup application will be much more flawless because you don’t have all those products and colors mixing together on one single brush.

Imagine the possibilities with a Marinello education. You will be able to pursue your true passion and calling in life ─ a life dedicated to making others look and feel beautiful. More so, you can enjoy a recession-proof career because according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for beauty professionals continues to grow. Many of our graduates become salon or spa owners, hair stylists, makeup artists, beauty instructors, product sales representatives, and much more!

We recently launched our 5^th Annual Raw Talent Scholarship Competition. If you are not familiar with it, it is a yearly contest hosted by our school in which we award more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes to deserving high school senior students who are interested in pursuing a career in beauty. This year and for the first time, it is being cosponsored by Wella Professionals.

There are two parts to the competition. The first part is the essay writing contest. You will need to submit a two-page essay entitled, “Beauty as a Career: How I Can Make a Difference in the Beauty and Wellness Industry.” Your essay will graded by Marinello’s High School Scholarship Committee and will be evaluated based on content, creativity, spelling, syntax and grammar. You have the option of submitting your essay via regular mail or via the Marinello website. Applications and instructions are available online at www.marinello.com/scholarship.  (Learn about our 2012 winners here. Read their winning essays and view their work.)

The second part of the application process requires you to participate in the hands-on competition at a Marinello campus near you, where you will perform hair and makeup looks on your own model. If you are interested in the Cosmetology program, you will be asked to perform a formal “updo” hairstyle appropriate for weddings, proms, or special events, and if you are interested in the Esthetics (Skin Care) program, you will be asked to perform your best makeup look. The Marinello school director will take before and after photographs of your work and submit them to the Scholarship Committee for judging. The deadline for essay and photographs submissions is April 22, 2013 midnight Pacific Standard Time.

Sounds simple, right? If you are picked as one of the scholarship recipients, you will be contacted 30 days after the competition deadline and must start at Marinello by September 2013 or lose eligibility for the award.

Click here for a list of scholarships and prizes that will be awarded throughout Marinello’s 62 campuses.

What are you waiting for? Join Marinello’s 5th Annual Raw Talent Scholarship now and change your life today. For questions, call 800-648-3413.

Marinello Schools of Beauty cosmetology students Alicia Harley and Shirley Mills are two of the 24 finalists chosen to compete in this year’s Wella Student Competition at the 2013 America’s Beauty Show, March 9-11, 2013, in Chicago, IL.

 
“The student entries came in by mail, by hand, online and with passion,” noted Fabio Sementilli, Wella’s creative and technical director. “Wella is passionate about our commitment to supporting stylists throughout every stage of their career. This competition shines the spotlight on student stylists who create beauty and defy convention. We are fostering a community of young, driven and talented stylists: the Next Gen,” added Sementilli.

 
“Personally, I’m extremely proud of the work these young finalists entered and was honestly impressed by all of the students who entered the competition,” says Sementilli. “The Wella Student Competition continues to empower beauty school students year after year by providing a platform to perfect their craft and advance in the salon industry.”

 
Close to 500 entries were received from a total of 37 beauty schools nationwide. Student stylists competed in three categories – Wella Professionals, Clairol Professional and Sebastian Professional – and were asked to create an overall look that included hair color and style, plus, wardrobe and makeup on a live model. “Before” and “after” photos were then submitted to Wella for judging.

 
Harley’s entry in the Wella Professional category and Mills’s entry in the Sebastian Professional category were handpicked by Wella’s team of experts as finalists based on their interpretations of the original inspirations provided in the competition criteria. Both students will have the opportunity to show their work on their live models on stage at America’s Beauty Show before a prestigious panel of educators and judges. During their trip, they will also enjoy travel and accommodation sponsored by Marinello and Wella.

Alicia Harley’s (left) and Shirley Mill’s (right) photo entry earned each of them a spot as a finalist in the Annual P&G Salon Professional Student Stylist Competition at the 2013 America’s Beauty Show, March 11, 2013, in Chicago, IL.

“I’m very excited,” Harley, a senior cosmetology student form Marinello’s Moreno Valley campus, shares. “I’m certain it will be a very good learning experience for me especially because my ultimate dream is to become a celebrity stylist.”
 
Mills, whose dream is to become a renowned high end salon owner, says, “I feel honored. I look forward to getting exposure at the show and networking with others.” She is currently a junior cosmetology student at Marinello’s Torrington campus and decided to join the competition because of her passion for beauty and drive to succeed in the industry.

 
In a separate category of the Wella Student Competition, student stylists were given the chance to nominate their mentor or instructor in the Instructor of the Year Award. Andee Holmes from Marinello’s Torrington campus, Casey Ramos from Marinello’s Enfield campus, and Cristina Woods and Shanell Blackshear from Marinello’s Moreno Valley campus have been nominated by their students for this special recognition.

 
Harley and Mills attribute much of their success to Marinello’s professional instructors.

 
“I get most of my inspiration from my teachers,” expresses Harley. “Mrs. Quinnecia Jackson, Ms. Christina Wordson, and Ms. Shanell Blackshear…I am very grateful for everything I’ve learned from them.”

 
Mills’s favorite mentor on the other hand is Ms. Andee Holmes. “She has taught me to stay positive and to never give up.”

 
If chosen as winners, Harley and Mills will receive a cash prize, an all-expense paid trip to an awards show in Los Angeles, and one-year supply of Wella products.

 
The Wella Student Competition will be judged LIVE, on the Wella exhibit stage, from Noon – 2:00 p.m., by a panel of industry glitterati, including Wella Top Stylist Nick Berardi; Team I.C.A.N’s Kathryn Hornick; 2012 International Trend Vision Award Gold Winner and Wella Top Stylist Phillip Ferreira; 2011 North America Trend Vision Award Gold Winner and Wella Top Stylist Shirley Gordon; Wella Global Academy Dean Stephen Moody and Wella Lead Educator Kelly Pennington.
 
For those unable to catch the live competition, it will be webcast live via salonprofessionalinteractive.com.