[message_box title=”Article Objective” color=”red”]The purpose of this article is to make rosacea sufferers aware that one of the most popular skin care treatments used over the past five years — sonic cleansing facial brushes — are extremely harmful to rosacea skin. These new motorized, sonic brushes have taken the skin care world by storm and have become one of the most popular skin care treatments across the United States over the past five years. While these sonic facial cleansing brushes are excellent for the treatment of normal skin (non-rosacea, oily skin, acne-prone skin, skin with large pores and clogged pores, dry skin, skin with uneven texture, wrinkled skin and even makes aging skin more youthful), they can cause pre-rosacea and mild rosacea sufferers to quickly advance into the painful stages of moderate-to-severe rosacea after only a few uses. We may look back in a decade and determine that daily use of these sonic cleansers has caused an entire generation of new rosacea sufferers due to harsh skin and vascular trauma by these gadgets that stimulated rosacea gene activation decades before rosacea would have normally become evident. These sonic brushes should not be used by any rosacea sufferers, those with a history of rosacea in their familial lines, those with sensitive skin and those that blush and flush easily.[/message_box]
Sonic Facial Cleansing Brushes for Women and Men
One of the top-selling skin care products over the last five years has been the facial cleansing brushes:
- Spin brushes with soft bristles
- Sonic brushes that vibrate instead of spin
- A combination of spin and sonic technology for the best of both worlds
The benefits of these brushes to non-rosacea skin are many fold:
- They cleanse the facial skin deeply
- They exfoliate dead skin cells much like a visit to the spa. Exfoliation brings new, healthy, pink cells to the top
- This exfoliation stimulates division of new cells deep in the epidermis which thickens skin
- The “trauma” by the brush increases synthesis of collagen and elastin AND increases the growth of new blood vessels close to the surface of the skin
- They help treat acne by clearing the pores of sebum, bacteria and fungi
- They help reduce pore size by removing dead sebum and keratin from the pore canal and sebaceous glands
- They reduce the over-production of oil often found in the T-Zone of the face
- They remove dry plaques and superficial blemishes over time
- They reduce the appearance of wrinkles by increasing the thickness of the epidermis
- They have an anti-aging action due to their semi-aggressive exfoliation and cell renewal synthesis
These facial cleansing brushes are made for men and women.
For Men:
- These sonic spin brushes are often used pre-shaving to remove dead skin cells that cling on to facial hair. This results in a closer shave and allows the hairs to stand up for better clearance.
- They are also used to apply the shaving foam as the “spin” or “oscillation” improves lathering significantly
- These brushes are also used to soften course areas of facial skin due to harsh environmental elements like sun, wind, cold and heat
- The brushes also diminish the appearance of forehead wrinkles through exfoliation and increased blood flow that plumps the skin cells
- The sonic brushes are excellent for the hair line as they increase blood flow to the frontal hair line and temple areas, remove dead skin cells that may weigh down the hair follicle and enhance the anchoring of the hair which decreases hair loss
- The dual spin and sonic brushes are effective at removing superficial imperfections and color discolorations over time
For Women:
- Sonic spin brushes are superb for removing water-proof foundation, makeup, sunscreen and other hard to remove topicals. Regular washing rarely gets the face squeaky clean like these specialize cleansing brushes
- The sonic brushes remove the top layer of the epidermis resulting in formation of new cells and a healthy radiant glow… the glow and color that most women look for. This also enhances the absorption of moisturizers and anti-aging treatments.
- Sonic brushes reduce pore size, pock marks, white head and black head formation
- Sonic brushes on high speed reduce the appearance of fine wrinkles across the face
- Sonic brushes push cleansers and anti-aging ingredients deep into the skin by temporarily breaking up the epidermis
The Dangers of Using Sonic Cleansing Brushes on Rosacea Skin
While there is no doubt that these sonic facial cleansing brushes are excellent for non-rosacea skin, it cannot be over-stated how dangerous these can be on rosacea skin and those with pre-rosacea tendencies such as familial rosacea, frequent flushing and blushing, and hyper-reactive skin. Everything that makes sonic brushes exceptional for regular skin lie at the heart of how these brushes can cause irreversible harm to rosacea sufferers.
Rosacea Sufferers – Buyer Beware:
- Exfoliation: Sonic facial brushes are strong exfoliators. This is problematic for rosacea sufferers because exfoliation of abnormally thin rosacea skin results in even thinner skin and provokes an inflammatory response. This also tears micro-holes in the epidermis that allow many different forms of environmental insults to reach sensitive rosacea blood vessels and nerves. Unlike normal skin, this does not trigger enhanced growth and thicker skin. Rosacea skin may take days or even weeks to recover from one or two exfoliations.
- Increased Blood Flow: Sonic brushes are known for their ability to induce a day long “healthy-flush” in non-rosacea sufferers because it triggers blood flow in the superficial layers of the skin. While non-rosacea sufferers love this healthy glow, this is dangerous to rosacea sufferers because this increase in blood flow usually triggers a strong, long-lasting rosacea flare. Even the most gentle bristle tips on sonic spin brushes and the slowest speed will induce a vascular flush in most rosacea sufferers.
- Stimulates Growth of Many New Blood Vessels: Uncontrolled growth of new blood vessels lies at the heart of rosacea pathogenesis. Thus, stimulation of even more blood vessels not only cause flares, but it can cause progression to more severe stages of rosacea.
- Aging Effect on Skin: These same brushes age the skin in rosacea sufferers because they activate inflammatory enzymes that actually break down collagen and elastin instead of renewing them and building them up like they do in normal skin.
- Actions on Sensory Nerves: These sonic brushes irritate sensory “burning nerves” and “itching nerves” located in the surface of the epidermis. These uncomfortable sensations can last from a few hours to all day long. This can be quite painful — mimicking a bad sunburn — this is not the way you want to spend your day!
[message_box title=”Take Home Message” color=”red”]Most rosacea sufferers should not even be using a washcloth to cleanse their face: The simple truth is that any form of exfoliation, vibration or massaging can cause all these triggers and rosacea flares. It is highly recommended by Rosacea experts that rosacea sufferers gently cleanser their faces lightly with their hands using a thick sudsing cleanser or a non-sudsing anti-inflammatory gel cleanser..[/message_box]
Comment Section – Please Contribute
Comments, feedback and online discussions below in the Comment Box help other rosacea sufferers understand their rosacea better and an informed rosacea sufferer usually finds more effective treatments… and in doing so, they may add a comment that helps you just as much. Please contribute.
- Have you ever used a Sonic brush, spin brush or hybrid sonic-spin brush? If so, what was your reaction?
- Can you use a Sonic brush once a week like a facial to deep cleanse or does that trigger a long-lasting flare?
- For those who have had success with Sonic brushes, what brush was the gentlest and most effective? Did you use anything else to help reduce trauma to your skin?
Thank you,
Team Rosadyn
