PRODUCT REVIEW: Clarisonic Sonic Skin System, or as it's known to the husband: Alien Deathray Laser Gun.

I picked this little gadget up on a 5-pymt easy pay from QVC a few months back, and have been using it nearly daily since.  The jury for me is still out.  Honestly, if it was about $150 cheaper I would probably think it was a better value, but since it's in the $225 range, I am not entirely thinking it was worth the cost.


The concept is that little ultrasonic pulses are supposed to help clear your pores and clean the gunk off your face better than just your hands and soap or a washcloth and soap.  I get that it works really well for teeth, like the Sonicare, which is what the guy who invented this gadget also invented...but I just think it's a really expensive washcloth, except that with a spinny brush of death versus a bunch of little wads of cloth.

It comes with a bunch of cleansers and exfoliant gels and then a few heads that you can change out, Delicate, Sensitive, Normal and then a body one that's really "rough". I have tried the first three on my face and I swear I cannot tell a friggin' difference between any of them. They are all, in my opinion, a bit too sandpapery.

The biggest reason I think it's a PASS besides the cost, is the cleaning power of this, or frankly, lack thereof.  I have used each head for a while, as well as each cleanser that it came with and each cleanser I have at home that works well with my face (bec I am allergic to everything...) and my face still seems filthy when I am done.  I have to clean it first with a makeup remover and cleanser to get that off, and then clean it again with this gadget and cleanser.  Seems like a waste of cleanser and time. My face gets just as clean without it as it does with it, so that's not saying much. I still use it, since I paid so much for it, but it's really not worth it. Maybe Judith can tell a difference under magnification, but I use a magnifying mirror to spackle and I can't tell. Ill ask this week at my waxing appointment.

I had really hoped that it would clean up my face and allow me to wean myself off of the Tazorac and Differin I use every other day by exfoliating more than I had been already with the Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Step 1, but it doesn't seem to be doing that.   I get just as many, if not more, zits than I did before. And these are not hormonal zits. These are zits that only an Alien Laser Deathray Gun could give you.

I really would like to hear from other people how they like theirs though, because I have to assume I am either doing it wrong, using the wrong cleanser, or maybe I just wear way too damn much spackle.

There are several different Clarisonic items, a MIA style which is a 1-speed with interchangable brushes, the regular with more speeds and then the PLUS which has the body brush attachment and more speeds. They range in price, with the MIA being around the $150 mark.

Let me know if you have one, and what your thoughts are.