How do pimple patches work? Again within the day, getting a zit meant caking on disguising layers of basis, concealer, powder …or possibly only a strategically angled coiffure. However now, the sport has modified: Why conceal a pimple when you may costume it up? No frantic mixing or pore-clogging merchandise are required. At this time, we’re embracing a radically completely different (and refreshingly low-key) method to clogged pores: slapping a brilliant yellow star-shaped sticker on it and calling it a day.
Welcome to the period of the pimple patch, the place blemishes aren’t shameful secrets and techniques to hide however simply a part of the human expertise. Whereas placing a literal sticker on a zit could appear daring, it’s additionally an efficient strategy to deal with blemishes. Right here, we dive into the science, advantages, and greatest methods to rock a hydrocolloid pimple patch.
If you happen to’re fascinated by pores and skin science, remember to take a look at our guides to crimson gentle remedy masks and LED units, exosome therapies, and the traditional historical past of snail mucin.
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Up to date July 2025: I’ve added Dearcloud Hydrocolloid Blemish Patches, CeraVe Hydrocolloid Blemish Patches, and Peach Slices Zits Spot Dots as new picks. I’ve additionally up to date data, costs, and hyperlinks.
What Is a Pimple Patch?
In easiest phrases, pimple patches are tiny, adhesive stickers made to deal with several types of zits, one blemish at a time. These patches unclog pores and soak up extra fluid, velocity up wound therapeutic, and hold you from choosing at your pores and skin—no small feat. Pimple patches are available numerous formulation, with completely different substances for various breakouts, however the most well-liked are hydrocolloid zits patches.
How Do Pimple Patches Work?
{Photograph}: Andrew Youngberg
Hydrocolloid patches are a sort of wound dressing that helps retain moisture and create a moist, therapeutic surroundings for pimples, burns, or lesions. “They’re fabricated from a water-attracting materials, which is hooked up to a extremely skinny plastic movie,” says beauty chemist Michelle Wong. “So when you have an open pimple, for instance, it will possibly suck out the pus.”
Though hydrocolloid dressings has been used for wound care for the reason that Nineteen Sixties (the dressings had been initially developed within the Nineteen Thirties by a dentist), it wasn’t till the early 2010s that pimple patches began exhibiting up on skincare and sweetness cabinets.
When utilized to an infected pimple—usually one with fluid—the heat of your pores and skin softens the liner of the sticker, serving to it suck out the impurities and gunk. It additionally acts as a protecting barrier that shields the blemish from additional irritation or unfold. If you happen to’ve ever pulled off a patch to seek out the underside coated in an icky white substance, that’s a mixture of the hydrocolloid gel and the surplus oils pulled from the pores and skin. This therapeutic course of additionally prevents you from choosing on the pimple—a behavior that may result in longer therapeutic instances, an infection, and scarring.
Our Favourite Pimple Patches
Different Spot Remedies
“Spot therapies [tend] to comprise benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, or witch hazel,” writes Lindsey Zubritsky, a board-certified dermatologist at Premier Dermatology and Pores and skin Most cancers Middle, in an e mail. “These are energetic substances—whereas they might work, they’ll additionally doubtlessly trigger dryness and irritation.” Pure hydrocolloid patches, however, don’t comprise energetic substances, which makes them supreme for delicate or reactive pores and skin sorts.
How Typically Can You Use Hydrocolloid Patches?
{Photograph}: Yuliya Sheynina/Getty Photos
In accordance with most dermatologists, you need to use pimple patches as wanted. Zubritsky (aka @dermguru on TikTok) suggests carrying them for as much as 12 hours, ideally in a single day. However they will also be worn in the course of the day. They’re significantly efficient on fluid-filled pimples, corresponding to papules, pustules, or cysts.
