Neutrogena Acne Clearing Light Therapy Acne Treatment Face Mask Activator for 30 Sessions, 1 activator

Are you confused by all the conflicting reviews, and the surprising lack of clear information available online? Yeah, so was I. So let me help: I have good news and bad news.Good news:----It gives visible results. If armageddon is happening on your face, and you're desperate to shrink something that's erupting or oozing, this helps dry things things up and lessen inflammation overnight.----It's legitimate science in theory. I've had similar Blue Light Photodynamic Therapy sessions at the dermatologist's office---however, the doctor is using a much higher-powered machine, with a much bigger treatment area (face, neck, chest,) usually in conjunction with a special drug called Levulan, which makes your skin cells sensitive to the special blue light. In comparison, this face mask is very weak, wavelength is unknown, and results are not comparable to the dermatologist's blue light.----The eye protection is built-in, and you can theoretically multi-task while wearing this mask; it just looks like you're an arc welder from the future.Bad news:----IT'S HATEFUL THAT THEY FORCE YOU TO BUY AN "ACTIVATOR" EACH MONTH, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE PURPOSELY VAGUE ABOUT WHAT AN "ACTIVATOR" IS. IT MAKES ME WANT TO SMASH A HOLE THROUGH THE WALL LIKE THE HULK. I'M TURNING GREEN NOW.----If you're wondering what an activator is---it's a large, heavy, white timer and battery compartment. For lack of a better description, it's about the size of 1.5 Twinkies, and it has a single power button, and a small digital readout. The ONLY function is to count backward from 30, showing you how many of your 30 uses you have left. Each session is 10 minutes, which is set in stone, and cannot be changed. And there's no way to continue using the "activator" past 30 uses, which is insulting.----In case you're thinking that there must be some valid scientific reason for the "activator" to be depleted.....THERE ISN'T. Neutrogena could easily have engineered the device to be used 100 times, or until the batteries run out, or indefinitely---and yet, they chose to arbitrarily give you 30 uses. And "activator" is a laughable name in the context of a simple circuit. I mean....would you call your bathroom lightswitch an "activator?"----The batteries inside the "activator" are not dead after 30 uses. They're still good! The circuitry's still good. The housing is still good. Throwing the whole thing away is outrageous. There's no way to recharge the "activator," which would at least have made slightly more sense....So the majority of these heavy units probably wind up in the landfill, which is mind-bogglingly wasteful.----What's more insulting is that they purposely use vague terms to describe the "activator," both here and on the Neutrogena site. I'm sure they know how outrageous this scheme is, and gloss over the details so the average person is left in the dark.Bottom line:----All the negative reviews are right---it's an anger-inducing ripoff. If you're desperate, and you don't care about the cost---it WILL dry up your problem areas in a few days. But on principle, I can't recommend this product. There's scientific merit to the concept of blue light---but there is NO SCIENTIFIC MERIT to a glorified timer that is required to be replaced after an arbitrary 30 uses.----Blue Light Photodynamic Therapy is often covered by normal insurance. (I.e. it is considered a medical necessity as long as your doctor declares it so.) SO IN MY OPINION, it makes more sense to take the money you'd have spent on this mask plus the monthly expense of the "activator" (...my blood is boiling) and instead apply it to your dermatology copay. Obviously, this may not be an option for everyone, if you're not mobile, or live far away from a dermatologist, for example....but in terms of cost-effectiveness, your money is better spent on more powerful treatments from the doctor's office. Just my two cents.

Originally posted by Lewi on Amazon UK (doesn’t appear in the US):I'm giving this product one star, for one simple reason. The DISGUSTING practice of requiring a so-called "activator", which is nothing other than a means of continuously milking your customers for their hard earned cash.This product is battery operated. The batteries provide the power to the LED lights, which light up, and thus the mask can do it's job. As of yet, I have no idea if it even works as it should, but that is entirely beside the point.The ONLY function of the "activator", is to count off 30 uses, and then to refuse to allow the product to turn on until you send another £15(!!!!!) to them for a new "Activator". This is a sickening business practice, and they should be ashamed.I'm guessing that Nutrogena, a company that usually sells creams and the like (which customers will keep going back for again and again), wanted to get in on the light-mask game, but didn't like the idea of the mask being a one-time purchase that, once bought, customers would have no need to go back to them and spend any more money. So they literally created a circuit board with the sole purpose of 'turning off' the product after 30 uses and refusing to turn it back on. Genuinely one of the most shady business practices I have ever seen, and a great way to cheat your customers. Shame on you.How do I know that the only function of the activator is to keep you spending money? Well, because after approximately 2 minutes with a soldering iron, my girlfriend now has a mask that just works. All the time. NO ACTIVATOR PURCHASE REQUIRED. You can just keep using the original one, all you will need to replace going forward are the batteries. There are instructions on how to accomplish this that are readily available on YouTube (it's literally a case of joining two solder points using a wire as a bridge), and a person could use the first £15 that they are going to save, on buying a soldering iron and some wire to accomplish this task. I simply searched YouTube for "Nutrogena light mask hack".And before Nutrogena replies to this with something along the lines of "the activator regulates the amount of light" or other such lies, I have a LUX meter... it just doesn't, I've checked. The output is identical. The "activator" exists solely to keep your customers coming back to you and spending their money on something that they already have. You should be ashamed.