Acne Clearing Devices -- Do They Really Work?

You’ve probably been a situation where you wake up and look into the mirror only to find a bit fat pimple starting right back at you. Acne is not a fun thing to deal with – and most of us have had to at some point in our lives. But did you know that there is a quick way to get rid of pimples? There are some acne clearing devices out there that can almost magically clear up pimples. Perhaps the most popular acne clearing device is the Zeno zit zapper. This device can really do wonders on any pimple breakout you have.

To understand why the Zeno works, you have to understand how we get acne in the first place. Acne is caused by the sebaceous glands – small glands that are attached to the hair follicles – which product sebum oil to lubricate our skin. Sebum is good for the skin – in most situations. Normally sebum climbs to the skin surface, riding along the hair follicle. If the pore remains open as it should, the sebum reaches the skin surface, keeping the skin moist. However, if a pore gets blocked then the sebum gets trapped inside the pore. Several things can trap the skin such as dead skin cells, foreign matter, or even excess oil.

When sebum gets trapped in the pore, bacteria get trapped along with it. As time goes by, the bacteria irritates the skin and causes inflammation – hence the red marks you see when an acne outbreak occurs. Now you can often feel a pimple “about” to break out. This feels like a small bump that’s sore to the touch. The Zeno acne device works on this.

The Zeno device is a rechargeable, handheld device which utilizes heat to treat acne pimples before they actually break out. The Zeno essentially prevents breakouts before they even happen. It works on the premise that applying head to the skin will reduce inflammation. When applying 119 degree heat to a pimple, the bacteria inside the skin becomes damaged and ceases causing infection. As a byproduct, this heat also brings about an increased blood flow to any inflamed areas healing the skin much faster. The Zeno devices maintain this heat temperature for several minutes for each pimple. Within 24 hours, the pimple disappears.

There are some catches to this device, however. It’s the most effective when used to treat mild acne. You might be asking how to remove blackheads with this device. The answer is, you can't. The Zeno cannot treat or remove blackheads or whiteheads at all as the heat therapy has no effect on them. Scientifically, this makes a lot of sense since whitehead and blackhead blemishes do not have any inflammation to be treated.

Also, since the Zeno needs about 3 minutes per individual pimple, it’s best used on breakouts of a couple pimples. Severe outbreaks such as is visible in cystic acne is simple too time consuming to effectively treat.

The Zeno works best to PREVENT acne breakouts. This is that phase where you feel a hard lump under your skin. Applying the Zeno acne clearing device to the skin at this time will get rid of the zit before it turns into a full blown pimple. Applying the Zeno to inflamed pimples won’t yield the same results.

The last con is that the Zeno is quite expensive. It costs about $225 dollars which makes it a pricey solution for most.

So, is the Zeno Zit Zapper device worth the price? Is it a miracle device that can cure all acne?

This depends on who you ask. If you suffer a lot of individual outbreaks (pimples that are scattered around your face) then this device is a godsend. If you have severe acne or just blackheads and whiteheads, this device really won’t do too much for you.

It’s also important to note that this acne clearing device does nothing to address the underlying causes of acne. The Zeno is simply a treatment – not an actual acne cure. It can remove acne, yes, but not provide a permanent acne solution. If you are looking to treat acne from the ground up, I suggest finding other methods of getting rid of acne breakouts such as acne skin creams or an acne treatment system. And there is the device's inability to get rid of blackheads. Indeed, the best way to remove blackheads is through diet, not through a machine anyways.

That being said, it’s definitely and acne clearing device worth thinking about – especially if you some spare change. For some, the price of the device may just be worth the ability to stop pimple outbreaks before they happen.