Saturday, October 5, 2013

Clarisonic Review


In my September favorites post I talked about how I have re-discovered my Clarisonic.  As I said, I purchased it prior to my wedding to get my skin in order before the big day.  Now it was a pricey purchase; I believe it retails for $150.00 at Ulta.  Clearly, for most women, this is not something you can just go out and buy willy-nilly.  For me, I actually had to work it into the “beauty” portion of my wedding budget.  I’m really glad I did though because this thing works wonders.



I deal with oily skin on my t-zone and cheeks, and this helps manage that much better than any oil control cleanser.  Many people think the brush heads rotate, however, what they really do is oscillate back and forth with sonic vibrations 300 times a second.  In doing so, the vibrations break up dirt and gunk deep down in your pores and it basically jostles it to the surface where it is scrubbed away.   It is programmed for 20 seconds on the forehead/temples (I also go over my eyebrows), then it will beep and do 20 seconds on the nose and chin (I also do my jawline and neck), again a beep before it does 10 seconds for each cheek.  It’s literally one minute and you are done.   
 
 

I noticed a difference in the size and darkness of my pores within a week.  They were smaller and less visible.  Did it eliminate all gunk, no.  I think in order for that to happen I’d actually have to go and get a facial that will do extractions.  Especially on the tip of my nose.  Overall it did a much better job than regular scrubbing through the years has ever done me.  

(This is a graphic from their website which shows a UV image of what is left on your forehead when you manually clean your face.  Their old image at least showed something left even with the Clarisonic, which I feel is more true to life, but it was spotty at best.)

There are two drawbacks to this product, which I feel are important to mention.  The first is that you will break out.  Even if you almost never get blemishes (which is me) you will after using this product.   

 (I didn't have a photo of my tiny breakout, so I went in search of a picture on Google.  I got incredibly grossed out by what I saw and decided this was much more pleasant.  You're welcome.)

This lasts about 1-2 weeks an with repeated use will definitely go away.  The reason for this is that because, as I mentioned above, as it pulls all that gross stuff to the surface, your pores become irritated and inflamed.  I noticed it mostly around my chin and jaw line.  As I said, it does go away with continual use.  Now, if you get lazy forget about using it for like 2 weeks, this will happen again, so it’s in your best interest to just set a reminder on your phone, computer, or wherever you look that you will see the post-it.  When I had my iPhone, I used an app called “Alarmed” to remind me and it had a “nag” function that would go off every 1-5 minutes until I did what it told me to do.  Pretty darn effective for me.  The second issue is that the replacement heads can be a little expensive as well.  They retail for $25 for one, or two for $40.  I usually opt for the two since you save ten bucks.  Thankfully they only have to be replaced every 3 months so it’s $80 a year for the heads, which comes out to about $1.54 a week.  Not TOO bad.  

 (I use the deep pore brush heads, but I do not have sensitive skin and I find they work best to eliminate my oil situation.  Other people on YouTube have said they don't like them.  I'd say go with normal and decide from there)

It is waterproof so you can submerge it in water or leave it in the shower if you like.  I do not because I share my shower with other people, so I keep my personal products elsewhere in the bathroom.  I use it at night because it is especially good at removing makeup.  Seriously, test it out.  Go about your regular routine of removing makeup and washing your face.  Then follow up with this thing and you will find all kinds of excess makeup in the bristles.  It’s incredible!  There is a travel size cleanser that comes with it, which I had actually just tossed in a drawer, figuring it was just a silly sample of something else they wanted me to buy.  Honestly, the cleanser is pretty good for oily skin.  I can see it being a bit harsh if you have drier skin, but I did like it and wish I had used it sooner, but you can use any cleanser you like.  Also, it is really simple to clean the bristles.  You can take any old soap (I use bar soap or shampoo, actually), rub it in the bristles, rinse, and viola!  Clean brush.  You'll notice you are approaching the 3 month mark when your brush starts to look like an old toothbrush with the bristles getting wonky. 

Overall, I think it is worth the money, but don't skip a bill payment to buy it.  Save up and enjoy clearer skin!  Tell me about your experience below or you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!  <3

XO - Bekah




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