This vibration leads to a pleasant tingling sensation! (Neutrogena Wave Power Cleanser)

Member Name: Sarccyslayer

Product:	Neutrogena Wave Power Cleanser
Date:	10/03/09 (998 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works really well on my skin, easy to find to purchase, fresh and clean skin

Disadvantages: You need to buy refills at £5

The Neutrogena Wave is a relatively new contraption aimed at the female market with the promise of fresh, younger looking skin. I saw it advertised on the television and was slightly impressed at how easy it looked to use and the fact it promised to give you softer skin after just one use, not only that but I am currently using another Neutrogena product called Pure Glow® Daily Cleansing Cushions which work as double-sided cushion which cleanses and exfoliates skin in one simple step and having been quite impressed with them, I thought it would be a good use of some of those Boots points to try something new.

The wave is sold in a brightly coloured pink and white box with the words Wave in giant letters with an explanation as to what the product is also clearly visible upon the box. The Wave is sold as being a power-cleanser which deeply removes dirt, make-up and oil leaving you with softer skin after just one use. So knowing what it is meant to do, I purchased one along with a pack of the cleanser pads which in total came to £15 or thereabouts taking into account I used my points and had a voucher for £1.50 off the cleanser pads. I should point out at this stage that I did buy the Wave starter kit and that you can just buy the wave on its own for around £12 and with it comes one pad only, so it is worth looking around for the starter pack that I found in my Boots superstore.

Inside the box which contains your Wave you should find the Wave contraption, 14 refill pads, the attachment head and one AA Battery. Once the Wave has been removed from the box I noticed that it is one of the oddest looking designs I have seen for a long time, however experts at Neutrogena state that it is an ergonomically shaped device designed to fit perfectly in your hand and small enough so that it can travel with you. So having picked up the device itself I have to agree that it does sit comfortably in my hand and with the easy to grip sections on either side.

When it comes to using the Wave, you need to attach the cleansing pad onto the front of the Wave which is really easy to do and it manages to sit and stay firmly attached, then you wet the attached pad with a little bit of water, you don't have to drown the pad in water however the Wave is water resistant so that you can use it within the shower. Once you have completed those steps you simply switch to turn it on and you will immediately feel some vibrations as the Wave kick starts itself into life. Then you move the pad over your face, I prefer to use it in small circular motions to create a facial massage as the foam reaches deep into the pores of my face to remove any dirt, oil, and makeup that it is said it will remove. The vibrations from the Wave itself are actually quite pleasant and you really don't need to press too hard on the face to feel it moving along the skin, the only advice I would give is to avoid the eye area as much as you can because if you get the foam in your eye it does sting rather a lot, should this happen you simply wash your eye with tepid water and the stinging soon stops. That said the reason the Wave vibrates is to help stimulates the skin's surface - and open up the pores which then enables the lather to clean deeper under the skins surface. This Wave also uses pads which are textured and this helps to remove dead skin cells from the surface to leave you with cleaner, fresher, smoother looking skin. The pads themselves create a foaming effect when they are used, although the foam doesn't appear for a good few seconds, so don't become dismayed and think it doesn't work; you simply need to allow time for the foam to appear. I didn't notice any particular smell to the foam I had to admit and even now I don't think it smells of anything other than being similar to other Neutrogena products for those people who are aware of them and have used them.

After you have finished cleansing your face the pad upon the Wave should be disposed of because they are designed to be used only once and the first time you use them you will notice that the pad is slightly dirty and I felt ashamed of myself, it is like buying a Dyson for the first time and hoovering your carpet, despite hoovering every day, the Dyson still manages to pick up more fluff and dirt than you ever imagined and manages to make you feel rather ashamed of yourself given the amount of dirt, that is in part how I felt looking at the first pad I ever used on my face, since that day I am glad to say that things are not quite so bad, although living in London I am sure does affect the state of skin. I don't use this contraption everyday, I tend to use it every other day currently because I have only had it for a few weeks and I am still as impressed now as I was on the first day I used it.

Once the dirty used pad has been disposed of and your skin has been patted dry, I found my face to be quite tingly with a glow to the skin, similar to the effect I get after using an exfoliating mask, which is a pleasant tingle and one which lets me know my face is actually clean and nothing is clinging to the pores to give me a breakout of spots. My skin itself was very soft to the touch and although I didn't feel the need to apply moisturiser, I am a creature of habit and before I went to bed I did add my usual nighttime cream in the hope of keeping those wrinkles and lines at bay for a few more years, but I didn't feel the need to add any cream straightaway.

I am really impressed with this device, it is easy to use, and it does as it claims to do and works well with my skin. The slight annoying thing is that you do have to buy extra pads for the Wave which comes in boxes of 30 and cost in the region of £5 from places like Boots and Superdrug but I am sure over time the cost will come down slightly, having said that however a box of refill pads will last me two months because I only use it every other day, if your usage is everyday or more than once a day then naturally you will need to purchase the pads more regularly. The initial price of the Wave itself is currently £12.71 with Boots although with various discounts around you could pay as little as £9 for one so it is worth looking around and it is in my view something I will continue to use as part of my beauty regime.

Summary: A vibrating cleanser for your face