Clarisonic Mia

I got the clarisonic for christmas so I have only been using it for just over a week. From the reviews I've read and videos I've watched, a lot of people said that your face "purges" during the first two weeks. The theory being that the clarisonic deep cleans your pores and brings all the dirt to the surface which can result in breakouts, similar to how your face can break out after a facial. Personally, I didn't find that. I don't know if it's because I went from using the Olay pro-x cleansing brush to the clarisonic, but it didn't break me out. If anything, it's helped my breakouts. To start with, I have oily, acne prone skin. Usually I just have hormonal break outs, but for the past 3 months or so my skin has been breaking out pretty bad (I'm now blaming Revlon Colourstay foundation, but I'll review that later). Since I've been using the clarisonic my skin has started to clear up and is so soft.

The Clarisonic Mia is a rechargeable brush that "oscillates at a sonic frequency of 300 movements a second". The website claims it doesn't vibrate but uses sonic technology to clean the skin. If you ask me, it feels like it is just vibrating. It does feel nice on the skin though. The Mia has a 60 second timer on it and you brush your cheeks for 20 seconds each, chin and nose for 10 seconds, and forehead for 10 seconds. The Mia 2 gives a little pulse to tell you when to switch locations, but for an extra $70 or so, I can count myself, thank you.

How does it compare to the Olay pro-x brush? For starters, the Olay brush head only rotates, doesn't oscillate like the Clarisonic. The Olay brush is battery operated, but I used mine probably on average of 5 days a week for a whole year and never needed to change the batteries, so that isn't a deal breaker. The Olay brush is water resistant but not water proof, so you're not supposed to use it in the shower. However, I used it in the shower, I just stepped out of the stream so it wasn't submerged in water. It never broke.Size wise, the Olay brush and brush head is a bit smaller. And maybe most importantly, I got the Olay brush on sale for $20 where as the Clarisonic is $99-140 (it's currently on sale for $99)

So is the Clarisonic worth the money? Now that I have both, I definitely like the Clarisonic better. I find that it is helping to clear up my skin but it's too early to tell if it will help evem skin tone. So far it hasn't done anything for the visibility of my pores or blackheads. It just keeps your skin exfoliated which will eventually help all that. If you're unsure I suggest doing what I did and get the Olay brush first (it goes on sale frequently so keep an eye out) and see if you actually use it regularly and if you like it. If you like it, chances are you will love the Clarisonic too.

Pros:
Oscillating system is exfoliating and leaves skin super soft
Turns off after 60 seconds
Rechareable
Lathers (any) soap up nice

Cons:
Hard to clean around the nose and I find it super ticklish on the nose!
The brush is expensive as well as the replacement heads ($30 each)