Is Using an Electric Face Brush Better?
Is using an electric facial cleansing brush actually better than washing your face with your hands? I've been thinking about this a lot lately. So what did I do? A lot of Googling, then a lot of sitting around confused by what I found, and, finally, an experiment. Welcome to the Beautiful Science Nerd.
The first thing I did was shopped around and found an electric facial cleansing brush on eBay. I spent a grand total of $9 for a Pixnor Portable 7-in-1 Electric Brush. I didn't want to spend more just in case I hated it. In good conscience, I can't recommend this face brush. The bristles are a little too stiff and irritate my sensitive skin. Plus, when you press the brush against your skin too firmly, the head stops rotating. I haven't touched the extra attachments it came with once. I just use the brush head.
Twice daily, for a week, I pumped one full squirt of my NeoStrata Exfoliating Wash onto the brush and washed my face, scrubbing for two minutes. When I wash my face with my hands, I try to massage the cleanser in for as long as possible to allow it time to penetrate my pores, so I wanted to give the electric brush the same chance. Note that you can not use this brush in the shower as it is not waterproof!
Then I rinsed my face with warm water and patted dry with a soft, clean towel. I continued to use my daily eye serum and moisturizer as usual. After washing my face, I detached the brush head and ran it under hot water, rubbing the bristles along my palm to dislodge any trapped cleanser. I let it air dry upside down on my bathroom counter until I needed it again alongside my face wash.
The result? All of the acne that I worked so hard to get rid of came back with a vengeance. The brush's bristles, being as stiff as they were, resulted in a lot of redness that didn't seem to disappear throughout the day. My skin felt quite a bit softer but not as clean as it did when I wash with just my hands. I admit that the redness was likely a result of using a cheap electric brush, but I'm still confused as to why my acne resurfaced. I've thought about repeating this experiment with a better electric face brush, but I don't think I will any time soon. I'm about to start testing a new cleanser and I don't want to irritate my skin further. I'm not including a selfie as I don't want to scare anyone with my acne!
So the question remains: is using an electric face brush better? I'm going to say no, not in my case.
The first thing I did was shopped around and found an electric facial cleansing brush on eBay. I spent a grand total of $9 for a Pixnor Portable 7-in-1 Electric Brush. I didn't want to spend more just in case I hated it. In good conscience, I can't recommend this face brush. The bristles are a little too stiff and irritate my sensitive skin. Plus, when you press the brush against your skin too firmly, the head stops rotating. I haven't touched the extra attachments it came with once. I just use the brush head.
Twice daily, for a week, I pumped one full squirt of my NeoStrata Exfoliating Wash onto the brush and washed my face, scrubbing for two minutes. When I wash my face with my hands, I try to massage the cleanser in for as long as possible to allow it time to penetrate my pores, so I wanted to give the electric brush the same chance. Note that you can not use this brush in the shower as it is not waterproof!
Then I rinsed my face with warm water and patted dry with a soft, clean towel. I continued to use my daily eye serum and moisturizer as usual. After washing my face, I detached the brush head and ran it under hot water, rubbing the bristles along my palm to dislodge any trapped cleanser. I let it air dry upside down on my bathroom counter until I needed it again alongside my face wash.
The result? All of the acne that I worked so hard to get rid of came back with a vengeance. The brush's bristles, being as stiff as they were, resulted in a lot of redness that didn't seem to disappear throughout the day. My skin felt quite a bit softer but not as clean as it did when I wash with just my hands. I admit that the redness was likely a result of using a cheap electric brush, but I'm still confused as to why my acne resurfaced. I've thought about repeating this experiment with a better electric face brush, but I don't think I will any time soon. I'm about to start testing a new cleanser and I don't want to irritate my skin further. I'm not including a selfie as I don't want to scare anyone with my acne!
So the question remains: is using an electric face brush better? I'm going to say no, not in my case.
No comments: