Cossma 7-8/2013

R obb Akridge, David Giuliani and Ken Pilcher, the discoverers of Sonic technology for electric tooth brushes brought Clarisonics to the market in the USA after 3 years of R&D, and registering more than 45 patents. With more than 3 million de- vices sold this product is now number 5 on the US facial cleansing market. At the end of 2011 the L’Oréal group acquired the brand in a plan to open up a completely new skin care sector. The special feature of Clarisonic’s Sonic technology is that the brush, during use, does not move in a rotary direction around itself, but moves at 300 vibrations per second in a micro- oscillating fashion, i.e. 300 times back and forth. This gentle massage is said to refine the pores, improve the skin tone, and make fine lines and wrinkles look visi- bly less. Special round-ended bristles, up to 34,000 on each brush, add to the tech- nical performance. The Tynex bristles, supplied by DuPont, are made of a non-porous, soft cosmetic filament to avoid any chance of bacterial ingress. The speed of the brush, with its built-in timer for a 1 minute applica- tion, can be set by the user. After every 20 or 10 seconds the device lets off an audible signal to let the user know it is time to work on a new area of the face. There are four different brush at- tachments available, depending on the user’s skin sensitivity, which alter the length and number of the bristles and thus the type of action which they have on the skin: for normal, for sensitive and for extremely sensitive skin, plus, for particularly deep pore cleansing, a bigger brush attachment. The special cleansing action is not an exfoliant. It removes only make-up, natural impurities, dust and dirt parti- cles and any dead skin cells on the sur- face. Because the brush does not attack the skin there is no rebound effect with regard to sebum production, such as may be experienced with alcohol-con- taining products. Because the skin is not twisted in any way, as it may be with a rotary brush, there is no nega- tive effect on the skin’s elasticity. Clarisonics electric brushes for facial cleansing, based on Sonic technology, free the facial skin of residues at over 300 vibrations per second and so are claimed to provide a six times better, deeper cleansing than any manual method. 28 COSSMA 7-8I2013 MARKETING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In a number of scientific studies it was seen that after cleansing the skin with Clarisonic a skin care product with active ingredients is better accepted, whilst after manual cleansing traces of make-up tend to stay on the skin and can lodge in the pores and creases. A well-cleansed skin can be felt to be softer, is more even, and has more glow. In a clinical instrumental study the action of a combination of Clar- isonic and a cosmetic skin care prod- uct, e.g Visionnaire from Lancôme, was compared with the action of the skin care product alone. Even celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Swank, Jessica Alba, Leighton Meester, Naomi Watts, Kate Moss, Natalie Portman and Gisele Bündchen, as well as Tom Ford, Chris- tian Louboutin and Jake Gyllenhaal use the oscillating brush for facial cleansing. AM www.clarisonic.com photo:Clarisonic Beauty Devices Facial cleans- ing – a little bit different Mechanical skin cleansing boosts the action of subsequent- ly applied skin care cosmetics COS1307-8_28_Clarisonic_GB_COS1307-8_28_Clarisonic_D 26.07.13 11:31 Seite 28

Cossma 7-8/2013

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