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Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers.
More…and here’s what I thought
While I prefer my shave to be analog, I’m all for embracing technology in other areas of my skincare routine. I’d been curious about the Clarisonic Alpha Fit for a while and finally decided to spring for one to see if it lived up to the hype or was just another gimmick.
I wanted to give myself (and my skin) enough time to live with the device so I could write an informed review based on my personal experience.
Here, I’ll break down what the Clarisonic Alpha Fit does, how it works and share my honest to goodness thoughts about whether it’s worth the investment or not. So if you’ve been debating getting one for yourself, you’ve found the right post.
What It Does
The Clarisonic Alpha Fit says it’s designed to clean men’s “thicker, oilier skin.” Personally, this statement alone kept me from buying one sooner.
I don’t have what I suppose they’d consider “man skin” – mine is a little more sensitive and tends to be on the drier side. Don’t let this deter you. I think it’s more of a marketing ploy than a reflection of how the device actually functions.
How It Works
A brush on the end of the base of the device oscillates 300 times per second – yes, you’re reading that right – which helps to loosen dirt and oil, clear your pores and prepare your skin for the perfect shave. Combined with some gentle circular motions and you should have some pretty clean skin.
The Alpha Fit has two different timed settings – one for a shaved face and one for a face with some stubble or a beard. Each setting breaks the face into three separate areas: forehead, face/beard area and neck.
In the smooth face setting, you get 20 seconds for each zone; in the beard face setting, it goes 20 seconds, 40 seconds, 20 seconds.
Thoughts After First Use
It went by too fast. Even though I used the beard setting. Learning to work with the Alpha Fit’s timing system was honestly one of the aspects of the device that I never fully mastered. And I’m a professional musician, so I’ve got a good sense of inner time!
Despite not really getting the hang of the device’s timing – I suppose I could have gone through two cycles – I have to say that my face had never really felt smoother. Additionally, I was told that my skin and pores looked a lot clearer than they have in the past.
Thoughts After Longterm Use
After using the Alpha Fit for about a week, I noticed that I was starting to break out a little more than usual. It’s been a while since I’ve had pimples, but this was bringing it out of me.
This did not last long and I assume it happened because my skin was getting rid of a lot of bad stuff. Not too long after, my skin cleared up again and I did not see any more breakouts.
Do You Need To Use Alpha Cleanse?
Clarisonic sells their own facial cleanser – of course they do – that you’re supposed to pair with the Alpha Fit. Do you have to use it? No.
I did in the beginning simply because it came with the package – it actually does smell really nice – but once it ran out I ended up using my regular facial cleaners, which worked just as well.
Overall Impressions & Biggest Benefits
The Clarisonic Alpha Fit is a device that I’ve fully integrated into my daily skincare routine. I really love it. I like the routine. I like how clean it makes my skin feel. I like how easily it combines cleansing and exfoliating into one action. Plus, it’s small and travels well.
However,the biggest personal benefit I saw? Absolutely no ingrown hairs.
This is a big one for me. Prior to using the Alpha Fit, every couple of months or so I’d get an awful ingrown hair. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of having one of those, you know how terrible it can be. And I’d get them despite taking good care of my skin – washing twice a day, exfoliating, moisturizing, all that.
But, I haven’t seen one since I started using the Alpha Fit, and that’s reason enough for me to keep on using it!
Have you used the Clarisonic Alpha Fit?
Chime in with your experiences in the comments!
Thanks for reading.
Stylishly Yours,
Brian Sacawa
He Spoke Style
Brian Sacawa
Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers. Since 2013, his goal has remained the same: to provide men the advice and inspiration they need to dress well, develop their personal style, and gain more confidence. Brian’s interest and passion for men’s style and luxury watches has led to his writing for The Robb Report, The Rake, and Sotheby’s and he has been quoted on menswear in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today.com, Brides Magazine, and the Huffington Post. He lives in the woods north of Baltimore with his wife, Robin, kitties Nick and Nora, and German Shepherd/Collie mix Charlie.
