Had everyone but me heard of the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush? Well, I suppose I meant "had everyone but me heard of the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush before last week?"- 'cause now everyone has probably heard of it after it hit Oprah's Favorite Things list the other day. But the point is: where have I been!?
I recently had the chance to work with one of these brushes, and I feel like the beauty world has been holding out on me! When I mentioned that I was testing one, everyone I know at work said "Oh my! I have heard amazing things about that!" and I was completely puzzled. I mean, I get every magazine the second it comes out, and I feel I'm pretty tuned in to the beauty industry, but I hadn't heard of this sucker before. Clearly, I'm still a bit bitter...
But that's not the point. The point is to make you familiar with the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush, because I'm not stingy with news and as soon as I get a good scoop I pass it along to your guys!
Read on for the dish on this product...
That up there, that's the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush. It's made by the folks who make the Sonicare toothbrush thingy that I don't use but have been meaning to try.
This brush uses mysterious sonic powers to clean the face, and is said to be excellent! So as soon as I got mine, I jumped in and used it. I actually got it about 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to test it for awhile to see if the hype is true before passing the news on to you. But first, let me outline that hype:
The CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush "uses a sonic frequency to cleanse the skin." The Brush manipulates the skin in a way that manual cleansing cannot. The brush head is circular, and has two parts: the first part (a ring of bristles), stays stationary, while the inner portion of the brush (the bristles filling the center of the ring) rotates back and forth at a quick clip of 300 movements per second. Cute graphics on the CLARISONIC site show you how this works. The theory is that the bristles work together to clean the pores like nothing else can while stimulating the skin and giving it a healthy glow and radiance. Makeup, dirt, and oil are loosened and swept away easily and comfortably. Skin is softened and prepared to receive any products put on the skin after cleansing.
Lemme show you this graphic I found on the CLARISONIC site. It's quite compelling!
To test The Brush, a flourescent makeup was applied to test subects' foreheads. Then, half of the forehead was cleaned manually, while the other half was cleaned with the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush. Take a look at how much of that crap the manual cleaning left behind! That creeped me out. :)
Clearly, The Brush can clean some skin, but as it does so it allows your skin to stay moisturized. That's important! I want my skin to be clean, but not at the risk of stripping it down to flaky dry skin! Tests also show that cleansing with the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush, while greatly reducing sebum (oil) on the suface of the skin, does not affect the moisture barrier of the skin- so you're not gong to dry out or get flaky or have an oil rebound.
The Brush, according to studies, increases the absorption (and thus, presumably, the efficacy) of topical products. Studies show 30% better absorption of topical Vit C after cleansing with the CLARISONIC brush vs. manual cleansing; the same studies show 61% more product deeper in the skin than on the side cleansed manually. A lot of the best serums and really great products in skincare right now actually work on the deeper layers of skin, so I expect to get even more of an impact from this with this brush. Sweet...
Studies also showed that users perceived their skin to feel healthier and softer, show smaller pore size, have fewer dry spots, and have fewer blemishes. Women also feel that the appearance of wrinkles is improved. Overall, the women in the studies feel that they are getting a much better cleaning than they do without the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush.
Oh, and here's something cool!: Men can use the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush to apply their shaving product. 81% of men who sampled this technique in a study reported closer shaves, softer skin, less irritation, and fewer bumps.
So, what do I think? Well, I will admit: I was quite skeptical. I say this not to be vain, but I have pretty good skin. I figured I probably wouldn't notice a difference using this brush. And when I opened the package, I noticed that the shape was... well, let's just say that the ergonomic and feminine design could easily be applied to other products a woman may keep in her nightstand. So I really didn't know how I felt about using this on my face. But I pressed onward...
When you get The Brush, the sensitive brush head is already on (but there's a "regular" head in the box). I suggest you start with the sensitive one and see how you do, because I could see this getting irritating to a lot of skins if folks jumped in too quickly! The machine is preprogrammed to a scheduled set of intervals. After charging The Brush for an hour or so, I was ready to press the button and start cleaning!
I used my Clarins cleanser because I'm trying to lighten some hyperpigmentation on my cheeks, but The Brush comes with a cleanser if you prefer to use that. I wet the brush head and my face, put on the cleanser, then hit the "on" button...The Brush beeped at me, which startled me, and as the instructions directed I ran it over my forehead in circles. After 20 seconds, the machine paused for a split second, letting me know to move on. I brushed my nose and chin next. After the next pause, 20 seconds later, I moved onto the cheeks. You clean them for 10 seconds each (another pause tells you when to turn the other cheek).Then you're done.
That's it! It seems so quick, you have to wonder what it accomplished! Well, let me tell you: A LOT! My skin actually feels a bit tight after using The Brush, but as soon as I apply product (first a serum, then my moisturizer), it immediately feels perfect. And later, it feels AMAZING. I really believe that I'm getting more results from my moisturizer and serums, because my skin is incredibly soft.
I have noticed some purging (acne breakout while the skin gets accustomed to a new skincare system). In fact, the purging is still happening a bit. I think the rule of thumb is that you should wait 6 - 8 weeks after starting a new skincare product before you can expect purging to be complete. But I'll tell you, it's not bad. I haven't had any pimples or bumps, just a few tiny little areas that are clearly just cleaning themselves out. It's more of a slight texture that then disappears after a day or two.
The pores on my cheeks look a bit smaller and the pores on my nose, which are always slightly black (god, I hope I'm the only one who can see that!) are lightening up dramatically. The white clogs on my chin that you can only see really close up, and I can't ever seem to get rid of, are starting to disappear, too.
Did I mention my skin is so soft it's insane? I have actually made people touch it, and I do not exaggerate when I say I think it's as soft as my 16-month old daughter's skin. Once the purging stops, I may have her beat! ;)
This is a weird thing: I have to pluck my eyebrows more often now
that I'm using this! How weird is that!? I expect that it's because the
area is being exfoliated and the hairs are coming to the air more
quickly. This probably won't bother anyone else, but I'm anal about my
brows! Clearly, you shouldn't be using the brush on the eyes themselves-
but the bristles hit my brow area, which is fine with me because I'm
hoping to see improved treatment for those fine lines that are cropping
up on my forehead and outer-eye area. But I digress...
I will update everyone in about 6 weeks and let you know how I feel
then, but for now the CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush gets a double thumbs
up from me!
The CLARISONIC Skin Care Brush is $195. Visit the CLARISONIC store locator to find one. I think it's worth every daggone penny and I don't say that easily about beauty products that cost $200.
BeautyBlitz rating: 