Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser Review

As my post about the Clarisonic Pro have stated, I have always had a hard time finding the right cleansers for my skin. I have used Clinique's Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser on and off throughout the years.

Foamy cream-mousse cleanser removes long-wearing makeup and sunscreens quickly, gently, efficiently. Comforts with soothing botanicals. Leaves skin feeling moist, clean, fresh. A great value, too: concentrated formula is long-lasting. Ophthalmologist Tested.

Clinique Turnaround Instant Facial Review

I got a sample of Clinique's Turnaround Instant Facial with my Turnaround Concentrate purchase. Based on my experience with the Turnaround serum and moisturizer, I was super excited to try out the Instant Facial. I expected it would make my skin even more radiant than the serum and moisturizer together. It would be a complete 3 step skin care regiment.

In 5 minutes, this high-performance facial delivers all the radiance and smoothness of microdermabrasion-with significantly less irritation and stress to skin. Promotes surface cell turnover on multiple levels to instantly unveil skin that's fresher, more vibrant and even-toned. Oil free. Use 2-3 times a week for an instant brightness boost.

Clarisonic Deep Pore Brush Head Review

Next to having squeaky clean skin, the next facial benefit I looked forward to the most from using the Pro would be smaller pores. I picked up the deep pore brush head in anticipation of its pore minimizing aid.

Deep Pore Cleansing: Ideal for cleansing oily skin, large pores or hard to reach areas of the face, such as around the nose.  The deep pore cleansing brush head is gentle enough for daily use.

Clarisonic Body Brush Head Review

The Clarisonic Plus and Pro have the option of attaching a body brush. Both handsets have a body mode. The body brush must be affixed to the Clarisonic in order for the body mode to activate. The body cycle is 3 minutes compared to the facial cycle of 1 or 2 minutes (depending on setting).
 

Body: For cleansing areas of the body needing extra care and attention, including the décolleté, hands, arms, elbows and feet. Works with Clarisonic PLUS and PRO models.

Clarisonic Sensitive Brush Head Review

The sensitive brush head came prepackaged with my Pro. Clarisonic states that it is suitable for most skin types:

*Sensitive: Comes standard with most of our cleansing brushes. An easy introduction for sensitive to normal skin types.

Since I have sensitive combination skin, I was worried about using a normal brush head. The normal brush heads I tried in-stores seemed too stiff to use on the the face. The sensitive brush head is softer compared to the normal brush head.

Clarisonic Pro Care Guide

After investing so much money in the Clarisonic system, it is pivotal to keep it in good working condition. The user guide recommends washing the handset and brush head with soapy water once a week. Clarisonic also recommends replacing the brush head every 3 months.

Along with Clarisonic's recommendations, I have developed my own method of caring for my Pro based on tips I have read and experimented with. In addition to washing with soapy water, I rinse the handset and brush head with hydrogen peroxide. I once left the brush head submerged in hydrogen peroxide for about half an hour and noticed a film of skin cells at the end of the soak. The hydrogen peroxide really helped in getting rid of build up on the brush heads.

Reviewers have also cautioned about leaving the Clarisonic in the bathroom. There are areas in the handset that can grow mold. Left in the bathroom, the warm moist atmosphere encourages mold growth. Though I regularly store the Pro outside of the bathroom, I forgot it in the shower 3 nights in a row. I noticed a slightly pink tinge on the inside of the handset (where the brush head attaches). It was the beginning of mold! I had to pry loose the rubber ring and clean underneath that to get all the pink slime out. It was quite disgusting.

As for the brush head, I personally think as long as you keep it in clean with soapy water, it will last a long time. Disinfecting it every week helps too. Changing the brush head every 3 months is solely at the user's discretion. I notice that when my brush head doesn't seem to be performing as well, a quick wash with soap and water will improve it's performance drastically. You can also tell how much build up has accumulated by how much soap you need to use on the bristles before it feels clean.

I would love to hear other tips too!

Clarisonic Pro Review

After writing off the Clarisonic for years, I finally purchased one for myself late last year. I have been increasing my use of facial sunblock and regular cleansers just don't seem to clean SPF off my skin very efficiently. I decided to try the Clarisonic for an extra clean.

In general, foaming cleansers don't clean my skin as well as I would like. It usually feels like it leaves behind a soapy residue or it hasn't effectively broken down the dirt and oil on my face. In the end, I feel like I haven't washed my face at all. Conversely, exfoliating cleansers are too abrasive. It strips my skin of all moisture - along with a few layers of skin. At the end of the week, my face starts to peel from the dryness (despite my strongest moisturizing methods). I have been reduced to mixing cream cleansers with bits of exfoliating cleansers to make my own facial wash. I have been getting increasingly frustrated with this method because facial cleansers usually last me a good year before I need to buy more. By the time I find what works for me,  the cleanser is (unsurprisingly) discontinued.