Your Skin at its Best

The Clarisonic Skin Care Brush is quite expensive for a skin care product and I wanted one but was going to have to save up. Luckily, I received one for a birthday present and was excited to try it after all the good things I had heard. I’ve heard claims that it is the best way to cleanse your skin of dirt, makeup and dead skin cells and that your skin will be the smoothest it has ever been. Some people even notice wrinkles decreasing and pores becoming smaller. I have pretty average skin, so I was curious to see how this Clarisonic Skin Care Brush would work for me but like everyone I have my own skin issues, which many people share:

Normal/Oily Skin
Some visible pores
Some breakouts occasionally
Few thin wrinkles on my forehead

Product features
The product is very easy to set up and comes with everything you need. The Clarisonic comes with the handle, which is rechargeable in the included base. The base plugs into a standard outlet. The handle will hold a charge for several weeks so you don’t need to recharge it every day. This is nice for taking it on trips and knowing it will not die on you. It will not lose strength as it nears the end of its charge, it will just beep and not work until you recharge it again. You can change the levels of ultrasonic vibrations, and you can change the length of time you want to spend cleaning your face. This is a little confusing at first because you have to hold down a button and listen through a series of beeps and stop holding when it beeps the right amount of times. But since you probably won’t be changing the settings often, it is bearable.

It comes with two brushes and one includes a plastic cover to protect the bristles during travel. I do wish it included a travel bag for the whole thing because for $200 you would expect one! The two brushes are nice because one is for sensitive skin and the other for normal. You can use the gentle first to get your skin used to the ultrasonic action. After 3-4 months, which is the recommended length to use a brush head before switching, if you want you can try the normal brush. I did this sequence and noticed a difference when I switched to the normal brush, it feel slightly more abrasive but not in a bad way. The brushes are easy to switch out by simply pushing in on the brush head and twisting. You can purchase new brush heads for $25.

There is also a small sample of soap made by Clarisonic especially for the Clarisonic Skin Care Brush. The sample lasted about a month of twice daily use. I thought the smell of the soap was nice and it did not foam too much. It kept my skin clear and soft while I used it. I would buy it again even though it runs about $25/6oz. but I have some other things in my bathroom cabinets that need to be used up. You can use any soap with the Clarisonic brush, but they do not recommend using anything that is a face scrub or exfoliator with the brush. I have tried several different brands such as Oil of Olay, Noxema, and Cetaphil and they all work with the Clarisonic as promised. Some foam more and some don’t foam enough but it is nice you can use your personal preference of cleanser.

My experience
So, after charging my brush overnight, I was ready to try it in the morning. You can use it in the shower or at the sink. It is not very loud but I would keep the door closed to the bathroom if there is someone sleeping in the next room. You use it by going in smaller circles first on your forehead, then on nose/chin, then each cheek. It will beep when you are supposed to switch from one section of your face to the next. I used it for 1 minute and my skin felt SO smooth afterwards. No immediate results of smaller pores, or wrinkles gone but my skin definitely felt clean and fresh. In the evening I tried it again to remove my makeup. The same results of smooth clean skin were proven when after using the brush I swiped a cotton pad with toner across my face and nothing! Before using the Clarisonic Skin Brush, I would always have some leftover makeup come off with the toner but that is in the past now! So, after 6 months of twice daily use, here are the results:

Normal/Oily Skin: Still about the same but not AS oily as I used to be!
Visible Pores: About 50% smaller
Occasional Breakouts: Still get these but not nearly as often
Thin Wrinkles on Forehead: Still there but not as prominent and rest of skin looks smoother/more even.

So don’t expect face lift results but if you want super clean and healthy skin, then this brush is for you!