Two days later, fate intervened. The Clarisonic Alpha Fit -- a new cleansing system for dudes -- landed on my desk. I informed the boyfriend that I had a tough-love solution for his face: Thirty days of consistent sonic cleansing. No skipping, no excuses. After that, if he hated it or didn't see a difference in his skin, he could go back to his water-splashing, body-wash-as-face-soap ways. After some moaning and groaning, he agreed.

The Clarisonic Alpha Fit is a smaller, cooler version of the women's cleansing brush. It's gray, bullet-shaped and engineered specifically for men's skin, which, we're told, is thicker and oiler than women's. Well, that explains a lot.

Still, the boyfriend was unimpressed -- and more than a little clueless. Proof: The boyfriend turned it on and put it against his face, without soap or water.

Le sigh. Men.

It was time to take a step back and do what us beauty editors do best -- educate. The lesson went something like this: "Babe, it's like a Sonicare sonic toothbrush, but for your face. Yes, totally high-tech. No, you don't use toothpaste. Just get it wet, apply cleanser, turn it on, press lightly against your face and presto -- superclean skin. And this (here's where I did a Vanna White-esque flourish) is an extra powerful setting for your beard. Think you can handle it?

"Oh, and you can totally take it in the shower."

Boyfriend: "Cool, where do I get the face soap?" [Note: We are standing in the bathroom literally surrounded by 13 different cleansers. Luckily for girlfriend-less men, the Alpha comes with its own face wash.]

I'm honestly surprised our relationship survived the first week. Every morning and night, I was on him to test this contraption, because, hello, I was on deadline. This wasn't just about his skin and beard funk anymore.

Then lo and behold, on the fifth night when I reminded him, he said he'd already done it. I was dumbfounded (and maybe a little smug). When I leaned in to kiss him, I could tell he wasn't lying, because his face did not smell like a yet-to-be-named food group.

Despite the fact that my boyfriend couldn't remember how to pronounce "Clarisonic," things were going much better. The beard funk had decreased immensely, and his once-prickly beard was no longer giving me beard burn. It actually felt soft. I also noticed that his pores were looking smaller, and his skin brighter and healthier. He noticed that he was able to get a closer shave, and had less razor burn.

This torture device was starting to look more like a gadget with potential.

My favorite moment from this whole experiment happened at a wedding. We were chatting with another couple when my job came up. That's when my boyfriend gleefully announced that he's been using this new Clarisonic for guys. (Yes, he finally got the name right.)

As I picked my jaw up off the floor, my boyfriend confided to his buddy that his face feels so much cleaner, especially after working out, and how he loves that it has a setting for his beard and a timer so he knows exactly when to stop using it.

I whispered to my friend that it also gets rid of beard stink. My friend told me she's getting one for her husband immediately.