Acne App Treats Your Zits With Your iPhone

Got problem skin? Stop popping those zits and put down the Proactiv: your iPhone is here to help.

A new app from dermatologist Dr. Greg Pearson called 'AcneApp' claims that it can cure acne and even improve wrinkles.

The $1.99 app promises to improve your skin while you gab: it will project either red or blue light onto your face, which will, supposedly, kill bacteria and promote collagen growth.

According to the app's description on iTunes, the dermatologist-developed treatment uses 420 nanometer blue light (which has antibacterial properties) and 550 nanometer red light (which is anti-inflammatory) to help your complexion.

So does it work?

Dr. Pearson told the New York Times in an interview,

This would have to go through a lot more clinical study before I could quantify its efficacy," Dr. Pearson said. But he said he was "fascinated by the concept that users would potentially be able to treat their acne while talking on the phone."

Another dermatologist suggested that based on his studies, it would take some 88 treatments for users to see results.

Reviewers on iTunes are also divided on the app.

One quips it's 'just dumb,' but another claims, 'After three days of using this product my acne is almost completely gone!'

Use it or lose it? Tell us in the comments below.

Comments

[EricaC]

11:08 PM on 02/10/2010

Omg! I got the iFace Acne Cure at http://iFa­ce.us/Acne this thing is amazing! I saw it on Fox News and of course I was rolling my eyes. I don't have an iPhone and I was a little jealous because my class-mate­s who have them bought it. But this WORKS ON ALL INTERNET CAPABLE PHONES!
So I can use it on mine. I can't afford an iPhone, but all my class-mate­s got it from the iFace Acne Cure site and it's the pro version that has a bunch of different frequency treatments­. I only used it for about a week or less and my acne is drying off. I LOVE IT!

[AngelinaK]

12:01 PM on 02/09/2010

Umm, not so sure if it can clear acne.

I would recommend this iphone app instead to cure acne.

http://app­warrior.co­m/iphone-a­pp/ultimat­e-acne-cur­e

I am really happy with it.

[WasteNJ]

01:52 PM on 02/08/2010

All hail Steve Jobs, the iPhone is all things to all people...

[Cryostatic]

11:23 AM on 02/08/2010

If there was an iPhone app that claimed to give you the magical ability to fly, by starting it up and cramming the device up your nether-reg­ions, people would buy it.

[Eris23]

10:39 AM on 02/08/2010

LOL!

[dobberdoss]

03:55 AM on 02/08/2010

Want to cure your acne? Apply a moisterise­r every night before bed. Your skin then stops over producing it's natural oils which lead to the problem. Simple and works 100%
Once the acne has gone then stop applying moisterise­r. If you continue you will try your skin out so much (ironic ha) that if you apply any your skin will feel like sunburn.

Try, and I promise your acne will go. Natural Aloe vera based moisterise­r is best

[dobberdoss]

03:56 AM on 02/08/2010

third line typo. 'dry' instead of 'try'

[leanjhuls2]

09:52 AM on 02/08/2010

this won't work if one has oily skin, such as myself.

[tiemposdepaz]

10:11 AM on 02/08/2010

No, dobberdoss is correct. If you use moisterize­r daily after cleansing and toning, you will stop the over-produ­ction of oil. While it seems crazy to put a light facial moisterize­r (like Neutrogena­'s or Oil of Olay) when your skin is oily already, the body will stop trying to overcompen­sate for the dryness (which is the reason faces get very oily). I have oily skin naturally, but when I regularly apply face lotion, my face looks and behaves like normal skin. Some people I know even use olive oil, which I do on winter days occasional­ly. Your face will absorb it quickly if freshly washed.

Drink 64 oz of water everyday, take vitamins everyday, exfoliate with a facial brush or scrub, and apply a sulfur clay mask weekly, and you will have perfect skin in a matter of weeks. For those with spots, use palmers face mask weekly.

[moutonnoir]

02:52 AM on 02/08/2010

every time i read about one of these innovative apps it reminds me how much i want to get an iphone so I can develop software for its.... users...

[mayan2012]

01:55 AM on 02/08/2010

how about camel ear wax? a lot safer than EMF danger from cell phones.

[Good Reason News]

01:22 AM on 02/08/2010

It's not enough that someone thinks America is stupid enough to buy this, they had to go and prove it.

[JohnSawyer]

01:10 AM on 02/08/2010

And ANOTHER thing: when I clicked on the link to this article, from the HP home page, and after it went to this page, my computer's screen partially dimmed, and a video ad took over this page before I was able to view the article. Is this the new advertisin­g strategy at HP? If that's the direction they're taking, I'll be coming to HP a lot less often, and I doubt if I'm the only one.

[JohnSawyer]

01:05 AM on 02/08/2010

This is where paying attention in science class pays off. This is a fraud:

-- The frequencie­s of the light emitted by a smartphone­'s display, aren't the same as has been found to help skin conditions­. It's not just a simple color that does the trick. Nor does a smartphone­'s display have the necessary intensity to do any good.

-- Pearson himself says: "This would have to go through a lot more clinical study before I could quantify its efficacy," Dr. Pearson said. But he said he was "fascinate­d by the concept that users would potentiall­y be able to treat their acne while talking on the phone."

That kind of equivocati­on is a far cry from the absolute claims made in this app's listing on the App Store. I'd think, with all the apps that Apple has refused to OK, that they'd at least refuse to OK a fake medical app that's fraudulent and untested, and makes claims it can't back up.

[LightShadow62]

01:00 AM on 02/08/2010

Got money to burn?

There's an app for that!

[MichaelMcKLA]

12:26 AM on 02/08/2010

OK Apple, what do ya got that will improve my hearing?

[hottingers]

10:19 PM on 02/07/2010

They are also coming out with one that will supposedly cure an STD . It's called the CL app.

[loki]

10:06 PM on 02/07/2010

Hey This is America, the home of Ivy Greed Capitalism­. You dont have to tell the truth in advertisin­g or even produce a product that actually does anything. As long as you can make a profit, and you can pass some of that profit to the palms of eager politician­s, Your A-OK in the American Political, Justice and Business world.