One of the most important parts of facial skincare, if not the most important part, is washing your face and cleaning out all the gunk that gets into it. With the combination of wearing makeup, the exposure to sun, pollution, germs, and more, our faces need a good clean… but are our hands cleaning our faces thoroughly enough? Most likely not. And that’s where facial cleansing brushes come into play.
Facial cleansing brushes are important because they are said to clean our skin more deeply and thoroughly than manually hand washing our faces. By doing so, they help wash and clean our skin by aiding in the general cleansing of the face, unclogging of pores, and combating aging skin. And when it comes to your skin, there’s no better feeling than a youthful looking, clean, and smooth face that leaves you feeling confident with or without makeup. While social media platforms have been used to heavily market these facial cleansing devices in the past few years, facial cleansing brushes themselves have been around since the early 2000’s.
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Why We Chose Clarisonic And Foreo
With the multitude of cleansing devices on the market, some being fairly inexpensive and some with hefty price tags, it’s difficult to know which device to pick, especially when you don’t know how well it will work for your skin type. So we compared two of the most popular facial cleansing brush brands: Clarisonic and Foreo. Both of these items can be found all over the internet and on social media. You can see them being used by YouTubers, bloggers, Instagram influencers/content creators and more.
While both brands have different models of their products, we ended up testing and reviewing the Clarisonic Mia 2 and the Foreo Luna 2 for Sensitive Skin. In addition, we picked these two products because of their consistent 4.5/5 star ratings across various website retailers where people rave about how amazing the devices are. These two facial cleansing brushes are known for their ability to deeply cleanse and overall help improve skin.
- Two different speeds with one minute pulsing T timer for personal customization
- Cleanses 6x better than with your hands alone
- Prepares skin for better absorption of skin creams, serum and moisturizers
- Unit Count: 1.0
- Number Of Items: 1
- Package Weight: 0.181 Kilograms
First Impressions
Clarisonic
Our first impression of the Clarisonic Mia 2 was that the brush has an easy to hold handle that allows for easy control as you move the cleansing brush around your face. The size of the brush itself was the perfect size… not too big or too small to hold and/or store away when not in use. By the look of the brush, you might think it would be somewhat heavy to hold while washing your face; however, we found that it was lightweight and manageable.
It’s hard to ignore the accessories that Clarisonic includes in their package. The travel case that is provided for the Clarisonic Mia 2 is convenient not only for travel, but for storage as well. This case helps keep the brush separate from other toiletries and things in your bathroom and keeps the brush clean! The Mia 2 also includes a travel size facial cleanser.
Foreo
The Foreo Luna 2 (for sensitive skin model) was also easy to hold, but did not feature a handle. The brush is small enough to fit in the palm of your hands or can be easily held by your fingertips. It is small, lightweight, compact, and perfect for travel. The most interesting and unique part about this cleansing brush was its dual surfaces. One side with a series of bumps/ridges for cleansing the skin and the other side completely smooth for massaging the skin.
The Foreo has a flat base that allows the brush to stand up when stored and not in use. This is great for your home, but not extremely useful when traveling. Although the Foreo silicone bristles are said to be anti-microbial, it might still be nice to include a sturdy travel case for the brush, versus the small pouch that it comes with.
Specifications and Features
| Clarisonic | Foreo | |
| Charging method | Universal voltage USB charger. | USB charging cord. |
| Speeds/Modes | Two speeds: • Delicate • Daily |
Twelve customizable intensities. |
| Accessories | Includes charger, travel case, and cleanser. Additional brush heads available | Includes charger, user manual, and pouch. |
| Pricing | $169 | $199 |
How We Tested
After reviewing the specifications and features of the two brushes, it would seem at first glance that the Clarisonic Mia 2 might give you a little bit more bang for your buck because of all the accessories included. However, performance is obviously the most important aspect in deciding which brush to purchase, so we put both brushes to the test and here’s how we felt about them. To test, we had our team use the Clarisonic once a day, everyday for two weeks, and then use the Foreo everyday for the following two weeks. We were sure to take notice of how easy each brush was to use/navigate around our faces, how our skin felt during the cleansing process, and how it felt after cleansing.
Clarisonic
The Clarisonic Mia 2 was overall easy to navigate around the entire face including around the nose, which can sometimes be hard to get to. Even with the delicate setting and applying little to no pressure on the face, and just letting the brush do the work, the Mia 2 still felt slightly rough and abrasive. Once we were done cleansing the skin, although the skin felt clean, the skin felt pretty dried out, raw, and sensitive afterwards.
In addition, when testing the speed settings of the brush, the difference in speeds was difficult to detect. There was little to no difference in our testing, which leaves little flexibility when using this brush. The caveat to this is that the Clarisonic Mia 2 does offer multiple different brush heads if the one that comes with purchase is not suitable for your skin, so you may be able to get a softer brush head that is less abrasive.
- Two different speeds with one minute pulsing T timer for personal customization
- Cleanses 6x better than with your hands alone
- Prepares skin for better absorption of skin creams, serum and moisturizers
Foreo
As for the Foreo Luna 2, it was pretty easy to navigate around the entire face as well, but was slightly tougher to cleanse around the nose due to the surface of the brush being larger than the Clarisonic. During cleansing, the skin felt very massaged and it was a thoroughly enjoyable process. After cleansing, the skin still felt very smooth, soft, and not dried out. The only downside of this brush is that it definitely doesn’t feel like it gives as deep of a clean as Clarisonic, probably due to the softer and less abrasive surface.
As for the settings for this brush, it was very easy to tell the difference between the intensity between each mode. Having the multiple options for speeds/intensities is a benefit especially on the days when you may not need a super deep clean or on the the days that you do.
How To Use Facial Cleansing Brushes
Wet face with warm water, apply cleanser to face or brush (your preference), wet brush slightly, then wash! Both brushes only need to be used for one minute each. Don’t worry about getting either cleansing brush wet, as they are both waterproof!
Clarisonic
With only two buttons on the device itself, the Clarisonic Mia 2 is simple and easy to use. First press the power button at the bottom. Once you have done so, you press the button above it with the two arrows with the choice of the delicate setting (low) or the daily setting (normal). The speed is indicated by the upper light which is the normal speed or the lower light which is the low speed.
For charging, the Mia 2 needs about 18 hours to fully charge and gives about 24 minutes of use. So if you are using it once everyday you will need to charge your Mia about once a month or if you are using it twice a day you will need to charge it about twice a month.
Foreo
Similar to the Mia 2, the Foreo Luna 2 only has a few buttons in order to use. First, press the middle button to turn on. Once you have done so, press either the “-” or the “+” button to choose your desired speed/intensity. While there are no lights indicating the speed settings, it is easy to distinguish between each mode. The brush will let you know when the minute is up. Once you are finished washing your face, dry your face, then press the center button again and flip brush to the massage side and massage skin for another minute.
For charging, the Luna 2 only needs one hour of charge maximum and will last for over 7 months before you need to charge again.
The Best Facial Cleansing Brush
After testing both facial cleansing brushes, we decided that the Foreo Luna 2 is the best facial cleansing brush between the two. While the Clarisonic Mia 2 has a little more to offer at a better price, when it came down to how the brushes actually performed, the Foreo Luna 2 came out on top. We found ourselves looking forward to the Foreo cleansing process that doubles as a relaxing face massage. This facial brush seems to be suitable for more skin types because the silicone bristles were less abrasive than the Clarisonic Mia 2 brush head, and the modulation of intensity was far greater than Clarisonic’s two speeds. If you have sensitive skin, the Foreo Luna 2 is the better choice for you!
- Unit Count: 1.0
- Number Of Items: 1
- Package Weight: 0.181 Kilograms
Helpful Skin Cleansing Hints and Tips
Beautiful Skin Starts Within!
Make sure to drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep, and try to stay away from fried food, sugar, too much salt.
Wipe Away Existing Makeup
Before using any facial device, make sure to remove your makeup PRIOR to washing your face. You can use makeup wipes, cleansing oils/washes, but it is important to remove the makeup BEFORE washing your face so that you can really clean your skin and not have a layer of makeup between.
Keep Things Clean
If you choose to purchase the Clarisonic, make sure to clean your brush head so that you are not cleaning with a dirty brush head that is maybe holding dirt, bacteria, debris, etc.
Moisturizers Are Your Best Friend
Don’t forget to moisturize and use SPF every single day! The sun can cause so much damage to your skin, so wearing sunscreen will help protect against that damage and help with anti-aging.
Final Thoughts
We can see how both of these facial cleansing brushes get rave reviews. We thoroughly enjoyed testing both, however we found that we were consistently more excited to put the Foreo Luna 2 against our face than the Clarisonic Mia 2. Despite our clear winner, we don’t think you can go wrong with purchasing either facial cleansing brush. Both products are a great way to take your skin care to the next level with some great deep cleaning.
- Unit Count: 1.0
- Number Of Items: 1
- Package Weight: 0.181 Kilograms