Tuesday, September 21, 2010

"Hello, Lover!" revisited...

Back in April I blogged about my new Clarisonic and told you how much I loved it and the results I was already seeing after only using it a short time.  Well, it's been 5 months since that post and I thought an update was in order.

I have used my Clarisonic every day since I received it, sometimes twice a day, but mostly I use it at night after removing my makeup.  I tried a few times to not use it, but my face just didn't feel as clean and I'd cave and use it anyway.  I think I'm addicted to it.  On a related note, the Mia hold it's charge a long time... considering the fact that I use it daily, I can go at least two weeks without having to charge it.  I think that's pretty good.

Originally my Mia came with a sensitive brush head and I'll admit I was pretty happy with it...at first.  Initially I was impressed with how it seemed to make my pores appears smaller, my fine lines appear more smooth and my breakouts less frequent, but I'd say about two months after starting to use it the long-term results weren't as great as I was hoping for and I was a bit let down.  However, I still continued to use it faithfully. 

The makers of the Clarisonic recommend replacing the brush head every 3 months.  Well, being the frugal person that I am (and the fact that they're $25 a piece), I thought as long as the brush looked good and felt OK, that it was doing it's job.  Wrong.  By month 4 I was starting to experience more frequent breakouts, my skin was lackluster and my makeup wasn't looking as good nor lasting as long throughout the day.  Finally one day it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, it was the brush head.  So I broke down and placed a Sephora order (they sell a 2 pack for $40, great deal!).  I went back and forth over sticking with the sensitive brush or bumping it up and trying out the normal...in the end I decided to try the normal and, worst case, I guess I could return them (no clue if Sephora would take them back, but I was hoping).

The first night I used the normal brush head I thought I had made a mistake - it felt harsh.  But I kept using it.  About a week or so into it I started to experience some horrible breakouts...probably the worst occurrence in about a year.  I was NOT happy, especially since it was a few weeks before we were leaving for vacation - not the best time to be looking like a pizza face!  But again, I kept using it.  Amazingly, by the time vacation rolled around my skin was in much better shape and it wasn't until I was actually on vacation that I realized what had happened...the normal brush head had purged my skin - the one thing I was terrified of when I first started using the Clarisonic was the "purge" everyone talks about.  I had never experienced it while using the sensitive brush head so I think I just kind of forgot that it was a possibility.  Apparently, the normal brush head was just doing it's job and getting all the gunk out of my skin like it's supposed to.  Now, after almost a month of using it and thankfully getting through that purge period, I'm super happy with the results and I now realize that the sensitive brush head was not enough for me in the first place.  Lesson learned. 

So that's the update.  I was asked by a friend a while ago if I was still loving my Clarisonic and if I would recommend buying it.  At that time I was just "eh" about it and suggested waiting for a really, really good sale, that I didn't feel it was worth paying full price.  Today, I've changed my tune.  While I still suggest waiting for a sale (who doesn't want to save some cash?), I really, truly feel it's worth paying full price if you have to.  It may take some trial and error to find the right brush for your skin, but once you do, you won't look back.


 

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for sharing your complete Clarisonic experience. We couldn't be happier that you finally found a brush head and cleansing routine that works for you. Making it through the purging period can be really frustrating. We are thrilled the results are finally obvious. If you ever have product questions we are here to help. Find us on Twitter @Clarisonic or facebook.com/Clarisonic. Happy Cleansing!

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