Adult Acne

Though acne is regarded as a problem that primarily affects teenagers, the reality is that nearly 50% of adult women will face bouts of acne at some point in their adult lives. Something as simple as looking at her reflection in the mirror was enough to cause Rachel Boland significant emotional pain. "It’s brought me to tears when I’m sitting in front of my mirror," says Rachel Boland.

32 year old Rachel has been battling adult acne since she graduated high school. "It really makes you feel like a teenager and very self-conscious and I’m saying I’m supposed to be a woman in business and now I have a family and I’m going to business appointments and I’m thinking about my face like a child."

 According to medical experts, it’s estimated that nearly 50% of adult women will face bouts of acne at some point in their adult lives. "We used to think that acne was predominately a problem of the teenage years. You get it when you are 12 it disappears when you’re 20 and that’s the end of it. What we’ve now come to realize is, is that adult acne in the 20 to 45 year old range is probably even more common. It’s because life is incredibly stressful now, there are all kind of changes in our lives, those stresses bring on acne," says dermatologist, Dr. David Goldberg, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

 Traditionally, acne, which is caused by an over growth of oil glands in the skin, is treated with topical ointment, oral medications and laser therapy. But, now a new FDA approved hand-held electronic device, known as Zeno, is allowing for at-home treatment of individual acne pimples.

 "It doesn’t work like the lasers, in that it makes it go away, that’s what the lasers are for, but as soon as you get that sense of a pimple coming up, you zap that thing a few times. It puts out heat, and we know that there is an effect called the heat shock protein, that just makes that pimple go away. A few treatments, and boom it’s gone," explains Dr. Goldberg talking about the effective treatment for adult acne.

 The localized heat kills the bacteria associated with acne. The heat lasts for about two minutes per application. An alarm goes off when the heat cycle is finished. Zeno works best when it’s applied shortly after the onset of a pimple and then once or twice over the next 24 hours.

Rachel has seen significant improvement in her skin thanks to light laser treatments and now she’s looking forward to maintaining her complexion in the comfort of her own home with the Zeno device which costs around $300.00. You can obtain the device through a dermatologist, in New York or elsewhere.