YB Loves: The No-Frills Clarisonic
Here’s my beauty editor confession: I had never touched a Clarisonic until about a month ago. It’s the face cleansing device that beauty editors all swear by — but alas, let’s be frank: spending over $100 on a face cleansing device was not a priority as a broke college student. The first time I experienced a Clarisonic was a few weeks ago, on a trip to Seattle, Washington, where my aesthetician at Gene Juarez Salon & Spa used it as part of a facial. As someone with clinically diagnosed sensitive skin, I’m wary of anything — or anyone — that touches my skin, so I fully admit that I was highly skeptical of the Clarisonic upon first glance. It’s the same principle as using a sonic toothbrush, as demonstrated by my oral surgeon mother: If you don’t know how to properly brush your teeth with a manual brush, you have no business getting an expensive sonic toothbrush. At the end of the day, it’s your technique and commitment that matter.
So, really, I’ve become a connoisseur of face washing in every single way except with the Clarisonic. I know all about oil cleansing, foam washes, two-step cleansing, konjac sponges, and micellar water from France — but a Clarisonic? It looks like a giant toothbrush. So, the good folks at Clarisonic gave me my first sonic facial cleansing device and it’s an itty-bitty pink brush shaped like a cute droid from Star Wars. It’s called the Mia Fit ($189) and it comes with two settings: Delicate and Power Cleanse (for the heavy makeup days). It comes with a Radiance Brush Head, which is a deep-cleansing brush that is much softer than the other bristles on the market, and the Clarisonic Skin Illuminating Cleanser, which is a cleansing milk that, to be honest, I won’t be using to replace my current arsenal of cleansers. As someone with a history of cystic acne and hyperpigmentation, I started off using my Clarisonic every day and night on the Delicate setting. Clinical results have shown that skin that has been cleansed with a Clarisonic absorbs more product afterwards, so you get more bank for your buck with serums and masks.
Contrary to popular belief, the Clarisonic isn’t an exfoliating tool. The rotary brush model was invented decades ago and many brands are still making some sort of spinning brush cleansing device. The Clarisonic brush, however, consists of bristles that move individually using sonic technology, so that your skin is gently cleansed without rough exfoliation. Kari Dilloo, the head of public relations at Clarisonic, actually recommended that I try the Cashmere Cleanse Brush Head (it is, indeed, very soft and luxe) with my favorite oil cleanser (Shu Uemera, of course). It is simultaneously soft and effective, and while I know I’m scrubbing the grime of New York City off my face every day, I like to imagine I’m back at the Gene Juarez spa instead.
After two weeks of dedicated Clarisonic use with the cleansers of my choice, I can admit that I don’t have model-perfect skin, still. But my skin is breaking out less! And I mean it, because I am wearing less foundation and concealer, and sometimes I even go out to run errands without any makeup on, choosing to let my glowing skin — with a few blemishes — show. “You really do have beautiful skin,” the Gene Juarez aesthetician told me. “It pigments easily, but I hope you realize how lucky you are to have the skin you have.” I had never described my own skin as beautiful before. Beautiful was reserved for 16-year-old Instagram models in crop tops and for Helen Mirren. But perhaps that’s what I learned the most from a few weeks of Clarisonic usage — that being comfortable in your own skin starts before you start applying product on your face.
Related:
5 Unexpected Ways to Use Your Clarisonic Brush
