You might have seen some of my Instagrams during the past two months featuring my Clarisonic Mia 2.. because I’ve been thoroughly testing it. I’m really glad I got to try it out before the Belgian launch (which was last weekend), so I can fill you guys in about it. There’s been a huge international hype about the Clarisonic ever since it launched in he US & spread across the rest of the world.. But in my opinion? These kinds of things take some time to show just how well they get along with your skin, especially when your skin is troublesome like mine. So I took 10 weeks to get to know my Mia & I’m ready to disclose!

The Clarisonic is a tool that’ll cleanse your skin much more deeply than you can just using your hands or a washing cloth. It’s basically a brush that moves incredibly fast: it’s got a sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second. It’s not really visible to the naked eye, but it moves back & forth instead of just turning around. You use your favorite cleansing product with it (although please don’t use a scrub, it’ll damage the Clarisonic + it won’t be nice for your skin) & use it for 60 seconds at a time. A timer (it’ll buzz) will indicate when you need to switch the area you’re cleansing: the first twenty seconds are for your forehead, then twenty seconds for your chin area and then ten seconds for each of your cheeks. You’re supposed to use it twice a day, every day, but that’s not necessarily the right frequency for you. Be careful if you have very thin skin, as you don’t want to damage it.

There are several kinds of brush heads for the Clarisonic, depending on your skin type. Honestly though, I’d just skip the regular brush head ( white one) and opt for the delicate brush head (blue one). If it were already available in Belgium, I’d even go for the acne brush head. It’s supposed to be the softest one, made especially for acne prone skin with very plush and soft bristles. The regular brush seems a bit too harsh for me. Over-exfoliating can be very harsh on your skin, especially when you’re already crazy about beauty products (which you probably are if you’re willing to spend big bucks on a Clarisonic) as you’ll probably be using some scrubs and chemical exfoliators too. That’s why I use the Clarisonic twice a week in the evening, and I make sure not to use any chemical peels within 24 hours after using the Clarisonic. 

The specific model I have is the Clarisonic Mia 2, a travel friendly version that comes with two different speed settings (regular & faster) and a travel case. It doesn’t have a huge charger, but a magnetic small charger that you just clip onto it. I personally like this more since it takes up much less space! You also get a Clarisonic travel cleanser with it, but I prefer to use my own. I use Apivita’s gel cleanser with Propolis & Citrus, but you can use your own favorite of course. Just remember not to use any scrubs, and foam cleansers don’t work too well either. When I’m wearing make-up I’ll take it off with some micellar water first, since I don’t want to get the Clarisonic brush too dirty. You could take your make-up off with it if you really want to (why though?).. but just cleanse the brush well after. I usually set it off a second time and then pat it dry against a towel. It’ll get rid of most of the water. 

So what’s my final verdict? I really like the Clarisonic and it’s become a fixed part of my skin care routine, using it twice a week. It’s enough to cleanse my skin more thoroughly those couple of times & it allows me not to use manual scrubs that much. My skin is amazingly soft after using it & I haven’t suffered any nasty side effects. This really does clean that much more thorough than you would using just your hands, but my skin doesn’t need that every day. It’s also important to note that you should not use this on active acne: it’ll aggravate the inflammation. You can of course use it on ‘dry’ acne or scars, as it’ll probably help removing the discoloration and scars over time. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed for my acne scars! 

And do I believe it’s worth the price? That decision is completely up to you. It depends on your budget. Just like some people pay €60 for a high end foundation and others could never imagine doing so, this is the same contemplation you need to make. I’m not sure I would have splurged myself, although now I would miss the Clarisonic if I would have to return it. So as I always say with expensive purchases: think it over. The Clarisonic Mia 2 retails for €149 & the brush heads retail for €25. Using the brush twice daily you’ll need to replace the brush heads every three months. I’ll see how long I can keep mine using it far less, I’ll toss it when it starts looking dodgy. In Belgium they’re exclusively available through Ici Paris XL: already online on their website, and from September 15th on in stores.