You’ve got a hot date planned, but wake up to a big honking pimple. What to do?
First step is First Aid Blemish Eraser with 3.5 percent benzoyl peroxide to reduce inflammation, aloe and witch hazel to soothe, and antioxidants to fight future outbreaks. Available at Sephora (The Westchester, 125 Westchester Ave, White Plains, 914-761-7727) or firstaid beauty.com, $16.
Need something stronger and faster? Turn to (and turn on) the new ZENO Hot Spot Blemish Clearing Device, which promises visible clearing within an hour; a 90-percent reduction within 24. This sounded too good to be true, so we roped in a colleague to test it out: “The pimple was definitely smaller the next day,” he reports. The hand-held device uses heat to destroy the bacteria that exacerbates pimples in one painless two-and-a-half-minute treatment (80 zaps contained in each device). Available at CVS, Walmart, and MyZeno.com, $39.99.
For more persistent acne, a series of laser treatments may be necessary to banish blemishes. The Cool Touch laser penetrates deeper than heat devices (which address bacteria) to shrink the very oil glands that caused the problem to begin with. Not a DIY project; a doctor pulses the Cool Touch laser over the affected area. The treatment takes 10 to 30 minutes. No downtime—just some residual redness right afterward, and a series of treatments may be necessary. Available at SkinCentre (220 S Central Ave, Hartsdale, 914-949-6200).