I like the Mia for it's smaller size and portability. My sister has the Clarisonic Plus, but I am much more frugal than she is so I bought the Mia for the better price tag. There are some considerable differences between the 2 products, here are a few:
1) One cycle runs for 1 minute then turns off on the Mia. You are able to set the cycle for the Plus for 1 or 2 minutes. Additionally, the Plus beeps when you are supposed to move to a different area of your face. You can always just run the cycle again on the Mia if it's not long enough though.
2) The Mia is smaller, though the brushhead is the same diameter. The Mia is also much lighter than the Plus.
3) The Mia has a powercord (attaches magnetically to the unit and is waterproof where it attaches), the Plus has a cradle.
4) You cannot use the body brush with the Mia (biggest disadvantage for me, as I didn't realize this when I purchased it).
All in all, if you are just planning to use the brush to cleanse your face and don't need the body brush, then I think the difference between the two doesn't warrant the large hike in price.
Summary:
My skin problems probably aren't going to be resolved by anything short of prescription medication, so all I expected from the Mia was thorough cleaning and maybe some help with blackheads. The Mia's more than met those expectations. I'll be replacing it if/when it stops working and I definitely recommend it if you have the money but don't expect miracles for severe acne.
Details:
I'm Asian (Filipino/Chinese) with a medium-olive skin tone. I consider my skin to be fairly strong toners and AHA products tingle slightly but don't hurt, and I don't have any fine lines or wrinkles at age 38. My skin's very oily and there's a lot of hyperpigmentation. I have severe adult-onset acne due to hormone imbalance milia on my chin, blackheads on my nose, cystic acne frequently on my cheeks and jawline and infrequently on my forehead (gets worse based on my monthly cycle), and infrequent whiteheads anywhere.
My current skin care regimen is Murad at night and a mild bead-type exfoliator during my morning shower, but I'm not very good at sticking to it usually I use the Mia in the shower and just remove my makeup at night.
I've been using the Mia since mid-July more or less once a day, every time I wash my face. Here's what I've noticed:
My skin is still oily in fact, it almost seems like it's *more* oily because the pores are clearer. Not an issue for me since I discovered Urban Decay's Deslick in a Tube (highly recommended if you have very oily skin!)
My pores are much less apparent, especially when I'm wearing makeup. Without makeup they still look pretty big to me, but I'm in the habit of studying my face in the mirror from two inches away. I'm comfortable that they're clear and not visible to others, especially if I blot or otherwise manage the oil.
No or slight effect on hyperpigmentation some darkening has faded, but it tends to fade for me over a few months anyway.
No effect on the cystic acne.
No effect on whitehead frequency or severity.
The milia, which had persisted for months regardless of treatments, creams, and scrubs, are much reduced, both in appearance and amount. I can still see some bumps, but they're not white, and my chin is smoother. I don't feel like a casual observer would notice anything. This was unexpected and AWESOME all of my reading about milia led me to believe that they couldn't be removed by anything short of a visit to a professional, so I'd pretty much resigned myself to just dealing with it for a while.
The blackheads are gone. In the past I had cleared and prevented blackheads with a weekly Biore strip, an overnight mask applied to my nose every other night (every night was too drying), and scrubbing with an exfoliator in the morning. Using the Mia has pretty much eliminated the blackhead issue entirely.
I like the Mia a lot my skin feels cleaner and smoother in the areas I'm not prone to blemishes. It feels sturdy & comfortable to use. Like other reviewers, I'd be happier if it paused every ten or twenty seconds to help with timing the cleaning. That feature's available with the larger Clarisonic, but frankly I don't really want anything larger than the Mia. I've had no problems with recharging the Mia only weekly.
If you decide to purchase, I'd recommend picking up some makeup remover wipes as well; it's alarming how dirty the brush looks when it's covered with foundation, and I got paranoid that all the makeup on the brush wasn't letting the Mia get my face really clean and ended up washing my face a second time.
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I received this as a gift and was skeptical it would be worth its price. I saw significant change in the tone and clarity of my skin in less than a month. The clincher was when others complimented my skin, unprompted. I was also hesitant to add yet another step to my skin care routine but it's very quick and easy. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about purchasing this.
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I received the Mia as a Christmas gift and I love to use it in the shower. I do have one concern though and you who are reading this and thinking about buying one should know: when you charge it (and you're supposed to for 24hrs upon first use)it MAKES NOISE. It makes a small, pulsing, chirping noise like a cricket. This may not be a problem for those of you with big houses where you can plug it in to charge somewhere far away from where you are, say, trying to sleep. But if you have an apartment and don't have that option, argh! Annoying. Otherwise, it is a good product (I just don't know why they thought it would be a good idea to have it chirp annoyingly while it is charging).
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I cannot believe the difference in my skin after using the Mia for 1 1/2 months. This winter I experienced extremely dry skin that could not be helped no matter how much moisturizer I used. I experienced occasional blackheads and unsightly pores. My major problem with most cleansers is that I have a mild case of rosacea that does not necessitate special treatment but can result in irritation with strong cleansers.
My routine is as follows. Every morning, I use Clinique dramatically different moisturizer followed by my Smashbox makeup. In the evening, I remove my eye makeup using neutrogena eye makeup remover.Then I use my Mia with Neutrogena gentle cleanser. I use the delicate brush for my MIa because the sensitive one that it came with was just a little too much for me. After washing my face, I pat it with a towel so that it is just slightly damp and apply my Clinique moisturizer in a heavy coat.
To say that my skin has improved is a gross understatement. My hair stylist actually commented on how great my skin looks. This is a huge compliment from someone who is up close and personal with faces all day long. My pores are practically invisible, and I have absolutely no acne. The problem with flaky skin has disappeared, and my skin looks younger than it has in years.
The only wish I have for my Mia is that it would have a timer to indicate when to move from one part of the face to another. My sister's Plus has that, and she loves it.
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Firstly, I recommend using this product in the shower. The steam will really open up your pores and help lather the scrub up nicely. This starts off as a exfoliator but then morphs into a milky and really creamy cleanser once it is rubbed in. The brown sugar in this cleanser is a gentle exfoliant (much gentler than the St. Ives Apricot Scrub for instance). I also love how it is gentle enough to be used everyday without having to worry about micro tears in your skin. ALSO, I know this sounds really weird but this product actually doesn't taste that bad. One time while washing my face I got a little in my mouth and it kinda tasted like almond.... :)
