The actuator (10, 90) of a personal care appliance, such as a toothbrush (11), which includes a housing member (12), a double E shaped yoke assembly (14, 52) with two electrical coils (36, 38) wound around the opposing E shaped sections. An armature (28) extends adjacent the top of the yoke assembly (14, 52), extending beyond the edges thereof. The armature (28) further includes side portions which extend adjacent the sides of the E shaped yoke (52), with each side portion including two spaced magnets which are aligned with the coils (36, 38) when the actuator (10, 90) is in a rest position. Power is supplied from a battery source, and a programmable control assembly (46) applies power to the coils (36, 38) in a selected manner to produce axial and/or tangential or complex movement of the brushhead workpiece (33) at the end of an output shaft extending from the armature (28).