Foreo Luna Review

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Having a nice canvas to work with makes all the difference in the world when applying makeup. Yes, it’s true. I just figured out that makeup is supposed to enhance, not cover up. I have dealt with embarrassingly oily skin my entire life. Several years ago, I realized that the less I scrubbed it, the less likely it was to produce tons and tons of oil. I stopped scrubbing and exfoliating altogether and used a mild soap only at night and splashed my face with water in the morning. The oiliness improved dramatically, but it definitely took a toll. A few months ago, I started feeling like I had aged tremendously. My skin looked dry and dull. I had dry patches all over, and my makeup was settling into 6 or so years of dead, flaky skin layers. It was depressing. I began to search for something that would improve my situation. It had been so long since I had exfoliated my face, I couldn’t even remember what I once used that made my skin look so radiant all the time-despite the oiliness. I was browsing Sephora’s website one day and stumbled across the Foreo Luna. The reviews sounded too good to be true. With the hefty price tag of $199, I had to be sure this was going to be worth it before I would ever drop that kind of money on an electric washcloth. I spent a couple of days researching before I finally decided to purchase it. Factors in deciding to go ahead and bite the bullet: 1) I would never have to replace any brush heads. I already have to replace my brush heads on my Sonicare toothbrush regularly, and it’s a total pain and can get expensive if you are on a tight budget. 2) Hygiene. The Luna is far less likely to harbor bacteria on its silicone surface. That means less bacteria on my face that could lead to breakouts and irritation. 3) The charge lasts an incredibly long time. I have enough stuff charging on my bathroom counter and playing musical plugs is already annoying. 4) It’s not as harsh on the skin as other exfoliating devices because it uses silicone touch-points instead of a brush. This was probably the biggest factor. I needed an exfoliator, but not one that would make my skin mad and cause an overproduction of oil or that painful, raw, burning feeling from exfoliating too deeply.

There are 3 different Lunas that fit specific skin types. Sensitive/normal, combination, and ultra-sensitive skin. My skin pretty much fits the bill for all three of these designs, but I ultimately decided on the sensitive/normal for a few reasons. The absolute, most important thing I needed to consider was that I have ultra-sensitive skin. However, I decided against the ultra-sensitive version because I was afraid it may not exfoliate enough. My next concern was my oiliness. The combination one claimed to be designed to combat oiliness by cleansing deep into the oily patches. To me, this translates to heavy scrubbing, which causes an overproduction of oil. The sensitive/normal Luna sounded like it would be sensitive enough to not irritate my skin, but exfoliate enough to get rid of my dry patches and make my skin look less dull. Plus, it had significantly more reviews than the other two, and I always rely on reviews by real people when I am going to make a big purchase. The Lunas also come in a mini size, but the full size ones have an anti-aging surface on the back side that supposedly helps reduce fine lines.

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

The Luna came in a fancy box reminiscent of Apple products. Simple, sturdy, and sharp. It includes one Luna, a storage bag, a charger, an authenticity card, and an instruction manual/quick start guide.

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

The Luna sends out T-sonic pulsations that help remove dead skin cells, dirt and makeup. The cleansing surface is covered with silicone touch-points that vibrate and cleanse deep into your pores. You can choose a speed setting depending on how fast or slow you want it to pulsate. You do not need to press and scrub when using this. Just let the Luna glide across your face and it will do the work for you. The device has a slight pause in the pulsation to let you know when to switch to a different area of your face. It was barely noticeable my first couple of uses, but I quickly got used to it. After a full minute, it double vibrates to let you know you are finished. When I used this for the first time, I could not get over how great it felt…so I kept scrubbing and scrubbing because my face felt so smooth and relaxed. I broke out with horrible, cystic acne for two weeks. Part of it is probably because I hadn’t exfoliated my face in so long, while the other is because I overdid it the first use and I applied pressure to the device while cleansing. Once I realized that I only needed to guide it and just let it glide across my face, my acne cleared up almost immediately. I only use it at night because I feel twice a day may irritate my skin. After a full month of use, my complexion is glowing. The dullness from all of the dry, patchiness I’ve carried for so many years is gone. I look younger. However, I tend to get oilier and there really isn’t much of a change in my acne. I still get it at the same rate, but it does disappear much more quickly. My skin feels smoother, but it doesn’t necessarily LOOK smoother. My color is a lot more balanced and I don’t feel totally embarrassed about someone seeing me without makeup now. My moisturizer absorbs a lot better and my makeup doesn’t look as cakey, but darn. I wanted that impossible Photoshop skin.

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

When the cleansing phase is finished, you can pause the Luna to put your moisturizer on. The little blue light stays on at the bottom to let you know it’s paused and ready to move onto the anti-aging phase.

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

Foreo Luna for Sensitive/Normal Skin

This is the part where I start feeling a little skeptical. You flip the Luna to the back side and run it over your face to help reduce fine lines. I feel literally no difference between the pulsations on this side and those on the cleansing side. I have also not seen much of a difference in the fine lines around my eyes after a month of using it. But you know what? After a long, stressful day, it sure does feel amazing to just sit there and hold it right between my eyebrows where I feel a lot of strain.

Overall, the Foreo Luna has improved the look of my complexion. My skin feels firmer and smoother and looks more evenly toned. I love that I don’t really experience any irritation from it and that it helps clear up my acne almost overnight. However, I don’t really feel that it is a holy grail-type product because it doesn’t necessarily improve the amount of acne I have and it causes a bit more oiliness than usual, but not a crazy overproduction like I get from most exfoliators. I probably would have been just fine purchasing the mini version for $60 less, considering the anti-aging side seems to have had no effect. I will, however, continue to use it because it’s the best thing I’ve discovered so far.

See UPDATE here.

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Jae Burkett

  • Elizabeth

    It’s just SOOO expensive! Neutrogena has a microdermabrasion thingie (it’s not a brush) that costs about $20, and the pads are very inexpensive to replace. I got it because a lot of people compared it to the Luna. I would love to try this thing, though.

    • Meh, I’ve been meaning to write an update on this, but haven’t had a chance yet (and I’ve been waiting to see how this plays out). It had a tiny air pocket above the buttons when I got it, but I didn’t think anything of it since I’ve never owned one. Now the air pocket has spread all over the device (after just 2 months) and the silicone is loose on both sides. I contacted Sephora about it a few days ago and they said I could exchange it, so I’m going to try that. If it happens again, I’ll be returning it for good, and will definitely write a review on that. For $200, it should be more durable than that.

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