Clarisonic Review

HI GUYS, I'm finally back! I've been binge watching the a korean drama called "W", don't know if any of you have heard of it? It's super confusing because there are like two worlds, the "real one" and the "webtoon/fictional" one. ANYWAYS, still haven't really grasped the storyline yet but the main guy is soooooo cute so I found myself drooling over his face 90% of the time. ANYWAYS, today I thought I'd do a review of the Clarisonic. For those you you who aren't familiar with it--basically its a electronic tool for washing your face with. First of all a disclaimer- this review is by no means sponsored (I wish it was T_T) and I purchased the Clarisonic out of my own curiosity!

There are many different devices to choose from in the Clarisonic range-- Aria, Mia, Mia 2, Mia Fit, Smart Profile and many many more. The one I've picked up is the Mia 2 and is the most popular design out of all their brushes.

Day to day our skin accumulates oils, perspiration, dirt, makeup and environmental pollutants. These combine to make a stubborn, pore-clogging layer of film over our skin resulting in an overall unhealthy look, roughness and a barrier preventing good absorption of our skincare products. This is why the cleansing step must always be done and done well. When washing our face with our hands, we tend to do it really quickly and miss important areas such as around our nose, eyes, chin and eyebrows and hence these areas are more prone to acne/pimples. The Clarisonic claims to clean 6x better than hands alone and the way it does so is by oscillating at a sonic frequency, producing more than 300 movements per second. The movements between the outer and inner brush also work to loosen dirt and oil, remove deep-seated impurities from the pores and thus preparing the skin for better absorption of skincare products.

The Clarisonic claims that around 2 weeks to a month after use, users will find increased pimple/acne growth due to the deep-seating impurities being drawn to the surface. After those pimple/acne recover, your skin will be the smoothest and clearest it has ever been. First of all, I'd like to say, I've had this product since January and have still not experienced that magic. At night I go through a double cleansing process, first with an oil to remove all my makeup and then go in with the Clarisonic and a foam/gel cleanser to remove any remaining makeup and/or dirt. I can see visibly that it does remove very well whatever makeup there is remaining and my skin does feel very clean afterwards. However, I have not seen any changes in terms of pore reduction, pimple growth or radiance in my skin, which their website claims it'll provide.

Keith Haring Limited Edition Mia 2

#1. Brush Heads

The brush heads are removable because it is recommended that they are changed every 3 months for hygiene purposes. They are easily removed by pressing down and rotating. I think that if you are someone that wears makeup everyday and/or don't have an oil cleansing habit prior to using something like this, it is probably better to change it every 2 months because if the brush isn't clean itself, how clean can it make you face? This device is definitely a long term investment, apart from the $200 you pay for the initial device you will have to fork out an extra $35 for a clean head every 2-3 months. There is a similar device from the brand "Foreo" that doesn't require changing brush heads. I believe that one is about $250 for the average size which is a little more than the Clarisonic but it'll be a lot more cost-friendly in the long term. I haven't yet tried that device but am quite interested. Perhaps my curiosity will get the better of me and I will try it soon :D

There are a number of brush heads to choose from depending on your skin condition at the time--Luxe Cashmere, Sensitive, Delicate, Deep Pore and Sonic Radiance. Personally, I've tried the sensitive and delicate ones just because I want to be as gentle as possibly on my skin (I believe the standard one it comes with initially is the Sensitive brush head). I haven't seen a difference in terms of what the brush heads have done for my skin but I definitely think the delicate (blue) one is more gentle.

Sensitive Brush Head

#2. Timer

Another thing I really like about this device is that it has a 1 minute timer. This minute is divided up into 20seconds for the forehead, 20 seconds for the nose and chin and 10 seconds each for the cheeks. It beeps in between each interval, telling you to move on.  Usually I feel that 1 minute is not adequate so I run the timer twice. I love this function because I'm the type of person who always stays up super late and when it comes to washing my face I like to speed through it. As I mentioned before, not spending enough time means that you miss important places and end up with a bad cleanse which can lead to all sorts of skin problems.

#3. Buttons

As you can see in the picture above, there are two buttons. The lower is the power button. The funny thing about this is, once you press it, it will run for the whole minute and pressing it again will not turn it off but instead pause it for 30 seconds. So sometimes when I press it accidentally, I have to leave it there vibrating on my vanity for a whole minute =='. The top button is where you control the strength and speed. There is 2 speeds to choose from- high and higher basically. 

#4. Charging/Battery

Another thing I love about the Clarisonic is its charger. It comes with a magnetic charger that just clips onto the handle part of the device. I usually charge it overnight and it'll be ready to use in the morning. One charge can also last about 2 months before it starts flashing light to tell you it's run out of battery. The long-lasting battery is perfect for lazy people like me! :D

#5. Waterproof

The whole device is waterproof meaning you can take it into he shower without being afraid of being electrocuted. Also this allows you to easily clean the device, both the head and the handle!

Finally, I love that this particular edition I bought came with a lid and travel bag ( I'm not sure about the other brushes) making it very easy to take travelling with. I don't have to worry about the brush head being dirtied or damaged in my luggage!

So at the end of the day I think it is a convenient device especially if you do want to invest a little into your own skin. However, that being said, its not a necessity and I think similar results can be achieved if you are willing to spend the time to carefully cleanse. I definitely have not seen some of the results that it advertises but that could be attributed to a lot of other factors like diet, exercise, etc. If you ever try it out or have any suggestions on how I can use it better, please let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear from you guys! :)

Last thing I'd like to say is, if you are thinking of taking the plunge and buying one of these, it is best to do it off their website- clarisonic.com.au instead of buying it from Mecca. They often do seasonal/festive discounts near Christmas, mothers day, fathers day, etc so you can potentially get 10-20% off. The shipping is a couple of days to a week, so fairly speedy! 

Alright that's it for today. Bye guys!

xo. H