Clarisonic Pro Sonic Skin Cleansing System Review

Last summer, tired of breakouts and enlarged pores, I finally caved in and bought myself a Clarisonic. I have been reading a lot of blog reviews saying that this nifty little device does help with the skin issues I have been having and more.

My $200 kit came with the Clarisonic holder, a Face Brush, a Body Brush, three cleaners for  sensitive skin, normal skin, and oily skin, a tube of Skin Polish, and a charging dock.

Different cleansers-- I didn't really find them that amazing, just your basic cleansing formula.

A look at the Clarisonic website shows this product information:

Benefits Beyond Clean Skin
Sonic Skin Cleansing improves skin tone, reduces the appearance of pore size and helps skin care products work their best.
The Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften, smooth skin. In just 60 seconds, the micro-massage action removes 6x more makeup and 2x more dirt and oil than cleansing with your hands alone. Removing more dirt and oil from your pores also helps products work more effectively.

Directions: Use on forehead (20 seconds), nose/chin (20 seconds), and both cheeks (10 seconds each). Our T-Timer will beep when it's time to cleanse the next area of your face.

The Kikay Mom says:
Since getting it, I have gone through three periods: there was a time when I used it twice a day, a time when I stopped for several weeks, and right now, I use it about 2-3x a week. I would have to say that in these times, my skin has behaved differently, and I could attribute some of these differences to the Clarisonic.

Long story short, the Clarisonic made my skin smoother, and it did help minimize the size of the pores along the sides of my face, if only because they are now cleaner. I did notice that it helped moisturizers absorb better after washing.

On the other hand, it did nothing for blackheads-- which makes sense because they do lie just underneath the surface of the skin. I have lesser breakouts due to skin irritation but of course, hormonal causes for pimples have always been my main issue.

I don't recommend using the Clarisonic everyday, much less twice a day like what the product brochures suggest. When I did this in the beginning, I developed these shallow abrasions along several areas of my face-- which can be quite easily mistaken for pimples at first glance except that they didn't have any comedones-- just red, irritated skin that felt rather raw. When I scaled back to just using it once every other day, for just 30 seconds each time, my skin fared a lot better.

There was a period of 2 to 3 weeks when I misplaced the charger dock for my Clarisonic and was unable to use it for that time. I noticed that my skin just felt rougher and duller without it-- which is finally what convinced me that the Clarisonic is a must for me.

The Clarisonic Plus kit, by the way, also comes with a Body Brush head-- it is HG for me when it comes to exfoliating the armpits because it gets rid of deodorant residue like nobody's business. It also made the skin there so smooth without the need for any other creams or products.

Plus Points:

• Cleans skin so much better than just hands or washclothes can do
• Makes my skin feel smoother
• Gives a more radiant look
• Can be used with any other cleansers
• Waterproof so can be used in the shower or tub
• Easy to recharge
• Not flimsy-- I dropped mine twice with no harm done

Minus Points:

• Pricey-- especially when you factor in the cost of brush head replacements every 90 days or so
• The area under the brush head holder is difficult to clean
• Power time when fully charged is only 20 minutes-- which is not really enough if you intend to give your whole body a good cleaning

The brush head bristles are supposed to be anti-bacterial already but every two weeks, I like to douse them with hydrogen peroxide.

Will I repurchase? Yes.

I ordered my Clarisonic Plus set ($200) from a reputable international seller on eBay but if you would rather not deal with the hassle of international online shopping: longer wait, higher postage (although I got free shipping because I opted for Post Office pickup) and greater risk for scamming, then you can find several local resellers through Multiply. I know that Stuff in Style often has one or two units of Clarisonic Mias on hand.