Why didn’t this exist during our teenage years?

If you spent your youth dealing with a never-ending breakout, you can rest assured the next generation will have no such worries.

These days, youngsters have another option (besides six litres of Clearasil); a handy little gadget designed to blitz blemishes the second they begin to rear their ugly heads.

And it works on adults too, because let’s be honest, teen spots are actually for life, especially just before an important event too, like a job interview or a wedding.

Neutrogena’s Light Therapy Targeted Acne Treatment (€29.99) is a portable pen that harnesses the power of light therapy to target and treat breakouts quickly.

You just pop it in your bag (you can replace the battery as necessary) and whip it out whenever you have a zit that needs zapping.

Clinically proven to speed the reduction of breakouts, it uses red and blue light to swiftly treat acne without flaking or burning your skin: blue light penetrates just beneath the surface, while red light goes deeper into the skin to deliver fast results, shrinking the offending spot and helping to dry it out.

In just 120 seconds, the light emitted from the pen starts to kill bacteria and reduce inflammation. Because there’s no popping involved, you avoid any scarring and pigmentation caused by damaging the skin.

There’s no mess or residue either and it’s UV-free and chemical-free.

The Light Therapy Targeted Acne Treatment is available in pharmacies now and hits Dunnes Stores across Cork in March.