 |
With the recent push by Clarisonic to promote their sonic brush as treatment for rosacea, I thought it might be interesting to see some reviews of users of the Clarisonic Skin Care System by rosacea sufferers. Although it is expensive, it does seem to be working quite well and so far no-one is reporting that it has irritated their skin. This is a bit of a surprise to me, that it is seemingly so well tolerated.
If you try it, please do let us know what you think. Leave a comment at the end of this post.
Yvette on Tue 10 Apr 2007 said,
I bought the Clarisonic brush about a week or two ago. I was nervous to use it at first because I did see conflicting notes about whether it’s okay for Rosacea. On the Clarisonic website it does have some pic’s for those with Rosacea and mild acne and that it’s okay to use. However, in the brochure that comes with the Clarisonic, it stated, if you have a skin condition (which Rosacea and acne are especially named) ask your health care professional before use.
I asked my Derm’s office (P.A.) and she hadn’t heard of it. Even my aesthetician hadn’t heard of it. Both my Derm. and aesthetician said to be cautious and don’t be over zealous with it. The brush comes with a sensitive brush and a normal skin brush. It says you can use twice a day. I’ve used only once a day, mainly in the morning, and it does seem to do a better job cleansing my skin versus by hand. The sensitive brush is very soft and doesn’t irritate. If I have a pimple (one with fluid) I avoid brushing. I wouldn’t recommend at all if you have active acne or pustular bumps; if pimples somehow pop while using the brush the germs will get on the brush and you can carry them to other areas of the face and more acne could result. Overall, my face is MUCH softer and cleaner after use. After I clean my face with the Clarisonic, I give my face several splashes of water. I rinse the brush in hot water each time and deep clean (in antibacterial soap) every few days. Over the past week, the texture of my skin has improved and my pores are cleaner. I don’t have any increased redness or irritation. My makeup goes on better and lasts longer too.
I just want to add the sensitive brush is very soft and when used it feels like a soft plushy towel is cleaning your face. Previously, I washed using my hands, but found sometimes my face wasn’t really clean. The brush bristles move in circular oscillating motions to work “with your skin” versus pulling it. The slight bumps (probably clogged pores) I had on my jaw line a few weeks ago are nearly gone. My face is definitely smoother and I have less bumps and clogged pores. I still get a few breakouts on my chin and try to avoid using the Clarisonic on this area until healed. When using, I use a very gentle non-soap cleanser (MD Forte non soap cleanser or Christine Chin sulfate free Ultra Calming Gel cleanser).
rosesarered on Sat 14 Apr 2007 said,
At any rate, it continues to seem to improve my skin pretty dramatically. I’ll say just briefly what my own skin is like, in the hopes that that might help others considering Clarisonic decide whether it’d be right for them. I have dry, dry skin with tiny flakes on my cheeks and nose. I have enlarged pores on my cheeks, and some permanent redness, accompanied by occasional flushes. In the past, my skin has responded favourably to exfoliants like Pond’s Purely Polished when VERY gently, carefully, and infrequently applied. My skin’s response to the exfoliant was one of the things that made me optimistic about Clarisonic, which seemed like a much gentler and chemical-free way to accomplish the same ends.
az21300 said on Fri 25 May 2007
I have been using the clarisonic brush for about a month and a half now. its amazing. it comes with a sensitive brush and and normal brush. i have now worked my way up to the normal brush and my skin is loving it. I use it twice a day with a CVS version of cetaphil. i find that my skin is about 2X’s as smooth as it was prior. it obviously hasn’t cured my rosacea but has helped a lot…
sprtmrg said on 24 Feb 2007,
I’ve tried it and found it to be very helpful. A spa I went to recommended it to me. At first I was not interested because I thought it would be too harsh for my sensitive skin. They had a whole box of of the delicate (blue) brush heads that they had gotten from the rep. They let me use their system with a new brush head to try it out and see if I liked it. My skin felt baby soft and smooth afterward.
I purchased the system in November for $150. They gave me a free blue brush head. The system comes with both white and gray but the blue is the most delicate. When you buy the system you also get a free one year subscription to Health magazine and a coupon good for two free brush heads, plus a coupon for a buy one get one brush head. I called the company and asked if I could get the blue and they said okay. The brush heads are $25 each full price. My skin type is oily with large pores and I tend to get a little bit of seb derm. I also get what seems like little bits of sand stuck inside my pores (chicken skin). This works miracles for that. My skin is softer and smoother and I’ve been using it since November. The seb derm is also gone and the machine has never made me turn red. Many things do but not the Clarisonic. The difference in the skin is like the difference between brushing your teeth or using one of those electric toothbrush systems (I use the Braun).
During this time I’ve been undergoing laser genesis treatments. If your doctor’s office has one you might be able to get a good deal. I hear Nordstrom sells the machines too and they have a very good return policy. I would think anyone with oily skin could give this a try but maybe those with very dry skin might need to be more careful. I’m not in any way affiliated with Clarisonic or get any type of benefit for promoting their product. I’ve tried so many things out there and this really seems to work for me. I hope this can help someone else too.
Featured Product
[Update] Clarisonic have now released the Clarisonic Mia, a cheaper less-frills version of the Clarisonic Skincare System.
What Do You Think?
Please let us know what you think about the Clarisonic and Clarisonic Mia cleaning system below.
it is now almost march of ’08 and am still using clarisonic on my face with CVS brand cetaphil before applying finacea. it is great. in this time i was upgraded for FREE for the new clarisonic MD, which addressed so design flaws in the original model.
as i mentioned almost a year ago my rosacea isn’t cured but with that and finacea i don’t get more than a couple P &P more then once a month!!
rosacea stinks but with the routine i have been graced with good relief.
I’ve suffered with granulomatus Rosacea for many years, and have found few products to be effective. Things that have worked have been Accutane (but only a short term fix) and AFA exfoliating gel (a product that my dermatologist recently introduced me to that is more effective than most of the rosacea meds I’ve tried). So, I was skeptical about the Clarisonic, especially at the $175 price point. I purchased it though, and am I glad that I did. After the first time I tried it, I noticed a difference. My skin was softer and my pores were unclogging. It really helped to bring everything to the surface quickly. After having a facial and contiuing to use the Clarisonic, I noticed that my pores seem smaller, my very minor wrinkles seem to be less noticeable, and my skin is much clearer and cleaner looking. And, I’ve only been using the product for 9 days!! My advice is that you try it. With a money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose.
I am not at all affiliated with Clarisonic, I’m just a very satisfied user.
Hi Kristi, thanks for letting us know. It is great that after outlaying so much money that it is worth it !
You can get a great deal on the Clarisonic Pro for only $175 at http://www.bbeautysecrets.com
I am going to purchase Clarisonic after reading this website. I have rosacea and was concerned about the brush causing redness. However, 7 months ago I got off of caffeine and I have not had any breaking out since then. Thought others might like to know that.
L.H.
Well I have used the Clarisonic now for about three weeks. I too have Rosacea. I am not sure that the Rosacea is better but my skin is smoother and seems to tolerate other medications better. I would recommend this device.
It has helped my rosecea a whole lot. it also seems to have improved the overall health of my skin. i would reccomend for everyone to at least try it. Sephora offers a 30 day return policy if you aren’t happy with it so you have nothing to lose.
Sometimes you buy things hoping that they will work just as you have read in many reviews, but then after a couple of weeks you realize how dissapointed you are — especially if you spent a lot of money. I bought the Clarisonic and for once I can truly say with out a doubt that it was a most beneficial purchase! I paid $158 online (free shipping). I was glad for that as most places including my skin care spa at the Dematologist clinic was selling it for $195. I have been using it twice a day following the timing directions for each section of the face (it beeps when time to move to another part of the face). I have used the sample cleansers that came with the machine and the soft brush. When those were gone I have used french milled (very mild) soap or Cetapil. I have in the past had mild Roscea, but with MetroLotion it was so controlled that I even stopped using that (after 3 years of continuious use). I am very happy that using this Clarsonic it did not activate any redness at all! I am 64 years old and have taken good care of my skin using sun protection everyday, and good quality facial products and use little make-up (mineral based when I do apply it 3-4 days a week in the evenings). I am out doors nearly everyday for several hours as I am an avid road bicyclist, runner, hiker and x-country skier. So my skin is exposed to environmental polutants. This machine has cleaned my skin lamazing! I was going for facials about every 6-8 weeks for deep cleansing. But now with this Clarisonic I do not feel I will need to do that any more. I am thrilled that this brush and the way it works has TOTALLY eliminated a persistent problem on my chin area. The area between the tip of my chin to bottom of my lower lip always had these little bumps – like small clogged pores. Running my finger in this area you could feel these little bumps and they looked white, and sometimes like clogged blackheads. I think it was about the 4th day of using the Clarisonic that this area is as smooth as baby skin! Gone, and smooth and soft. The other area was near the bottom of my nose in the folds. Pores were larger and skin rougher feeling in that spot. But now, so smooth, clean and silky feeling. I follow with moisturizer and I use less as it goes on so evenly and smoothly.
There is another area of my body that I use this Clarisonic on that you may find unusal. Since I am a cyclist and wear padded bike shorts for many hours at a time, and in the groin area one can sweat and it can breed bacteria if the shorts are not removed and you shower and cleanse the upper insides of the legs well (the insides of the legs in the groin that make contact with the bicycle seats outer edges). This area would have these white bumps and sometimes one of these hair follicles would become irritated and inflammed. So my dermatologist said wash after riding with BP Wash (she sold it in her clinic) to remove any bacteria. So I decided to use this cleanser along with the soft Clarisonic brush. Unbelievable the difference!! That area is now smooth and those bumps are almost entirely gone (after 2 weeks – though I saw improvement in 2 days). Overall – I highly recommend the Clarisonic brush cleaning machine. Everytime I touch my face I am reminded how glad I am that I made this purchase. This thing really works! You will save the cost of it on just using less product on your skin because you might decide that you don’t really need many visits for facials – or non at all.
I received the Clarisonic Pro brush as a birthday gift a couple of weeks ago. I am in my late 50’s. I have been using it at least one a day and sometimes twice a day. I think the brush is amazing. It came with a sensitive brush. It works well for me. I take it in the shower with me and that is very convenient. I have ordered the spot brush and the new refining cream and I cannot wait for it to get here. I would recommend it to everyone. It is a little expensive but think how much you can save on facials.
I have rosacea and a long history of acne which has been treated since adolescence. I purchased the Clarisonic about a month ago and it is wonderful. Not irritating and definitely cleanses well. I use Cetaphil Cleanser for oily skin and it does a great job. I am using the brush for sensitive skin which came with the Clarisonic. I rinse it in hot water after every use and let it air-dry. I am not seeing any cross-contamination. I continue to use Finacea every a.m. as prescribed by my dermatologist. He also recently prescribed Aczone for specific lesions but I am hardly ever needing it! A few years ago I had some laser treatments for acne scarring. This helped ALOT. After the summer I hope to have a few more to touch up some spots. Laser treatments are not cheap but they can make a big difference with residual scarring from acne.
Shoo I can recommend this brush to anybody – it’s true
what they say you buy products and all sorts of things thinking it will help. This brush even helps for pigmentation marks my marks have gone lighter I’ve used it just for a week. It is amazing I hoping to order more facial products from them as I am in South Africa..
I purchased the Clairsonic Pro and have been using it now for about 2 weeks. I have mild rosacea mainly on my cheeks with aging 40’s skin with some sun damage. I like the way it cleans and makes my face feel but over the past 2 days my right cheek has broken out with a few of those bump style pimples that never come to a head. I am not sure if my skin is just purging or if it is a sign of irritation from the unit. I use the sensitive brush 1-2 times a day. Has anybody else had this happen?
I have had use this brush for almost 3 months now,i found my face & neck is smotther and less pore clogged…well… still have some but not much as before,the brush clean the fundation out pretty well ( I wear thin layer of fundation everyday),I can’t wear fundation before, because I will break out really bad after few days use,even it’s really thin layer of that, I still break out before my period but I use the brush very gentle,and break out went down pretty fast.
I’ve been using a Clarisonic since November ’09 — just went for my six-month visit with the dermatologist and she said, “Whatever you’re doing, keep it up. Your skin looks great!”
La Roche Posay’s Toleriane line has proved to be a godsend, too — I use the cleanser with the Clarisonic, twice a day, as well as sunscreen and “riche” formula cream at night.
When I think back to how my skin looked last fall — rough, flakey, with lots of P&Ps — it seems unbelievable that I’d have these results today. Highly recommend the Clarisonic to anyone, of any age.
Unfortunately, i am quite disappointed. Clarisonic did nothing for me. In fact it made my face so raw and sore i broke out further.
I use my Clarisonic brush every night with Cetaphil cleanser and have no problem with it, although I have to use it on the lowest setting, and I use the sensitive brush head.
What I like about it is it removes make-up completely and thoroughly without having to scrub, something I was never able to do with a washcloth. My skin definitely feels smoother after using it.
I have had several IPL treatments so I don’t have much facial redness anymore, so I can’t address whether the Clarisonic helps redness as it claims. I do have redness on my arms so I tried the Clarisonic body brush and haven’t noticed a difference in redness, although I haven’t used it consistently so it’s hard to judge.
I also use Renova, which has virtually eliminated my P & P’s, but I think the Clarisonic brush helps too.
I have been using the Clarisonic Pro for about five days now. I’ve noticed my pores are nonexistent and my skin feels so smooth. I use it twice a day with cetaphil cleanser. I use the body brush every day and have noticed the skin on my chest is very smooth as well. I’m fifty six and suffer from chronic hives. I’ve not had any reaction from using the clarisonic and in fact I think it helps.
I highly recommend this product.
I have severe rosacea and i cannot afford clarisonic but i did purchase avon’s vibrating skin cleansing machine. I think they are copying neutrogena’s Wave. My skin is oily/combo and my skin is so much cleaner I can’t believe it. and Smooth. Also Lesss red in the cheeks when I am done which I think my skin likes it like it is a massage or something. I bought the neutrogena wave to compare and it actually irritated my skin and made me redder. not sure why, although Avons cleansing pads are thicker. Maybe my skin didn’t like neutrogena’s cleanser. I want to try clarisonic but probably won’t get to for a year. I would say that skin care has evolved, wish it came sooner, I am 49.
I have just returned from the USA and live in South Africa, where am i able to purchase this product Claisonic in South Africa, please could you supply me with the relevant contacts
Since Clarisonic was out of my fiscal ballpark, I opted for its half-the-price competitor, Nutra Sonic. I found it on Overstock after Googling for Clarisonic sales. Bottom line, it’s great. My skin hasn’t been this smooth and clear, ever.
However, it’s done nothing to lessen the ruddy colored t-zone of my rosacea.
L
Clarisonic does nothing for rosacea symptoms. What it does do is reverse some of the long-term effects on the skin of having rosacea–keratinization (coarsening), enlargement of the pores, and uneven skin tone. Clarisonic helps a LOT with that, and it makes a big difference in the appearance of the skin. I’ve been using it for 3 months now, and I’m very pleased.
I’ve had no irritation from using the brush. I use the 4-speed Clarisonic on its lowest setting ONLY and with a “sensitive” brushhead. I damp the face and the brush first with tepid water, apply the cleanser, and then use the damp brush very gently in a circular motion for no more than 30 sec total. I emphasize the areas that tend to keratinize–the nose and the chin–and use it very gingerly on the cheeks.
Note: I’ve used this in conjunction with a dietary regimen for controlling redness (bland, nourishing diet with NO junk food), a good cleanser and a good moisturizer formulated for rosacea.
Clarisonic wrecked havoc on my skin. VERY BAD broken capillaries all over my face thanks to using the Clarisonic AGAIN VERY BAD FOR ROSACEA!
I was given Clarisonic for Christmas (Dec 14th). I have had Rosacea for years. I have tried laser with great success but has become very expensive so had to stop. Also I have been using Dermalogica products(Ultra Calming, 3 years) with good results BUT I cannot believe how my skin feels after using Clarisonic.
I use my Dermalogica cleanser and pores are smaller and my skin is so soft feeling. I had to start with once a day….I don’t use makeup and using the cleanser and moisturizer twice was too much for my face and I got a few breakouts. I have slowly worked up to three times every two days and want to get to twice a day.
I have no intention of giving up using this.
I am 63 and have found that using it on my neck and going towards my chest has really improved the “old lady” look to those areas.
I have been using my Clarasonic Mia, a bday gift, for about 2 months now. I have mild rosacea, with a “bumpy” chin and red p’s on my nose tip. I have cheek redness, mild if I use only a few reliable products, worse if not, but my biggest problem if broken blood vessels on my cheeks. I also had blackheads on my chin and folds of my nose, unrelated to my rosacea. My chin is so bumpy, and flaky, nothing so far has helped. Now, I use the Clarasonic on low with sensitive brush head, one or twice a day and the results have been awesome. It does not increase my cheek redness, it has totally eliminated my blackheads on nose folds and chin. It has “polished” my skin and it is very nice looking from that perspective. I continue to have the redness if I get exposed to my triggers, I continue to have the bumpy flaky chin and my red nose with p’s but my face is the cleanest ever, it is healthy looking and it has not had any bad reactions to my condition. I use only Mario Bardesco (sp!) cleanser or Cereve with it and nothing else. Most other things increase the redness. So, I am very happy, and would encourage anyone thinking about it to try it. Good Luck !
I have rosacea I bought the clairasonic and it left my skin baby smooth, exfoliated for months I used it, and the RED broken capillaries on my face have tripled so buyer beware true rosacea skin that gets broken capillaries should NOT use the clarisonic I use rx retin A to exfoliate the skin beware the broken capillaries do not go away easily I regret using the clairasonic it was a bad thing for me!
I have had seborrheic dermatitis for the last 2 years on my forhead around my hairline, in between and on my eyebrows, all creases around the nose and jaw. It was itchy, dry, and scaley. If I scratched it was red and raw where the scales had come off. I kept saying I need to see a dermatologist but I really can’t afford it. I have tried all kinds products for exfoliating and moisturizers. Exfoliating with a washcloth left me super red and splotchy and low-end, moisturizers did not last all day, I would have to reapply. So, I bought a Clairasonic Mia 2 with philosophy sensitive skin cleanser, serum, and am and pm moisturizers. After two uses, I have not had my dermatitis conditions come back at all. I never would have thought this would happen so soon. Also, I accidentally skipped a day on week 2 and still my dry scales have not come back! So, eventually I will lessen my use as long as my symptoms do not return.
I used to suffer with very bad redness, rosacea and broken capillaries and I have tried so many products. I wasn’t holding out much hope for the Somaluxe Redness Repair but it was so reasonably priced and it calmed my redness from the first use. I do believe that with this type of thing you find what works for you by trial and error so all I can say is that after MANY years of searching I have, eventually, found a product that helps and will continue to use it.
I know this is an old article but I love my Clarisonic. I believe it helps keep my rosacea at bay and I have been using it once a day for years.