Battle of the Face Brushes

Six months ago I began to feel the need for a little bit more 'oomph' in my night time routine. My skin was getting spotty and a bit rough and I had had enough, so I began researching face brushes and the like, seeing what their benefits and drawbacks are. I had thought of investing in the infamous Clarisonic but I couldn't bring myself to fork out AUD$200+ on a face brush, so I looked on eBay. My search for a secondhand Clarisonic unit stopped when I came across an article about using manual face brushes (this is the article for those interested). It seemed a bit silly for me not to have thought of using a small manual one, which essentially does the same thing as the Clarisonic but not as fancy. 

Enter the Manicare Facial Cleansing Brush (black brush on the right). I went into my closest Priceline and purchased it for around AUD$13. Having never really encountered any sort of face brushes before, I was hesitant and thought that the bristles could be a bit too rough. I was so wrong. The Manicare brush bristles are so soft and so gentle that you sometimes wonder if it's doing anything to your skin at all. I loved how small the individual bristles were and how the tops of the bristle clusters were rounded. I used this brush for about 3.5 months and then decided I really needed to purchase something else. Here's why: because the bristles are quite densely packed, they don't really have time to dry overnight (before the next use); this caused a slightly strange odour to develop and I thought NO WAY am I putting that on my face again. 

Enter the Dermalogica Exfoliating Face Brush. This one I purchased from my local beauty spa for AUD$20. Yes, it's slightly more expensive but I think it's worth it. There are significant differences between this brush and the Manicare brush; firstly, the individual bristles are thicker. Also, the bristle clusters come to a flat top. This brush is slightly more abrasive than the Manicare one, but still very gentle. I find that it dries overnight and it hasn't produced any odour. I think I've found my new face brush! 

Now, while using the Manicare brush, my mom actually purchased a Clarisonic for herself and I wanted to try it out to see what the fuss was about. My skin was not happy with it. Perhaps I was over brushing, but it was just not happy and I swiftly returned to my little manual face brush. The only time I  used the Clarisonic again was after a week at the beach and my skin was just dry and gross and the Clarisonic helped me remember what soft skin felt like… 

The way I use my face brush is at night, after I've removed my makeup with my Boscia Makeup Break-up Cool Cleansing Oil, I pour a small amount of my Philosophy Purity Cleanser onto my fingers and I work it into a light lather on my face. Then, I wet my brush with warm water and start working in circular motions from my jaw to my forehead. I tend to concentrate on my jawline and chin as that's where I find I get congestion the most and just brush over my cheeks so as to not aggravate them. Then, I rinse. 

I always just give my brush a rinse with quite warm water and shake off any excess water to speed up the drying process. 

My manual face brushes will definitely be a staple in my night time routine for years to come.