Lots of people compare the Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne, trying to figure out which will give the best results.
In this blog post I’ll compare the two facial cleansing brushes to help you decide which (if any) is right for you.
Long story short, I think it’s best to avoid both facial brushes. However, if you have acne-prone skin and definitely want to try one, I think the Foreo is a better choice.
Table of Contents
- What’s the benefit of a facial cleansing device?
- The problem with facial cleansing brushes for acne
- Silicone brushes vs. bristled brush heads
- Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne with oily skin
- Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne with dry skin
- Do facial cleansing brushes remove blackheads?
- Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne: anti-aging mode
- Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne: why I don’t recommend either for acne
- What is the best facial cleansing brush for acne?
- Best Foreo for acne
- Best cleanser to use with Foreo devices
What’s the benefit of a facial cleansing device?
I used to own a Clarisonic Mia and thought it’d be the ‘cure’ for my acne.
I thought that surely a deeper cleanse would result in less pimples, right?
Little did I know that cleansing systems like the Clarisonic and Foreo can often make acne worse.
The idea behind cleansing tools like these is that they can provide gentle exfoliation and a deeper cleanse.
By sweeping away dead skin cells and makeup residue, cleansing tools clean your skin more thoroughly.
Whilst this can be a somewhat true, there are lots of hidden downsides – even with a super sensitive brush head.
The problem with facial cleansing brushes for acne
When comparing a Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne, you should bear in mind some of the issues a facial cleanser can make worse.
The first issue is that, if you have a lot of active acne lesions, even delicate brush heads can spread acne bacteria across the face.
Not only this, but different brush heads can also disrupt the healing process of older pimples.
Imagine you’re sweeping the floor with a broom. Small bits of dust and dirt get tangled in the bristles and left on the floor in new spots.
This is the main problem with a bristled brush, especially.
Silicone brushes vs. bristled brush heads
Silicone brushes can have a similar effect, although are a lot more hygienic.
I therefore recommend facial cleansing brushes like the Foreo over Clarisonic brush heads any day.
Non-porous silicone, like the Foreo Luna Mini has, is easily cleaned properly and will harbour less bacteria.
Clarisonic devices are a bit like trying to keep a sponge clean – you can’t!
The best you can do is dry it out and hope for the best, which is not ideal for acne-prone skin.
Silicone brushes may have better results, simply because they are less aggressively exfoliating than the nylon bristles on a Clarisonic.
Exfoliation is only helpful in small doses, even for acne-prone skin, so a Foreo product is the better option here.
Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne with oily skin
When you have oily skin, you often grow up being told that the oily skin needs to be ‘controlled’.
This leads a lot of us to start looking for ways to manually exfoliate and ‘purify’ every pore.
It’s therefore understandable that you might be interested in purchasing a Foreo or Clarisonic device.
But did you know that exfoliating too often can cause your skin barrier to become damaged?
Damaging the skin barrier can make the skin feel as though it’s producing more oil, making oily skin feel oilier!
It’s a vicious cycle that keeps you exfoliating, thinking more is the answer.
If you use either a Clarisonic or Foreo twice daily, that already means you’re exfoliating seven times per week.
On top of your other exfoliants, it may actually make acne and oily skin worse to use one.
If you still wish to try a facial cleansing brush for acne, I would pick the Foreo as it’s much gentler on the skin barrier.
Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne with dry skin
Gentle cleansing is even more important for dry skin.
Dry skin doesn’t produce a lot of oil as it is, so it’s even more fragile when it comes to exfoliation.
Sonic brushes can weaken the skin barrier with dry skin, causing flaking, breakouts and redness.
The clear winner for both dry skin and even normal skin is still the Foreo device.
Silicone tugs less at the skin with lower-frequency pulsations.
Overall, it is much more suitable for everyday use than the Clarisonic for all different skin types.
Do facial cleansing brushes remove blackheads?
Often people compare the Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne, specifically with blackheads in mind.
The truth is that they can help a little bit, but if a cleansing device is the only thing you’re doing to improve blackheads, they probably won’t help much.
Side note: do you actually have blackheads or just sebaceous filaments? Check out my viral hack for improving the look of sebaceous filaments overnight.
Both Foreo vs Clarisonic use manual exfoliation to exfoliate blackheads aways.
Manual exfoliation is quite an old fashioned way of exfoliating, instead I recommend chemical exfoliation.
You might have heard of salicylic acid or retinol. Salicylic acid (or BHA) is a chemical exfoliant that can be found in serums, cleansers and moisturisers.
Salicylic acid vs retinol for blackheads
When salicylic acid enters the pore, it breaks up oil blockages and dead cells that lead to blackheads.
A few weeks using salicylic acid should help much more than a cleansing brush could!
Retinol (or retinoids) are not exfoliants, but have a similar effect.
They speed up skin cell turnover and prevent pores from getting blocked in the first place.
They are also the only proven active to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, other than sunscreen.
Check out my list of the best retinoids for acne prone skin.
Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne: anti-aging mode
When I heard that Foreo and Clarisonic were making anti aging claims I was pretty stunned.
I then read that the claims came from their ability to increase blood flow to the face, while using them.
The good news is that any kind of facial massage does this, including regular old cleansing with your hands!
The bad news is therefore that, it is unrealistic to expect genuine anti ageing effects from using a either a Foreo or Clarisonic.
The only true, proven anti ageing topicals are sunscreen and retinoids.
If you’re not already wearing sunscreen, check out my post on the best sunscreens for clog prone skin.
Foreo vs Clarisonic for acne: why I don’t recommend either for acne
Acne itself is not caused by poor hygiene, so deep cleansing with a facial brush is unlikely to help.
Acne is super complex, but is primarily caused by hormones, excess oil and bacteria all interacting.
Therefore you are better off by targeting any of these primary causes.
Simply put: poor hygiene or not cleansing thoroughly enough is not a key driver of acne vulgaris, only clogged pores and closed comedones.
Even then, Foreos and Clarisonics are simply too much for many skin types.
You’re better off double cleansing to get a deep clean, which uses an oil based cleanser followed by a water based cleanser.
Check out my guide on how to double cleanse and mistakes to avoid here.
How to target the primary causes of acne
Often times you will need to mix and match a few things in your skin care routine to control your acne.
For example, benzoyl peroxide is helpful at killing C acnes that are part responsible for acne.
You can use a cleanser that contains it, such as Panoxyl, or a gel/cream. Using both might be a bit drying for sensitive skin types.
You could also use a retinoid (mentioned in more detail earlier) to help pores stay clear.
Retinoids prevent skin cells from sticking together and creating clogs. I recommend working up to using one 3x per week, minimum.
To take things one step further, you can also visit your doctor and discuss Spironolactone or birth control.
These two can impact your hormones which are a key driver in acne.
Alternatively, you could try to implement some diet and lifestyle changes that positively influence your hormones.
Such as: good sleep duration and hygiene, eating a low GI diet and managing stress effectively.
What is the best facial cleansing brush for acne?
Unfortunately I’m going to have to say that neither Foreo or Clarisonic is the best facial cleansing brush for acne.
I truly think they are unnecessary in a skincare routine, often leading to skin barrier damage and redness.
However, if I had to pick a clear winner, it would definitely be the Foreo.
Plus your bank account will be grateful, since you won’t have to keep buying a new replacement brush head!
The Foreo is simply gentler and way more hygienic, two things your skin loves.
You can keep a Foreo for a long time without it wearing out or getting suspiciously bogged down with bacteria.
Best Foreo for acne
If you’ve still got your heart set on buying a Foreo, I’ll share my views on which model is the best option for acne.
There isn’t really a single best Foreo for acne, since they all work roughly the same.
The Luna range is all very similar, but I would opt for any of the Luna 4s, such as the 4 Mini, 4 Go or 4 (original).
There’s not much difference between them to be honest. The Luna 4 MEN is not functionally different, it’s just coloured green to appeal to men!
The LED light therapy option can be tempting on the Luna 4 Plus.
Whilst I am a fan of LED light therapy due to my Qure mask, I’m not convinced a cleansing brush is an effective way to harness it.
I think the real issue is that you could be cleansing longer to get more of the LED benefits, but over cleansing is damaging to the skin.
Also, I’m not convinced that moving the Foreo in a circular motion will allow the LED to word optimally.
Best cleanser to use with Foreo devices
If you’re going to use a Foreo daily, you certainly want to be using a simple, non-exfoliating water based cleanser with it.
These are my top choices for a cleanser to use with Foreo devices.
Gentle water based cleansers for acne prone skin
Dr Sam’s Flawless cleanser is my current go-to cleanser that I use every night, after my oil based cleanser.
It’s non-foaming which can throw people off sometimes. But non foaming is actually a benefit, usually. Foaming cleansers can often be quite drying.
Add a little warm water to help it glide across your skin with the Foreo.
If Dr Sam’s is a little expensive, I also love the Vanicream cleanser for a lower price point.
I find this cleanser to be so simple and effective, without being drying.
The only downside is that it can be a little hard to get in the UK.
If you’re in the UK and want something you can buy easily online or in-store, I also recommend the Aveeno Calm + Restore Oat Cleanser.
This is non-foaming as well and is super soothing.
If you’re using the Foreo once weekly as a special exfoliation treatment, you can using something like a salicylic acid cleanser.
The Superdrug own Me+ range does a great dupe for the Cerave salicylic acid cleanser.
