Hey guys! For this week's Skin Care Diaries, I wanted to talk about this facial brush that I've been trying - and tell you guys a little about why I decided to pick this up and give it a try. Years ago, I had a Clarisonic that has long since stopped charging and I have to admit... it was a little bit disappointing for me. After hearing it touted as a skin care game changer and seemingly everyone in the beauty community's holy grail device, I had high hopes and... they were definitely not met, so it was a long time before I even considered getting another cleaning brush. BUT, on a bit of a whim of curiosity, I picked up the Danielle Deep Cleansing Facial System at my local Marshall's and gave it go! This isn't so much going to be a review of this product, though I will talk about my experience using it, but it'll be more about cleansing brushes in general, whether or not I think they're worth it, and a few thoughts on a certain very popular option. 

Keep reading for more!

Now, there are a lot of options for basically the same spinning facial cleansing brush out there on the market - all you have to do is search Amazon and you'll have a plethora of options, many of them a lot like the hugely influencer driven Vanity Planet brush. The reason I decided to pick up this one is sort of threefold. First, it was actually in store locally and I could just grab it and bring it home. Second, it only cost me about $20, which is pretty fantastic. And the third is because it contained a silicone brush head, which was the type of head that I was drawn to and that I knew I was most likely to use. 

Like a lot of the other options out there, this brush comes in a travel case, which I appreciate because it means I can leave it out on the bathroom counter because it's protected, but it's also not a very good case quality-wise so I wish it was a little bit better constructed. It's really difficult to open the lid and I find that the lid pops off if I'm not careful. It contains 4 different heads with different purposes - two really soft bristle brushes, a sponge head, and a sort of soft spiky silicone head. It requires two AA batteries and has two different speeds. Not bad for $20, right?  

I feel like the price point is something that I definitely have some thoughts about. The Vanity Planet brush seems to be everywhere recently and I can't deny that when I saw some rave reviews of it, I looked into it and that's probably how I ended up buying this brush at all. But ultimately, I decided to skip on it for one very specific reason. Everyone. Has. A. Code. And not just a nice little 10-20% off code to encourage people to give the product a try and reward bloggers and vloggers for the promotion. No, everyone has a 70-75% OFF CODE! 

Here's the thing... (This is the part where I guarantee that I'll never get this product in PR and it may be a little bit ranty, but I have some strong feelings here.) If everyone promoting a product has a 70% off code for that product, then what people are paying for the product after the code is the price, that's what the product is worth, and that something that I find really deceptive. People get tricked into thinking they're getting a deal, when they're really just getting the product for a fair price. It's not a deal or a steal, it's just the price. And maybe I shouldn't be bothered by that, but I am because I do not like those kinds of deceptive marketing techniques. So. Yeah. When I said I bought a cheap cleansing brush, basically what I meant is that I bought a spinning facial brush that's around the same price as other spinning cleansing brushes that you can pick up all over the internet. 

I have to say that I've really, really been enjoying this brush as a part of my cleansing routine. I use it pretty much every second morning - I don't want to overwhelm my skin and disrupt my moisture barrier - with a non-drying foamy cleanser for about 2 minutes total. The reason that I like to use this in the morning is that I feel like it really boosts my circulation and brightens my skin up, giving it a fresh look and a kind of bouncy feel. I pretty much exclusively use the silicone brush, because I feel like it gives me a really gentle exfoliation that is unlikely to irritate or damage my skin. Also, it's really, really easy to clean when I'm done and I don't feel like I have to worry as much about bacteria (though I likely will throw it in the dishwasher from time to time to really make sure that it's alright.)

So, do you need a facial cleansing brush? The short answer is no. I think that you can effectively clean your skin by manually cleansing and have great skin. That being said, I do genuinely think that I've seen noticeable benefit to the overall look and feel of my skin since I've been using this brush. In the first week or so of using it, I had a bit of a purge - very small, not painful pimples that never lasted more than a day and didn't hurt or leave behind scars - but since then I haven't had any reactions or anything to this product and I find myself really genuinely looking forward to my morning cleanse on the days I'm going to use this. I wouldn't recommend using it every time you wash your face, because that could be a little too much, and if you have sensitive skin, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema or other skin conditions that may make your skin prone to reactions, I would proceed with caution entirely. But really, I think that this brush does a good job without being overwhelming to the skin, which is what I personally look for.

I guess my takeaway from this is pretty simple. I like this brush and I think it works really, really well for what I need it to do, but I also suspect that there are a lot of similar brushes at a similar price point that work just as well. I can obviously only speak to this one, but ultimately I think a cleansing brush is a lovely if not entirely necessary addition to a skin are routine. I would personally recommend choosing a cleansing brush that has a silicone head because it's kind of delightful to use, non-abrasive and a bit like a massage for the skin. And listen, if you wanna buy the Vanity Planet one, do you, but just do it knowing that you're not getting a deal when you use an influencer 70% off code - and definitely use a code because, like I said, that's the price.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on facial cleansing brushes in the comments!

Thanks for reading!