How to Clean Your Clarisonic

This is the second post (see the first) in my originally unintentional Spring Cleaning Series. I’ve shared extensively that I enjoy some buttons and internet in my skincare via the Clarisonic Mia2. Like any tool, Clarisonics require maintenance not only to work as intended, but to avoid introducing any ilk to your skin that, by its very design, it shouldn’t. So let’s talk about how to Clean Your Clarisonic. For that matter, these steps should apply to most replaceable-brush-head skincare tools, but illustrations will be with my trusty Mia2.

Maintenance is not something we should do when we realize that we can’t quite remember how long our Clarisonic has been hanging out in our shower. You don’t need a significant amount of time and you don’t need any fancy cleansers or materials to clean your Clarisonic. It’s quick and easy, and there’s really no good reason not to do so. (It takes less time than cleaning makeup brushes, come on).

1. After use, dry your Clarisonic.

Clean Your Clarisonic - Dry it After Use

By drying it, I don’t mean stand it up in your shower caddy to slowly dry in your doubtlessly humid bathroom. I mean after rinsing you should gently shake it to remove excess water, and then gently hold a clean, dry towel or washcloth to the bristles and let it run for 15-30 seconds. The vibrations will shimmy moisture out of the brush. After this, put the head cap on to protect the bristles, and lay it face-down in a clean, dry place to dry the rest of the way.

Clean Your Clarisonic - Dry Face Down, Cap On

Leaving it damp will promote buildup or, well, worse. We don’t need to talk about what happens when we leave things damp for extended periods.

2. Disinfect.

Clean Your Clarisonic - Soap!

Using a soap you can rely on to disinfect things (for me, that’s Dawn or antibacterial SoftSoap [doesn’t smell as medicinal and harsh as antibac Dial]), wash the brush. How? Dispense some onto the brush – the same amount you’d use to wash your face – and run through a cycle running the brush over a freshly-cleaned hand to work the product through. For good measure, suds up the handle too. Rinse and dry as you would after a normal use. I recommend using this method to clean your Clarisonic once a week.

3. Deep Clean Your Clarisonic.

For me, this is once a month based on my water, my usage, and my face wash. After disinfecting, remove your brush head by gently pushing it inwards towards the handle and twisting. Saturate a cotton swab with isoproyl (rubbing) alcohol and thoroughly scrub the area your brush connects to. Also do this to the underside of the brush head and any other plastic areas that may need it (like along the ‘seams’ of the device, etc). You can give it another rinse if you like, but alcohol dries very quickly, so it isn’t necessary. After the alcohol has dried, reattach your brush head and enjoy.

Clean Your Clarisonic - Detailing with Alcohol

That’s really all there is to it – I told you it was easy. If you’re willing to shell out for the device ($99-300!) you should be willing to protect your investment not only in the device, but also to protect your skin.