I’ve been blessed with good combination skin with the infrequent outbreak of a crude pimple here and there but I do have a reoccurring black head issue which I haven’t been able to get rid of for some time now.

You see a couple of years back when I was prepping for my big day; I did the amateur’s mistake of signing up for a facial at a relatively well known beauty spot (which I shall not name) but which seemed quite professional.

What I didn’t know was that facial included a gruesome and tremendously painful blackhead extraction treatment with nothing but a lady’s long nails squeezing through my face until I squirmed in pain and which also left me with her red blistering nail marks. At the time, I was under the impression that that was one of the prices a girl had to pay to be rid of her black heads. Little did I know that such extraction processes are the worst thing you can put your face through and how unhygienic it was for her to use her bare hands and not that metal tool. Since then I’ve been reluctant to try out extractions and instead opt for regular non-invasive surface facials. And though they would clean out my face temporarily those black always popped back their ugly heads again.

But about a month ago, things changed. I was invited for a face cleansing session at the new Clarisonic stand over at ABC Ashrafieh’s beauty department floor. Unsuspectingly I went with a full face of makeup only to find out that Clarisonic is intended to clean your face.

What Is Clarisonic Plus?

Simply put its two separate brushes for your face and body that work as a cleansing system. Clarisonic’s brushes use what they call sonic technology, making 300 movements per second, so it’s so fast that you actually hardly feeling it moving, and instead you just get gentle vibrations that are intended to wipe off dirt, oil and a full face of makeup. Oh and it’s waterproof.

Clarisonic is not supposed to replace your favorite face cleanser/wash. Instead it complements it by improving its performance. All you have to do is either put some on your face or directly on the brush. I found that the latter works best for me.

It also has a built-in timer. And if you’re like me and are usually half asleep when you’re washing your face in the morning then you’ll find it super helpful, since it can make a beep to indicate whenever one part of your face is done and so you just move on to another.

So is it an Exfoliator?

No but it will sure feel like one when you first start using it. That’s because when you wash your face with your hands you’re not really simulating you pores or scraping away any surface black heads or dirt that’s beyond the very top surface of your skin. And black heads are the result of the unavoidable piling up of makeup and dirt in your pores over time. So with Clarisonic Plus once you get that first harsh layer of dirt off the first 5 times, it will feel less like an exfoliator and do what it’s meant to do, gently cleanse and stimulate.

I started by using Clarisonic twice a day at first, and I can’t describe to you how incredibly smooth it felt, in fact so smooth that my moisturizer and day cream absorbed into my skin way better than ever, you can tell just by the way the cream will rest on your face right after you’re done. But the most noticeable effect you’ll get is the way your foundation and makeup will blend so smoothly. I guess that’s why they claim that it makes your face more radiant.

My Routine

I found that I don’t like to use my Clarisonic Plus directly on a full caked face of makeup since I’m not a fan of watching the brush turn brown and gunky. So what I do is dab some of my favorite makeup remover on a piece of cotton and just give my face a very swift wipe especially around the eye area before I turn on the machine.

My cheeks turned rosier than usual the first couple of times I began using it. I noticed it was because I automatically got the urge to press and tug a little on it. There’s no need for any of that as it will do the job just fine on its own so be gentle. Also, I once experimented by applying some scrub on the brush rather than facial wash,it was harsh and let’s just say not one of my brightest moments, stick to cleaners or face washes.

As for the body brush, I don’t use it with my daily shower but I will use it on the weekends when I feel like a massage and when I know I’m about to lather my skin with a moisturizer or after a long day at the beach to effectively remove tanning oils.

The Results

No wonder it made it to Oprah’s list of favorite things. I’m addicted. It’s now an integral part of my daily beauty routine. I stayed at a hotel last week and forgot my Clarisonic Plus at home. I can’t tell you how ineffective washing my face manually again felt like. It’s like applying shampoo on your hair without actually massaging your head. After three weeks (twice a day) my black head issue is almost unnoticeable. I’m so happy to have avoided painful extractions but most of all my skin is always feeling as smooth as it does post-facial.