I tried the facial cleansing brush everyone's talking about and will probably never use another (2024)

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• The Foreo Luna 2 is a waterproof cleansing device that claims to remove up to 99.5% of dirt and oil from your pores.
• It's made out of ultra-hygienic silicone that's nonporous and resistant to bacteria buildup, and a one-hour charge is good for seven months of usage.
• I tested the Foreo Luna 2, and I'm a believer. After even one use, my skin feels clean without being dry and firm without feeling tight.
• Multiple Insider Reviews membershave used the Luna for years. It cleans gently and effectively, and we can tell the difference in clarity, pore size, and texture on days when we've used the Foreo device and when we haven't.
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There's been a lot of buzz about FOREO's Luna 2, a waterproof cleansing and anti-aging device that claims to remove up to 99.5% of dirt and oil from your pores, in the skincare community.

Gently pulsating silicone brushes lift away dead cells and unclog pores for firmer, cleaner results. On the other side of the Luna's egg-shaped body are grooves that reportedly use lower-frequency pulsations to reduce signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles. The whole process is supposed to take two minutes and be safe to use two times a day. And the Luna 2 comes in four iterations fit for different skin types: combination, normal, oily, and sensitive.

A cleansing device that will give me brighter, tighter, clearer skin and also massage away fine lines? I was skeptical.

After taking a brief online consultation test, I was sent the Luna 2 for normal skin. For a product that's not astronomically expensive considering competitors, but not exactly chump change either, I knew I'd only ever wind up writing a review if I could honestly say I'd buy the product myself at full price.

And I would. I'd probably buy two to own a backup. I wish I wasn't so solidly on the bandwagon, but here I am.

How the Foreo stacks up to the Clarisonic

As a woman who occasionally wears makeup, I know firsthand how important a good cleansing routine is. Covering your skin with a thick foreign substance tends to increase the likelihood of your pores clogging up. So every time I wake up and realize I've forgotten to take off my makeup the night before, I feel as though I've committed a cardinal sin. It seems like one "bad week" of breaking out can spiral into four. And when your skin is poor, that same expensive makeup doesn't seem to work as well — so you wind up applying more, furthering the same problem that landed you there to begin with.

For the last few years, I've used Clarisonic and been happy enough with it. It was better at exfoliating my face than using my hands alone, though not gentle enough for everyday use. But I often forgot (or neglected) to buy new brush heads, and would then avoid using it altogether to avoid bacteria breeding. The Luna, however, is made out of ultra-hygienic silicone that's nonporous and pretty much entirely resistant to bacteria buildup. It's easy to clean and I don't worry about exacerbating the same problem that I'm trying to fix. And in comparison to frequency hopping in the shower only to realize my Clarisonic isn't charged, one hour of charging the Luna is good for up to seven months of use.

What the Luna 2 is like in person

But mostly, those upsides come as secondary benefits. The main reason that I love the Luna 2 is simply because it works. Even after one use, my skin felt clean without being dry and firm without feeling tight. My skin was smoother and brighter, and like many users, I noticed the stubborn blackheads around my nose were less drastic.

I used to think truly clean skin would feel slightly thin and tight, in the same way that many of us assume a slightly uncomfortable stinging feeling means that a face mask is working. But after using this, I realized a gentle, but deep cleanse like this can actually give you the sort of taglines like "bright" and "firm" thrown into commercials. On top of that, my lotions do seem to be absorbed more easily.

I'm in my twenties, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of the anti-aging claims, but the cleansing properties are enough to sell me alone.

The bottom line

Though the one-time cost of $169 might seem ridiculously steep, it does deliver what is promised: a gentle, deep clean. And it does technically have atwo-year limited warranty and 10-year quality guarantee — plus no need to repurchase brush heads — that can help the price feel less egregious.

About a week and a half into using the Luna, I went on a week-long beach vacation and felt confident enough to leave my face makeup securely zipped into my suitcase the whole time. After years of battling acne, this is progress for me.

I can only speak for my experience using the Luna, but it seems like I'm not alone in loving the results.Critically reviewing products readers might like is a part of my job, but I might even recreationally leave a little testimonial on Sephora, just to help other women looking for the best product out there. From my experience, I think thisis it.