Thermaclear Vs Zeno: The Zit-Zapper Showdown

BellaSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:14:01 PST

When I received a Thermaclear, I was pretty excited. I'd already had good results with rival device Zeno. Like Zeno, Thermaclear uses heat to destroy acne bacteria, thereby making pimples disappear faster (or never come to a head in the first place). These devices are great for those times when you feel a pimple coming on; just zap it and it retards the blemish's growth.

Now that I've tried both zit zappers, I've made a guide to comparing and contrasting them. (FYI, both devices were sent to me for review, so I'm not biased toward either.)

For a chart that shows the pros and cons of each device,

			Who wins?
Looks	Sleek, modern design. Pro version available in pink and teal, too.	Grayish blue, not as sleek.	Zeno. It just looks better.
Warm-up time	About a minute	About 10 seconds	Thermaclear better fits my want-it-now attention span.
Application time per blemish	Two minutes, measured by a small beep every 30 seconds.	Two seconds.	Thermaclear. You could treat the whole face in the amount of time it takes to treat one pimple with Zeno.
Feels like	Warm and soothing. Feels great on cystic acne.	Yowza! It's a quick zap, but it stings for a second.	Zeno makes me feel pampered and cared-for, as though a benevolent complexion fairy were caressing me.
Replacement	Basic model comes with 60-count cartridge; replacements are $25 each.	Tip requires replacement once a year; a new one is $19.95	Thermaclear
Price	$150 for basic model; $189 for prettier Pro model	$149	It's a draw, although the replacement costs favor Thermaclear.

Claro's Acne Treatment Device Zaps Pimples in a Flash (Literally)

Jaime Richards — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 06:45:48 PDT

There are several pimple-zapping devices on the market (such as Zeno and Thermaclear), but what differentiates Claro ($195) from many is that it uses a combination of three treatments to speed up healing time. Blue light attacks P. acnes bacteria, aka the germs that cause acne, red light works to help reduce redness and soreness, and infrared energy supplies heat to enhance the treatment. Full disclosure: the folks at Claro sent me the device for review.

Claro is only meant for inflammatory acne of the mild to moderate variety, making it perfect for occasional breakouts - especially the time-of-the-month kind. It's not designed to - bam! - get rid of pimples in an instant, but after my initial use, I did see results the next day. Pimples were less red, less noticeable, and healed much faster. So to see more pros (and even some cons), just keep reading.