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Join Date: May 2003 Location: New York City
Posts: 120
Points: 2,470.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 2,470.00 | 
Hi Georgia and everybody!
I have good news.
It probably works. No, I haven't tried it, but I have reason to believe it will work because I know from experience that treating blemishes with heat has an impact on their healing. This may be for the pseudoscientific theories claimed in the Zeno literature, or it may be because heat speeds circulation to the area so enhances the body's own natural healing system, or it may be for other reasons altogether, or a combination. The fact is, nobody is really sure yet. If they knew EXACTLY why and how, acne would be cure-able. But hey, it very likely really does work, if you do want to plop down the cash.
And I have even more good news. You can probably get the same effect WITHOUT buying it. Have you ever tried using hot compresses for your acne? Consider trying this before you spend.
This is one of the most effective methods I have ever used and I recommend it to you HIGHLY. A few key points, though:
1) Hot compresses do not soothe the skin. In fact, the heat is hard on skin, like excessive suntanning or free radicals or something might be. It's doing a small amount of skin damage actually, like a mild burn. If you have acne that can be healed through other means that are more gentle to your skin, I would recommend NOT doing this. Gentler methods are better for your skin. This is not gentle. For severe/resistant acne only, in my opinion.
I am not trying to make it sound THAT scary though. I have done this many times and have seen no bad results. Maybe I will age/wrinkle faster if my skin is damaged, I don't know....but so far, I look and feel fine as a result of using hot compresses.
2) However, this IS nontoxic and pure. No skincare products needed at all, of any kind. No chemicals. WHich is kind of beautiful, you know?
Many chemicals that fight acne cause inflammation or other skin damage (e.g. never put peroxides on skin....they cause free radicals which breakdown skin elasticity, set the stage for cancer, and so on...they damage you)!
I think heat-treatment of acne is actually still much better for your skin and health than something like that.
3) All you need is VERY hot water, and some time and patience and willingness to get wet. You may need to practice it a little to get it down to an efficient system for yourself.
4) You will also need to be very CAREFUL not to burn yourself, because the water should be as hot as you can stand it, where you actually do feel some definitely unpleasant discomfort (but not serious, true howling pain) from how hot it is. Actually, after you get used to it, the discomfort will be lessened, kind of like learning how to pluck hairs or something. It gets easier.
5) Another downside is that if you have already applied makeup, are at the office, or whatever, this method is not going to work for you. This is a method that is good for your morning and evening skincare regimen or if you're home alone on the weekend or something.
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You can do this with a washcloth, a towel, or even cotton balls...whatever you might normally wash your face with.
So you don't burn yourself or your skin, practice at semi-hot temperatures and gradually increase the heat as you are comfortable. Please use caution. However, when you get to that right place of hot-enough water, you will see this is very effective!
Basically take your fresh, clean washcloth (I fold mine into a half or a third to make a nice hand-sized sorta-thick cloth) and wet it (even in regular temperature water at first), then wring it out so it's not dripping any water at all...kind of like clothes when you take them out of the washer. ( For some reason, wetting the washcloth BEFORE you add hot water sounds weird, but actually seems to help the whole cloth get hot evenly later, trust me).
Then when the water from your hot water tap is at the desired/hot temperature, simply put it under the hot water and really soak it in in the heat, on both sides...really let the whole washcloth get very hot. The washcloth is going to be dripping and super hot. Your instinct will be to wring it out, but that may release ultra hot water onto your hand or your clothes or whatever, which could mildly burn you, so try not to wring the washcloth at all while it's superhot. It will be dripping hot water, so consider wrapping a towel around your neck or something to protect yourself, if you want.
Leave the hot water running, you're going to need it again in a second.
Then press the hot compress on to your most resistant, deepest acne (make-up free face, please!). Use a side, a fold, or a corner of the washcloth, not necessarily the whole thing (unless you have a wide-spread area that is all bad acne)....to focus ONLY on the acne-spot. Doing this on your whole face is NOT effective. First of all, it would be much too uncomfortable (and time-consuming). Second, part of the reason it works is that you are directing blood to flow to the area of the acne, specifically. Bloodflow is healing, because it carries the white blood cells and other immune system components of the body that go and attack your acne.
Also, despite the fact that you are using water, the net result will be somewhat drying. Between the drying and the heat, this is slightly damaging to HEALTHY, CLEAR skin! But for an acne spot, it is healing, because it helps to "kill" the acne and tell the body to perform a little healing miracle there, you know? It works on a small, specific area, but if you have the body sending blood everywhere, like it normally does, it won't target that spot for specific healing. So be specific about where you do it, and again, I recommend skipping mosty-healed, mild, or tiny pimples. Just do this for the severe suckers that are really bad.
Press lightly. Hold. Breathe and try to relax, accepting the heat calmly. Pace around or find something to distract yourself for a minute. If your hand is uncomfortable from the heat, change to your other hand without removing the cloth. Hold until the heat starts to diminish a little or for about a minute. Flip over the cloth to another spot if it cools too rapidly, sometimes you will find another "hot spot". When it's cooled a little, after a minute or two, you should be able to wring out the washcloth without any drama.
Wring out the washcloth. Repeat the whole thing one time. That's all. Don't do this much more or you'll do more damage than good. You can do it again the next morning or later that same day though.
Ladies, this this WORKS. It doesn't magically erase the pimple on the spot, but it will definitely help the body start healing it. When I do this on a very bad spot that looks like it's going to take weeks to heal, the next day it seems half-healed already! The results ARE dramatic and very good.
After doing this, the best thing to do is let your skin air dry naturally. Do NOT do this right before going outside in cold, windy winter weather or the extreme temperatures really will damage your skin more than is worth it. You could end up triggering acne by sending your skin into a tailspin.
Think of it your spot as something which has just been sterilized. DO the usual things afterwards of keeping dirty or oily hands, dirty hair, dirty pillowcases, etc. away from contact with your skin for awhile afterwards.
Do this about 20-30 minutes (or more) before you put on foundation or do any other skincare treatment to your skin.
You CAN do this before you shower. The extra warm water from your shower will not be a problem.
I find that the best time to do this is when waking up in the morning. You know all those times you wake up to find that --horrors!---something has sprouted up on you overnight, a ghastly pimple of second-head proportions?
That is the time to do it, when you FIRST wake up before you feed the cat or whatever. This will give your skin time to rest and cool off while you get breakfast, shower, get dressed, or whatever your morning routine is before you start slapping makeup on to it.
Anyway, that's all I ask. I hope my advice and experience helps you, and if it does, all I ask in return is that we as women be more forgiving of all other women for whatever her health/beauty problems may be. We're all sisters in the same boat, and by that I mean not just the women on this board but all women everywhere.
Love to all,
X
p.s. So, uh, yes, I think Zeno would work, because there's no water, just the heat. Maybe you could even do it on your lunch break at work, hey?
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Zeno? 
