Anti-acne gadget: the-thermaclear zit zapper

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.