Week 4: Clarisonic Mia Chronicles

So, 17 March 2011 marks Week 4 of my Clarisonic Mia ("Mia") journey.

Chronology:
Week 0 click HERE
Week 1 click HERE

SKIN CARE REGIME

** After 4 weeks of use, I've noticed that my skin can get a little dry on cooler days. When this happens, I apply an additional moisturiser on top of my current routine. (Yo Carol! - No additional oiliness :D)

** I could only come up with 2 possible reasons:
[1] the Mia's Sonic action is exfoliating VERY well; and/or
[2] the my topical acne cream is sinking in better, thus the dryness.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

** The Mia’s brush-head (mine is the Sensitive head) doesn't seem as abrasive as how I described in Week 1 (click HERE). A little birdie (Hi Ruth!) told me that the brush head does break in after a while, and true enough, it did ^_^

WEEK 4 – PROGRESS

Black Face Chart from http://www.maccosmetics.com/

Zone A – THE HOT ZONES, which got me to get the Mia in the first place

Predicament: 

Lots of small headless bumps  (cause is explicitly detailed HERE!)

Results:

(Right Side)   NO photo today (explanation below in pink), because at the end of Week 3, there were still NO changes in the bumps.
Didn't shrink; Didn't erupt (I was actually hoping they would, just so I could medicate them!!!) Much to my disdain, they just . DIDN'T . budge!
As they say, desperate times call for desperate/drastic measures:

I PICKED AT THEM.

Well, to be more accurate, I extracted those bumps under very sanitary conditions in a very controlled environment and packed on my topical acne treatment. Flakies be damned!

And I must say, aside from the leftover scars (sighs T_T), the bumps are gone! ^_^ (for now...that is...)

Now, I'm hoping the Mia would erase these scars, pronto!

Note: This is the reason why I didn't post a photo, for it would pretty much freak you out with all the redness caused by my picking/extraction, and not a true reflection of the Mia's results.

(Left Side)     One of the 2 small cystic pimples from a Laura Mercier primer has healed (leaving a scar behind as always) and the other is...kinda...shriveling...slowly...

No new breakouts though, so that’s a plus ^_^ 

Zone B 

Predicament: 

A scar on each temple from previous bouts of breakouts

Results:

Fading... :)

Zone C 

Predicament: 

Lots (x1000) of blackheads [Think "unripe-beige-strawberry" nose *eewww*] 

Results:

I raved about this area in Week 1 because it showed the most OBVIOUS improvement.

However, the improvement seems to have reached its plateau. It is much better than the pre-Mia days, though.
My poor nose is not black-head-free as yet; the super deep-set obstinate spots are still hanging on for dear life.
Extremely persistent, they are =_=

Zone D

Predicament: 

Whiteheads

Results:

I had a zit here during Week 1, so I avoided Mia-ing the area.

However, since then, I've used it continuous.

Less whiteheads, so YAY!

Zone E 

Predicament:

Large pores 

Results:

Pores are definitely less obvious.

To be honest, if you're anything like me and keep scrutinising them day in, day out, you won't see much difference.

However, one fine day, it struck my fancy to use the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in "Nectar" as blusher.

Now, even though Nectar is one of the more finely-milled BB bricks, it still emphasizes my pores like no other if I'm not careful, and this is THE...well...MY...acid test for pore-size.

I am glad to report that yes...the pores have indeed shrunken, but nowhere near invisible...YET ^_~

Zone F

Predicament: 

Nothing much…yet…

Results:

I think I can see some frown lines between my brows, so *fingers crossed* they'll improve over time :D

Same goes for my laugh lines!


BOTTOM LINE
4 Weeks = 1 Month

I will say this.

The Mia-ing HAS helped quite a bit in terms of improving the OVERALL texture of my skin, and for that, I am ecstatic.

However, I still have a long (x100) way to go before my skin is completely clear and flawless, and only time will tell.

I guess the biggest disappointment is the month of Mia-ing FAILED to heal hot Zones A, because that's the WHOLE reason I purchased it in the first place.

This will be the FINAL installment of the  (Clarisonic) Mia Chronicles, UNLESS things take an MIRACULOUS turn for BETTER, or heaven forbid, a tragic U-Turn for WORSE!

Thanks for reading <3