There’s a bunch of Clarisonic reviews already available to you on the internet, some making claims that their skin is changed forever, their pores almost invisible and all sorts of magical stuff. Based on the same technology as (and created by the found of) the sonic tooth brush, the Clarisonic skincare brushes assure a cleaning process like no other, ridding skin of dry flakyness, pore-clogging dirt and oil, residue-leaving mascara, all the while promoting world peace. Okay, not really the world peace part, but they way they talk about their product would make you think that was on the list. I guess my story is a little different in that not only did I recently purchase one for myself, but for my husband and I to actually share. As I’ve mentioned before, we have polar opposite skin. My skin vacillates between dry and very dry, but one false move will lead to a breakout of unsightly little red bumps. His skin, however, is consistently oily, ceasing only to take on the occasional dry spell, followed by a breakout. My curiosity for a solve-all Clarisonic erred on the side of caution, but I decided to give it a whirl. I’ve heard dramatic stories that the Clarisonic can cause breakouts after a week, just as your skin is beginning to acclimate to the intense daily cleaning, and those breakouts can be triggered by a lack of moisture (your skin reacts to the hyper-cleanliness initially by secreting an extra dose of sebum and oil. Yum.).
After charging it for the recommended 24 hours (ugh, I know) I was extremely anxious to get started with it. I purchased a delicate skin brush for myself, because I have easily irritated skin, and gave my husband the regular deep-cleansing brush that comes with the Clarisonic Mia (by the way, the Mia is the travel version of the Clarisonic brushes- less bells and whistles, but does the same job equally well. It is also the least expensive of the models, clocking in at a painful $120-ish) The sensation is both giggle-inducing and pleasurable. Going over the nose is the worst part– sometimes it makes me sneeze. I focus twenty seconds on the forehead and then twenty seconds on the bridge of my nose, nose, nostrils, nosering, upper-lip, lips, and chin. I then finish out the Mia’s 60-second timer with ten seconds on each cheek. Sometimes I go and add an extra thirty-second cleansing period to my neck and decolletage. As for how my skin is reacting, it definitely feels smoother, is less greasy when I wake up, and my make-up goes on quicker and smoother, as well. After using it twice a day for several days, my skin went really dry and actually got very flaky and I had a small breakout. However, after reducing my use to just once a day, with extra care taken to time for moisturizing, the dryness disappeared and the breakout went away in a couple of days. However, my husband’s skin has had a really remarkable change. He broke-out more than I did, but the zits he already had disappeared almost overnight. His pores are definitely smaller and like me, his skin is less oily when he wakes up. He also does an extra minute to focus on his neck before he shaves, and it seems to make the shaving process smoother for him.
So there you have it, two very different sacks of skin who are both benefiting from an over-priced, but successful emanation of an electric toothbrush. If it’s out of your budget, I still think that investing in good washcloths will do a similarly good job, but the Clarisonic for sure simplifies the process. Plus, I like the sensation, and my skin really never has looked better.
XO,
K
