How do pimple patches work? Again within the day, getting a zit meant caking on disguising layers of basis, concealer, powder …or perhaps only a strategically angled coiffure. However now, the sport has modified: Why disguise a pimple when you possibly can gown 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 vivid 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 seem daring, it’s additionally an efficient option to deal with blemishes. Right here, we dive into the science, advantages, and finest methods to rock a hydrocolloid pimple patch.
For those who’re all in favour of pores and skin science, do not forget to take a look at our guides to crimson mild remedy masks and LED gadgets, 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 info, costs, and hyperlinks.
What Is a Pimple Patch?
In easiest phrases, pimple patches are tiny, adhesive stickers made to sort out several types of pimples, one blemish at a time. These patches unclog pores and soak up extra fluid, pace up wound therapeutic, and hold you from selecting at your pores and skin—no small feat. Pimple patches are available in numerous formulation, with completely different elements for various breakouts, however the preferred are hydrocolloid pimples patches.
How Do Pimple Patches Work?
{Photograph}: Andrew Youngberg
Hydrocolloid patches are a kind of wound dressing that helps retain moisture and create a moist, therapeutic surroundings for pimples, burns, or lesions. “They’re manufactured from a water-attracting materials, which is hooked up to a very skinny plastic movie,” says beauty chemist Michelle Wong. “So in case you have an open pimple, for instance, it may 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 Thirties by a dentist), it wasn’t till the early 2010s that pimple patches began displaying up on skincare and sweetness cabinets.
When utilized to an infected pimple—sometimes 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. For those who’ve ever pulled off a patch to search 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 selecting on the pimple—a behavior that may result in longer therapeutic occasions, an infection, and scarring.
Our Favourite Pimple Patches
Different Spot Remedies
“Spot therapies [tend] to include benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, or witch hazel,” writes Lindsey Zubritsky, a board-certified dermatologist at Premier Dermatology and Pores and skin Most cancers Heart, in an e mail. “These are energetic elements—whereas they might work, they’ll additionally doubtlessly trigger dryness and irritation.” Pure hydrocolloid patches, then again, don’t include energetic elements, which makes them ideally suited for delicate or reactive pores and skin sorts.
How Usually Can You Use Hydrocolloid Patches?
{Photograph}: Yuliya Sheynina/Getty Photos
In response to most dermatologists, you should utilize pimple patches as wanted. Zubritsky (aka @dermguru on TikTok) suggests sporting them for as much as 12 hours, ideally in a single day. However they can be worn throughout the day. They’re significantly efficient on fluid-filled pimples, similar to papules, pustules, or cysts.
