Zeno MD Acne Clearing Device

(UPDATE Aug 30th – scroll for details) The Zeno MD Acne Clearing Device has been widely promoted as a powerful tool against acne blemishes. In October I decided to take the plunge and pay the $200 for the Zeno MD. The primary reason I decided to give it a try was that my skin was an absolute mess and I was desperate to clear it up without further damaging it by using irritating products like Retin-A or Benzoyl Peroxide. My hormones were out of whack again (I’ll spare you the female problem side of this story) and toward the end of September and the beginning of October my skin freaked out in a big way. I had awful, really awful clusters of two to three blemishes. Some where little pimples, others were the terribly painful cystic acne variety and they were popping up everywhere.

I was quickly getting depressed because no matter what I did the acne wasn’t going away and it just kept getting worse. No sooner had one cluster resolved itself then another mini-cluster erupted nearby. I wanted to just hide from the world because I felt hideous. By the time I ordered the Zeno MD my skin was in pretty bad shape and by the time it arrived a few days later I had even more flare-ups. So that’s the condition my skin was in when I started reviewing the efficacy of the Zeno MD.

After receiving the Zeno MD and reading the instructional guide I set it aside to charge. When the Zeno MD was ready for use I first used it on three (of 15 ) of the acne blemishes present on my skin at that time. The blemishes themselves varied from cystic (deep, painful ones), newly emerging pimple and an older pimple that had shown itself to have an un-canning staying ability. The instructions recommend keeping the heated tip gently on top of the blemish for two and a half minutes. The tip didn’t feel hot at all when I touched it to the inside of my hand however when I touched the Zeno tip on the cystic bump it was quite uncomfortable for a few seconds and then after the first treatment beep I no longer felt the heat. I cycled through the two and a half minute treatment time – which does feel like a very long time as you are holding the device steady on the offending blemish.

At the end of the treatment cycle the Zeno MD beeps to tell you it is done and ready for the the next treatment area. Upon removing the tip away from my skin I noticed a small round pinkish red spot left behind by the Zeno tip. It was much larger in diameter than the cyst but I was already prepared for the “after-effect” because I had read many reviews before I decided to buy the Zeno MD. I repeated the same process for the two other offending blemishes for a total treatment time of seven and a half minutes. I followed the same treatment process two more times that day.

After a twenty-four hour period of using the Zeno MD I still hadn’t seen any miraculous eradication of the blemishes and I was seriously considering packaging the Zeno back for a refund. I knew going in that Zeno MD wasn’t indicated for use with cystic acne but I figured I’d give it a try anyways – at the very least it was supposed to be very effective against emerging and newly formed regular pimples but my skin wasn’t improving, the blemishes weren’t resolving. If anything my skin looked worse because I was sporting little pink polka-dots over the blemishes. I decided against sending the device back right away. I had at least two more weeks in which I could safely test the Zeno MD and still be able to return it within the “money-back guarantee” period if it didn’t work.

I continued regular treatments with the Zeno MD on the existing cystic acne and the new pimples that were taking up residence next to it and within a week of using the Zeno MD I started noticing the slow down in the development of new blemishes, the cystic acne bump was slowly resolving itself and had shrunk considerably in size compared to the other cystic acne bumps that emerged at that same time it did except those cystic blemishes weren’t being treated. Seeing the the Zeno MD was working to reduce the recurring breakouts I decided to keep it but I wasn’t ready just yet to report that the Zeno MD is a definite buy – I wanted to further test the product before giving it the Ms. Distressed Derma seal of approval.

Over the next four weeks I created ( Required Disclaimer: completely non-scientific) two test environments for the use of the Zeno MD. The first was using the Zeno MD with a regular skin care regimen that included gentle cleansing, twice weekly exfoliation and oil control. Under those conditions my skin continued to break-out albeit with less frequency than before I started using the Zeno MD tool. The Zeno MD tool worked quite well if I was able to catch the offending blemish before it “emerged”. However I saw dramatic results in my second test using the Zeno MD to zap the offending blemishes in combination with a skin care regimen that included daily cleansing with a gentle Alpha/Beta Hydroxy cleanser, daily exfoliation with a continuous release serum containing 12% Glycolic Acid, daily use of an Alpha/Beta Hydroxy Complex Acne treatment, three times a week 10% Glycolic Acid Peel and of course managing the oil/sebum production with a very effective oil absorbing lotion. The results as I wrote earlier were incredible. I have been following that skin care regimen since mid November and my skin has cleared up tremendously. I haven’t had any new cystic type blemishes or regular pimples in over four weeks. As soon as I feel an irregular bump under the skin out comes the Zeno MD and within twenty four hours there is no sign of a blemish.

The Zeno MD has worked for both my cystic acne and my regular pimples but I think it’s worked so well because it’s an addition to what has been proven (in my case) to be a very effective blemish busting skin care regimen that also takes into account my skin aging concerns. By using the Zeno MD to eliminate blemishes I have spared my skin the drying and irritating effects of using Retin-A and Benzoyl Peroxide. As such I recommend the Zeno MD to those who are battling acne and wrinkles as well as to any one who is just dealing with acne by itself. However don’t expect the Zeno MD to be a cure-all by itself it needs to be used as a complement to your skin care program. The key factor is to determine what combination of products works best for you – as I did.

If you decide that Zeno MD is for you then you should also know that the Zeno MD which costs $200 comes with a 150 treatments cartridge tip and that you will need to buy additional cartridges for future use. Those cartridges are retailing for about $55. It can get pricey but in the long run I figured it still cost me less than suffering with the ugly blemishes and raw skin that I had from using Retin-A and Benzoyl Peroxide products. Having healthier looking skin is priceless – specially if you’ve suffered with terrible skin for a long period of time.

Available at DermaDoctor.com

ZENO MD Acne Clearing Device

Ms. Distressed Derma rates this product:

Disclaimer: All opinions and reviews at DistressedDerma.com are based on my experience. Your experiences may vary. This is not a medical opinion and unless explicitly stated all products reviewed have been purchased by distressedderma.com (aka ms. distressedderma).

UPDATE: Aug 30, 2007- Several readers have asked me what the difference is between the Zeno MD and the Zeno Pro. After some research I’ve learned that mechanically they are the same the difference is in the tips. The Zeno MD ($200) comes with a 150 treatments tip while the Zeno Pro ($185.00)comes with a 90 treatments tip head and the Zeno Original ($150) comes with a 60 treatment tip. The Zeno MD turns out to be the best buy cost-wise because you get 60 more treatments for just $15 more. That’s a great deal considering the replacement tips for 60 treatments is $25. Hope this information helps. Please feel free to email me at msdistressedderma@distressedderma.com if you have any questions.