Philips VisaPure cleansing brush review

The cleansing brush market has been dominated for a long while by the Clarisonic, but recently there's been a big increase in alternatives. Cleansing brushes are designed to help give skin a deep clean and can also offer gentle exfoliation at the same time.

As someone with sensitive skin, a cleansing brush was something I thought wouldn't be suitable for me, but when Philips asked if I would be interested in testing out their new VisaPure* which comes with sensitive brush heads, I decided to give it a try.

The VisaPure is a waterproof, hand held device with a simple on/off switch and an interchangeable brush head. It comes with a normal and a sensitive brush head in the box as standard, which I think is great as no extra purchases are needed if like me you prefer a gentler brush head.

You use the brush by wetting the bristles and then using your normal cleanser, work it into your skin with the brush. The brush head spins in a similar way as an electric toothbrush, giving a very thorough cleanse. After a minute, I just wash off any cleanser residue using a hot cloth, and am left with perfectly clean skin. If you wear a lot of make up or SPF, I would recommend doing a quick first cleanse without the VisaPure to get rid of this, then you can be sure you are really cleaning your face, rather than pushing makeup around it.

What I like about the VisaPure is that it has two speeds, one much slower and a little more gentle and also a faster setting for a deeper cleanse. It works in 20 second bursts, pausing very shortly between each, so you know it's time to move on to the next section of your face (left,right, t zone). After a minute it automatically turns off so there's no need to worry about overuse (unless you turn it back on that it is!).

Brush heads for the VisaPure should up to 3 months and are only £7.99, making them pretty cheap to replace.

I've been using my VisaPure every other day as I've found that this is about right for my sensitive skin. It does say you can use it every day,but for me, this was a little too harsh. I also didn't experience any of the dreaded 'purge' phase that I've heard about from other cleansing brush users. I did get a couple of spots during the first few days, but nothing major and they very quickly went away.

Although I like the design of the brush, the shape of it does make it quite hard to stand up in the bathroom, so I've had to resort to leaving mine lying flat instead. Not a big issue, just a little annoying. A single charge has also lasted me really well, I only had to give it its first charge after 4 weeks of use.

The VisaPure isn't cheap, costing £150, but after trying it, I would quite happily have paid this for it myself, knowing that it will last me a long time. What I think would be good idea is some sort of money back trial on these higher price products so that if you really don't get on with it you can take it back, but I'm not sure how practical this would be in reality.

The VisaPure can be bought online and in larger stores from Boots. I've been really impressed with my VisaPure and it's become a firm fixture in my bathroom.

Have you tried a cleansing brush before?

*This post contains a PR sample. My views are honest as always.