Does the Zeno Device for Acne Work?

In the news there is a new product called the Zeno Device for acne and it works by following a most interesting principle, “cooking” the pimple, but before that is discussed, understand that acne vulgaris, the most common of the types of pimples is caused primarily by bacteria. There are a lot of myths about pimples and what causes them. Teenagers in particular believe that pimples are caused by greasy foods like pizza and potato chips and another food item that gets blamed is chocolate. Well these are some of the myths about acne and pimples. There is only one food item that has been scientifically shown to cause acne breakouts and that is dairy. (read an article about dairy and acne)

Besides dairy the main culprits are hormones and stress, and stress is related to hormones. It is likely that lifestyle habits that can increase stress such as a lack of sleep and a refined food diet are secondarily responsible for acne breakouts.

So dairy, hormones and stress are known to cause pimples and acne but without bacteria the unsightly pimple would not exist. Prior to the pimple formation a pore has become clogged with excess sebum, natural oil in the skin, and dead skin cells. This clogged pore can darken and a blackhead will be the result. Under these conditions however, bacterium known as Propionibacterium acnes begin to colonize and can cause an inflammation that may progress to infected pustules or inflammatory lesions that if not treated properly can result in scarring or hyperpigmentation.

The Zeno Device works by heating the bacterium infected skin for 2 1/1 minutes after which time the Zeno automatically turns off signaled by a musical tone. This heat will kill the bacteria that are responsible for the infected pustule. In clinical trials the Zeno was shown to cause 90% of blemishes to disappear or fade when observed at a 24-hour post treatment checkup.

The ease of use that the Zeno Device offers should be accompanied by a good lifestyle and proper skin care and hygiene.

The Zeno is not for use on blackheads or cystic acne. The FDA has approved the Zeno and some patients in clinical trials experienced temporary skin redness but there were no other reported adverse effects of using the Zeno device for acne.