Product Review: Clarisonic Mia

Two months ago, I invested in a Clarisonic Mia cleansing brush.  I researched the product a lot before making the purchase, and I decided it was worth a try.  I purchased it from Sephora, and felt safer doing it that way given their great return policy.  I ended up keeping the brush, and use it once or twice daily.

Here are Clarisonic's stated benefits (from their website):

• Removes 6X more makeup than manual cleansing
• Leaves skin feeling and looking smoother
• Cleansing helps products work more effectively
• Gentle enough to use twice a day
• Reduces oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes
• Minimizes the appearance of visible pores 

 Here are some Before and Afters (all images from Clarisonic.com):

 
The medical community is somewhat divided on the product, with some dermatologists swearing by them, and others a little bit more leery.  I did a brief literature search and did not come up with all that much supporting or opposing the brush.  Clarisonic has a few published studies on their website, which I reviewed.  All of the studies showed positive results; however, the "results" were the patients' perception of their skin.  In other words, almost everyone in all the listed clinical trials felt like their skin texture/color/firmness/etc. was improved, but there were no objective measures listed.  I would find it difficult to recommend this to patients without having objective evidence.

With that being said...from a personal standpoint, I love mine:

• It is kind of "fun" to use, and it makes me not dread washing my face at night.
• I do feel that my skin is cleaner after using it.
• It is gentle and not at all abrasive on the skin.
• I have seen a slight decrease in the overall redness of my skin.

I do not think the Clarisonic is essential to any acne, anti-aging, eczema, or rosacea management system by any means.  For acne or anti-aging, I think that money is better spent on a tube of Retin-A.  However, if you have some spare birthday or spending money, I think the Clarisonic is a good supplement to a skin care regimen.

I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about this product.

Lauren