Do the light-and-heat gadgets sold to zap acne really work?

1 17 08%2B018 Do the light and heat gadgets sold to zap acne really work?

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src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/js/article/changeFontSize.js"></script><span id="fontSizeChanger"><img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/normal.gif" class="normal" onClick="changeFontSize('normal');"><img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/large.gif" class="large" onClick="changeFontSize('large');"><img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/largest.gif" class="largest" onClick="changeFontSize('largest');"> Font Resize</span></div><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" inlineDiv="false"></span><!-- overline--><!--title--><H1 id="articleTitle" class="articleTitle">do the light-and-heat gadgets sold to zap acne really work?</H1><!--subtitle--><!--byline--><div id="articleByline" class="articleByline"><p class="bylinejb">By Camille Sweeney<br /></p><p class="bylineaffiliation">new York Times<br /></p></div><!--date--><div id="articleDate" class="articleDate">Posted:&nbsp;02/04/2010 12:00:00 AM PST</div><!--secondary date--><div id="articleDate" class="articleSecondaryDate">Updated:&nbsp;02/08/2010 08:16:12 AM PST</div><br><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default"></span><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default"></span><div class="articlePositionHeader"></div><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default"></span><div id="articleBody" class="articleBody"><div class="articleViewerGroup" id="articleViewerGroup" style="border:0px;width:202px;"><script language="JavaScript"> var requestedWidth = 0; </script><span class="articleEmbeddedViewerBox"><script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/js/article/viewerControls.js"></script><div id="photoviewer" style="width:200"><span class="clicktoenlargephoto">Click photo to enlarge</span><div class="photocontainer" style="height:140"><div class="photocell" style="width:200"><div class="photo"><a id="gallery_link" border="0px" href="/portlet/article/html/render_gallery.jsp?articleId=14319654&siteId=568&startImage=1" target="_new"><img id="image" src='http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2010/0208/20100208__acnezappers~1_VIEWER.JPG' width='200' height='134' onerror="javascript:this.src = 'http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif';" onload="javascript:toggleVisibility('image',true);" style="visibility:hidden;"/></a></div></div></div><div id="caption" class="caption" style="height:60">an electronic acne removal device. a new crop of hand-held aesthetic devices has been crowding the bathroom shelf, wedged between the latest salon styling tool and multispeed electric toothbrush. Marketed as mini-me professional devices, the gadgets often come with hefty price tags and the promise of results that sound too good to be true: a skin care brush that reduces wrinkles, a hair removal unit no bigger than an iPod that beams away unwanted hair, a slender malletlike skin plumper that creates a more youthful appearance. (Tony Cenicola/The new York Times) </div><div class="controlbox"><ul id="control_box" style="display:none;"><li class="previous"><a href="#" onclick="return selectPrevious()" id="button_previous">&laquo;</a></li><li id='button1' style="display:none;"><a id="link1" href="#" onclick='return selectImage(1);'>1</a></li><li class="next"><a href="#" onclick="return selectNext()" id="button_next">&raquo;</a></li></ul></div><span class="footer"></span></div><script type="text/javascript"> viewer_currentlySelected = 1; viewer_lastIndex = 1; viewer_images = ['http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2010/0208/20100208__acnezappers~1_VIEWER.JPG']; viewer_widths = ['200']; viewer_heights = ['134']; viewer_captions = [" an electronic acne removal device. a new crop of hand-held aesthetic devices... ( TONY CENICOLA )"]; viewer_galleryUrl = '/portlet/article/html/render_gallery.jsp'; viewer_articleId = '14319654'; viewer_siteId = '568'; viewer_isPreviewing = 'false'; viewer_isEmbedded = ''; viewer_activeButtonLead = 2; viewer_visibleButtonCount = 5; viewer_allowEnlargement = !isEmpty(viewer_galleryUrl); selectImage(1); function addToDimension(dim, val){ index = dim.indexOf('px'); if(index != -1){ dim = dim.substring(0, index); } dim = parseInt(dim) + val; return dim; } if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("MSIE") != -1){ $('photoviewer').style.width = addToDimension($('photoviewer').style.width, 2); $('caption').style.height = addToDimension($('caption').style.height, 2); } requestedWidth = 202; </script><img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2010/0208/20100208__acnezappers~1_VIEWER.JPG" style="display:none;"/></span><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default"></span><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default"></span></div><script language="JavaScript"> if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } </script><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default"></span><p class="bodytext">Makers of a new crop of handheld devices hope to see them wedged on the bathroom shelf between the salon styling tool and multispeed electric toothbrush. </p><p>The gadgets often come with hefty price tags and the promise of results that sound too good to be true. The newest devices, boasting advanced heat and light-emitting technologies, take aim at acne. Products like the Tanda Skincare System ($250), the Claro ($275) and the no!No! Skin ($180), which became available in the United States last year, use heat or light, or a combination of both.</p><p>they represent one of the top three categories of home-use aesthetic devices sold globally (after skin rejuvenation and hair removal devices), says Michael Moretti, an analyst and founder of Medical Insight, a market research firm. </p><p>meanwhile, consumers and skin-care professionals are wondering: do these things work? </p><p>"People with acne are desperate to try anything," says Dan Kern, founder of <a href='http://Acne.org'>Acne.org</a>, a site that has been addressing the topic for 13 years. "Acne can be so devastating to one's self-esteem." </p><p>Some 40 million to 50 million Americans are estimated to suffer mild to severe acne, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. "Mild" might mean a few pimples flaring up occasionally; "severe" refers to painful cysts and nodules that can leave disfiguring scars. </p><p>The gold standard of treatment for severe acne has been Accutane, a powerful prescription <div style="width:336px" class="articleEmbeddedAdBox"><hr class="articleAdRule"/><div class="articleAdHeader">Advertisement</div><div align="center" class="adElement" id="adPosBox"><script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript"> yld_mgr.place_ad_here("adPosBox"); </script></div><hr class="articleAdRule"/></div>drug also used in chemotherapy for cancer. it is associated with serious side effects, including birth defects and bowel inflammation.</p><p>Most people with acne use over-the-counter topicals like Neutrogena acne wash treatments, Clearasil or ProActiv, a skin-care system sold through subscription. </p><p>Industry experts like Moretti predict that the new home devices are poised to become part of acne regimens. Reviews of the devices, though, are mixed. </p><p>Kern, who himself has acne, says he is not hopeful about the devices and calls the science behind them "very spotty." </p><p>In a paper published last year in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, Dr. Neil Sadick, a dermatologist in Manhattan, wrote that patients in his study used Omnilux Clear-U ($160) blue- and red-light therapies. eight weeks after a monthlong treatment course, Sadick says, acne lesions were reduced by 69 percent. </p><p>But Tom Seery, founder of <a href='http://RealSelf.com'>RealSelf.com</a>, an online community, says user reviews of home acne devices on his site have been "a mixed bag." </p><p>despite the clearance of some of the devices by the Food and Drug Administration, medical professionals remain divided about whether to recommend them for spot treatments or between office visits. </p><p>"I believe that using some of these devices can significantly shrink single larger nodules and cystic nodular lesions associated with acne," Sadick says. he added that they are probably most effective when used with other acne treatments and as "maintenance" between doctor visits. </p><p>Among the earliest consumer gadgets was the Zeno ($100), which came out four years ago and used thermal technology. it may have helped pave the way for other acne devices, but its efficacy has always been questioned. </p><p>"It is true that heating an acne lesion will melt the oil in the oil gland, and this will have a very modest anti-inflammatory effect," says Dr. Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, a dermatologist in new York. "But this is, at best, a short-term solution, mildly effective for existing pimples and time-consuming, because you would have to zap each pimple one at a time for at least two and a half minutes twice a day." Alexiades-Armenakas says that home thermal therapy doesn't prevent new pimples. </p><p>Newer devices &mdash; such as no!No! Skin, which emits green and red light, as well as heat, and claims to eradicate acne lesions by about 80 percent; and the Claro, which uses intense pulsed light technology and claims a 94 percent acne clearance rate &mdash; may have some validity, Alexiades-Armenakas says. 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Do the light-and-heat gadgets sold to zap acne really work?

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