In praise of Clarisonic

Growing up, my mom always instilled the basics: Always wash your face before bed; you're never to young to start using eye cream; take care of your skin now.

Naturally, I didn't pay attention.

Except for that no face full of makeup part. I have never, ever gone to bed all tarted up. That's just gross.

I've always been good about taking care of my skin, but close to my recent birthday, I began obsessing over it. Am I seeing the start of lines? Are there age spots I hadn't noticed before? Am I getting it clean enough?

Some co-workers had raved about the Clarisonic and on a rare, very rare, facial about six months back, the aesthetician used one. I liked it. The gizmo was soothing and my face felt so clean and tight afterward. Getting that "facial feeling" at home on a daily basis was enticing. But, if you've ever priced Clarisonics, you know they ain't cheap. Well, I scraped together my birthday money, saved and found a deal on Amazon.com — with free shipping to boot. In a few days, I had my Pro Clarisonic.

My thoughts: It does get your face really clean. Before, I had this long, involved routine that involved baby wipes, makeup remover AND soap, and I'd still get grime on the cotton ball at the toner stage of the cleaning process. My face is pretty spotless after using the Clarisonic. I think my skin is clearer and smoother. And — this is an unadvertised bonus — it does a cracking good job at painless stitch removal. I had one in my face before I Clarisonic'd, but I didn't have one afterward and never felt a thing. This is more than I can say for the nurse in my dermatologist's office who removed previous stitches.

My only disappointment is I'd expect better results in the blackhead zone. But I've never encountered anything to battle those bad boys.

Is it worth it? I think so. And really, it's your face. You only get one shot. Unless you're willing to go the plastic surgery route. Since I didn't marry for money, I'll have to do the best I can naturally.