Facial Cleansing Brushes and Beautiful Skin
I'm Julie and I want to welcome you to my blog! It's all about a fascination of mine with having beautiful, healthy skin. It hasn't always been easy for me, but over the past few years, I've learned some things about having a healthy and clear complexion and I wanted to share them here.
Maybe you've had your own struggles with your skin, or maybe you have some great tips that might help someone else out; either way I'd love to hear your perspective!
To start with, I want to look at some aids to getting and keeping super, deep down, clean skin, since truly clean skin is less likely to develop acne or other blemishes. A great tool for accomplishing this type of cleansing is the newest craze of facial cleansing brushes. These brushes come in powered and manual modes and are used by both men and women.
Maybe you've had your own struggles with your skin, or maybe you have some great tips that might help someone else out; either way I'd love to hear your perspective!
To start with, I want to look at some aids to getting and keeping super, deep down, clean skin, since truly clean skin is less likely to develop acne or other blemishes. A great tool for accomplishing this type of cleansing is the newest craze of facial cleansing brushes. These brushes come in powered and manual modes and are used by both men and women.
The Goal of Deep Skin Cleansing
The top question is whether these brushes really offer you an advantage, or could you get the same results using more traditional cleansing or with a good exfoliator?
First off, it's a good idea to understand what these brushes really aim to do, and that's to attack the left over makeup, dirt, and oils that accumulate over the course of the day. You might think that washing alone will take care of this, but alas! It's not always enough. The problem is that the debris from the day combined with an over production of oil is going to start to clog up your pores. And, you know that's not going to turn out well.
The goal with the skin cleansing brushes is to clean more thoroughly than you can with a simple manual wash, but without unduly irritating your skin in the process. That's the delicate line you need to walk: cleaning deeply while maintaining happy skin!
The more abrasive your approach the greater risk of harming skin cells, and that ain't good.
First off, it's a good idea to understand what these brushes really aim to do, and that's to attack the left over makeup, dirt, and oils that accumulate over the course of the day. You might think that washing alone will take care of this, but alas! It's not always enough. The problem is that the debris from the day combined with an over production of oil is going to start to clog up your pores. And, you know that's not going to turn out well.
The goal with the skin cleansing brushes is to clean more thoroughly than you can with a simple manual wash, but without unduly irritating your skin in the process. That's the delicate line you need to walk: cleaning deeply while maintaining happy skin!
The more abrasive your approach the greater risk of harming skin cells, and that ain't good.
Benefits of Face Cleansing Brushes
This is where a good (emphasizing the word "good" here) facial cleansing brush comes into the picture. With a skin cleansing brush you are able to clean deeply, removing as much as 6 times the amount of makeup you might get off with hand washing, according to a study by Clarisonic.
The added benefit of deep cleaning is that your skin will absorb moisturizers and other treatments more completely. This is due to the removal of a layer of dead skin that will typically act as a barrier.
Here are a few things you might like about using a good face cleansing brush: fewer blemishes, reduced pore size, a reduction in scarring and wrinkles, and skin that's softer and brighter. All this with a regime that might only take several minutes a day! And no harsh or toxic chemicals are involved, either.
The added benefit of deep cleaning is that your skin will absorb moisturizers and other treatments more completely. This is due to the removal of a layer of dead skin that will typically act as a barrier.
Here are a few things you might like about using a good face cleansing brush: fewer blemishes, reduced pore size, a reduction in scarring and wrinkles, and skin that's softer and brighter. All this with a regime that might only take several minutes a day! And no harsh or toxic chemicals are involved, either.
Manual or Power?
The skin cleansing brushes have been around for a long time, long before the latest power versions made their appearance. They were used in Asian countries before they made their way to western countries, and you can find decent examples of the brushes for sale at Amazon if you're old school.
A few choices of manual face brushes are the Dermalogica Face Brush and the Bass Facial Cleansing Brush.
But, I'm all about convenience and saving time and effort. There's where the power brushes come into the picture. The number of these on the market has proliferated over the past couple of years as word has gotten around of how useful they can be and of the remarkable results from using them.
The most sophisticated versions are only available in specialized stores, through spas or online. Naturally you'll find the best price online too, through you won't be able to check the brush out in person if you purchase online.
A few choices of manual face brushes are the Dermalogica Face Brush and the Bass Facial Cleansing Brush.
But, I'm all about convenience and saving time and effort. There's where the power brushes come into the picture. The number of these on the market has proliferated over the past couple of years as word has gotten around of how useful they can be and of the remarkable results from using them.
The most sophisticated versions are only available in specialized stores, through spas or online. Naturally you'll find the best price online too, through you won't be able to check the brush out in person if you purchase online.
It's About the Power
The technology that powers the skin cleansing brush is probably the major difference between most of the models of brushes. A rotary brush head spin the brush in a circle, and you then move this in a pattern over your skin. The sonic cleansing brushes move in an oscillating or pulsing manner across the surface of your skin, moving at a much faster velocity than the typical rotary brushes.
The pulsating motion acts to shake the impurities out of your skin, while the less sophisticated rotary brushes act more in an abrasive way to scrub your skin. That's something to keep in mind if your skin is overly sensitive.
There are several things that you really have to think about with these brushes; the big ones are the speed of the movement, the texture and feel of the bristles, how much pressure is safe to apply when using them, and what cleansers you use with the brush.
The best quality face cleansing brushes will move at a rate of 300 to 400 hundred times per second, while the cheaper versions might only move at 4 to 5 times a second. With the higher end models, you will also have more choices in the speeds you can use.
Strangely enough, the faster movements are actually less abrasive on your face, all other things being equal, like texture of the brush and so forth.
The pulsating motion acts to shake the impurities out of your skin, while the less sophisticated rotary brushes act more in an abrasive way to scrub your skin. That's something to keep in mind if your skin is overly sensitive.
There are several things that you really have to think about with these brushes; the big ones are the speed of the movement, the texture and feel of the bristles, how much pressure is safe to apply when using them, and what cleansers you use with the brush.
The best quality face cleansing brushes will move at a rate of 300 to 400 hundred times per second, while the cheaper versions might only move at 4 to 5 times a second. With the higher end models, you will also have more choices in the speeds you can use.
Strangely enough, the faster movements are actually less abrasive on your face, all other things being equal, like texture of the brush and so forth.
Getting the Cleansing Routine Down
If you're going to use a facial cleansing brush to improve your skin, then you have to know the right way to go about using it. Start by selecting a cleanser. This doesn't have to be anything fancy or expensive since the device is doing most of the work. You might use Cetaphil or Philosophy's Purity Made Simple. Apply either to the brush head or directly on your skin. Don't be skimpy! You’ll want the cleanser both for its cleaning properties and for the fact that it acts as a lubricant for the brush.
You should wash at the sink or in the shower, with the shower being the way that most people do it. This is because the brushes will often splatter the water and cleanser around. Move the brush over the different areas of your face with only gentle pressure.
Another feature of the better cleansing brushes is that they will use a timer so that you know how long to wash a particular area. If something doesn't feel right then stop and review your technique.
It's recommended that you wash with the brush every day. If you have extra sensitive skin, then every other day may be fine. There are two companies that seem to have cornered the market on the higher end power face cleansing brushes: Clarisonic and Nutra Sonic. The Clarisonic has the better reputation. In fact, here's a review comparing the Nutra Sonic to the Clarisonic Mia 2. That article has a review of ratings and compares the different specifications of each model.
You should wash at the sink or in the shower, with the shower being the way that most people do it. This is because the brushes will often splatter the water and cleanser around. Move the brush over the different areas of your face with only gentle pressure.
Another feature of the better cleansing brushes is that they will use a timer so that you know how long to wash a particular area. If something doesn't feel right then stop and review your technique.
It's recommended that you wash with the brush every day. If you have extra sensitive skin, then every other day may be fine. There are two companies that seem to have cornered the market on the higher end power face cleansing brushes: Clarisonic and Nutra Sonic. The Clarisonic has the better reputation. In fact, here's a review comparing the Nutra Sonic to the Clarisonic Mia 2. That article has a review of ratings and compares the different specifications of each model.
Many Choices
Hope you found some good information on the advantages of using a facial cleansing brush for everyday cleaning. There are a lot of different skin care products out there, but the best investment you can make is in preventing problems in the first place, rather than always having to find the magic product for your skin, especially with the questionable ingredients in some skin care products.
A facial cleansing brush will smooth, clear, and revitalize your skin. Give one a try and compare your skin before you use it and in 30 days and see what kind of difference it makes!
A facial cleansing brush will smooth, clear, and revitalize your skin. Give one a try and compare your skin before you use it and in 30 days and see what kind of difference it makes!