Hi Beauty Brains Fans! Sarah Bellum here with another product review. Today I’m talking about the ThermaClear Zit Zapper.
What is Thermaclear?
It’s hand held electronic device that kills acne causing bacteria with a pulse of heat. It puts pimple pulsing power in the palm of your hand!
ThermaClear uses proprietary Thermal Pulse Technology to deliver a controlled burst of heat that reaches beneath the surface of the skin to neutralize the bacteria that cause acne and accelerate healing. It’s similar to laser treatment technology dermatologists use to treat mild-to-moderate acne.
(By the way, if this sounds familiar to you, you might have seen our previous post on Zeno, another zit zapper.)
Does Thermaclear Really Work?
If you’ve read The Beauty Brains post on the causes of acne, you know that bacteria feast on excess oil and skin cells and cause inflammation. Thermaclear works on a very simple principle – you can kill the nasty little buggers with a blast of heat instead of acne medication:
Unlike topical acne treatments, which are designed to prevent new breakouts and typically should be given 6 to 8 weeks to work, ThermaClear is designed to treat pimples after they appear. And, with no medicines involved, ThermaClear delivers healing thermal energy that clears without over-drying your skin.
And yes, it does work, although it’s not 100% effective. The first few pimples I tried it on literally dried up over night. But I didn’t always see such miraculous results. So I gave it the acid test and gave it to my teen-age nephew to use. He said he uses it twice daily, once before school and once after. When I asked him if it helped his acne he replied “Uh, I guess it’s better.” So then I asked him why he’s using it twice every day if he’s not sure it’s working. His insightful response was “I dunno.”
Fortunately we don’t have to rely only his stirring testimony as proof that it works. Therative, the company that makes Thermaclear, have clinical studies that prove the efficacy of their little gadget. They’ve shown it can help clear up pimples 2 to 4 times faster than untreated pimples. (It would be interesting to see how Thermaclear compares to regular acne meds like Sal acid and BP but, alas, they didn’t test it that way.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Thermaclear?
Its advantages are that it’s quick and easy to use. You control it through 2 buttons:
Simply turn on ThermaClear, place the treatment tip on the pimple and press the pulse button. Treatment time is 2-seconds per pimple. It’s that simple.
It’s also small enough to carry around with you, which I liked.
Disadvantages are it’s mildly painful (maybe I’m a wimp, the afore-mentioned teen-ager didn’t have a problem with pain even on the highest setting.) And, it can be time consuming if you have a lot of zits because you have to treat each pimple individually. But the biggest disadvantage is it’s price. At $150, it can be very painful in the purse!
Sarah Bellum’s Bottom Line:
Thermaclear Zit Zapper is based on real science and it’s certainly worth trying if you have an acne problem. If you can afford it.
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Hi Sarah!
I personally would recommend ZENO over ThermaClear.
There might be more cost for Zeno, but it’s more efficient and changing out the tips (which is an added cost) only helps maintain your product by regulating temperature more effectively. Which mean bye bye pesky zit!
No laser used only heat that kills the bacteria that accounts for 90% of acne.
Thanks for your blog!
A week after I started using the ThermaClear, I developed rosacea. This may have been completely coincidental, but I am concerned that the ThermaClear’s intense heat bursts were a trigger. Curious whether anyone else has experienced something similar, I have started a blog:
http://community.livejournal.com/zitzappers
Both “Emily” and “Stacy” have posted on every blog that I have been to to find out more about the thermaclear versus zeno duel. This is intriguing. I bought zeno recently, but because the cost of the tips. I will return it and buy the thermaclear.
These posts seem rather strange…
My mom bought a Zeno for my b-day about 4 months ago and I’ve had a few zits since then and this thing cleared them up way faster then before. I’ve never had a TC, but my friend did and she returned it… she said that it hurt when she put it on her face. If you’re thinking of buying one of them…I would go for the Zeno!
I bought a thermaclear recently, and so
far I’m happy with the results. My only concern is that using heat like this could damage collagen? This would also include the zeno, as they both work the same way. Do the beautybrains
have any opinion on this?
Just wanted to give my 2cents about Thermaclear. I have been using once a day for 3 week and I have had great results. By morning, my face is clear.
I emailed the thermaclear co. about my collagen question and they said it wouldn’t cause any problems. So far, I’m finding the thermaclear works great-if I zap as soon as I feel any little tiny bump under the skin. If it’s a pimple that’s emerged already it’s too late, as it doesn’t seem to do much if anything at that point.
So I’m just being very vigilant and catching them early.
I did a little online research. Zeno heats up to 118 degrees F. Thermaclear heats up to 212 degrees F. Based on this, I chose Zeno. 212 degrees is too hot for comfort on my face. If I remember basic science correctly, water boils at 212 degrees F. Common sense says if I put my finger in a pot of boiling water for 2 seconds, it would burn, so why would I subject my face to 212 degrees F?
Wow! Thanks for the great information from Leslie. I can’t believe Thermaclear doesn’t tell people how high of a temperature their device gets! That’s just not right!
I would like to buy either the Thermaclear or Zeno. Which one? After researching I am leaning towards the Thermaclear because of treatment time and charging time. But will the Thermaclear leave a mark on my face? How many treatments does one pimple need? I didn’t care about the heat until I read Leslie’s remark about boiling water. Will Zeno or Thermaclear work faster?
I tried thermaclear but went back to zeno. Like Emily, I too experienced a result with thermaclear that mirrored rosacea symptoms and I don’t have sensitive skin. It didn’t last forever, but it really scared me. I didn’t really see any change in my pimples either with thermaclear. Zeno worked overnight just like it says. Zeno does have a longer treatment time, but the heat is significantly lower than thermaclear and it doesn’t hurt like thermaclear. With zeno, you could need as little as one treatment per pimple. You kind of learn what works for you with time. Don’t get zap happy the minute you get a zeno. Use it on new pimples that have just arrived to get the best results. Although, I have tried zeno on old pimples too and it helped shorten the healing time.
Just like Stacy said, overall I think that zeno is just more efficient, probably better for all skin types too because thermaclear gets so hot. If you try zeno, buy it at your local store, this way you can return it if it doesn’t work for you and it is less hassle. Thermaclear is only available online. Good luck!
I am considering either buying zeno or thermaclear. with what ive heard of the product efficiency, i would rather go for the zeno, but the extra cost of it seems a bit over-the-top. any suggestions for me?
I came online looking for reviews on how effective other people find thermaclear. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and can see no difference at all. It doesn’t hurt much for me since I used it the first time. Cannot understand how anyone would describe it as excruciating as I have seen on some reviews. However, it is doing absolutely nothing to change my skin (mild acne).
I just got mine today. I almost got the Zeno until I bumped into TC. The Zeno looks cooler, they also have a mini version which is cheaper than TC. I learned that Zeno takes 2 1/2 minutes to treat each pimple and it doesn’t hurt. But the biggest drawback is the replacement tip that you have to buy regularly. It’s like buying a printer, they will ding you with the cartridge.
So I refuse to fall prey to Zeno’s tactic to make more money and bought TC instead. TC treatment is much quicker but it hurts! I think I’ll get used to it. If you have many pimples to treat and have high tolerance for pain try the TC first. Cleo said that it doesn’t hurt much but maybe she got a defective one and it’s probably why it wasn’t working for her.
The zap is more intense than a drop of melted candle on your skin. You know when you’re cooking and a bit of oil hits your skin? It’s like that.
Doing a cleanse was something I thought I would never do. But after reading Glickman’s book over and over, I felt more comfortable about this detox program.
Straight forward and easy to read, you can get through this book in a day. The numerous testimonials and questions from fellow cleansers gives a 360 degree view of what this program is really like.
I did the program for the minimum 10 days and have enjoyed better health, more energy, and a slender physique. I highly recommend this cleanse for people who are serious about ridding themselves of their bad eating habits.
I have both the Zeno and the Thermaclear. I prefer the Thermaclear. One treatment with the Thermaclear is only 2 seconds as oppose to 2 minutes with the Zeno. The Zeno leaves my skin red for hours, while the the Thermaclear causes redness but for only about 5-10 minutes. I also found it works far better than the Zeno. I zap the red swollen pimples and in no more than 2 days it’s gone. The Thermaclear is not painful to me at all. For those who said that it hurt you, it has a mild setting that you use until you build your tolerance to the maximum setting. Then of course there’s the very obvious reason why the Thermaclear is better, and that is that it has unlimited uses. It’s not like the Zeno where you have to constantly be buying cartridges that at minimum cost $35.