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 disguise a pimple when you possibly can costume it up? No frantic mixing or pore-clogging merchandise are required. At the moment, we’re embracing a radically totally different (and refreshingly low-key) method to clogged pores: slapping a shiny 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 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 desirous about pores and skin science, remember to take a look at our guides to purple gentle 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 Pimples 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 sort out several types of zits, one blemish at a time. These patches unclog pores and soak up extra fluid, pace up wound therapeutic, and preserve you from choosing at your pores and skin—no small feat. Pimple patches are available in numerous formulation, with totally different components 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 connected to a very skinny plastic movie,” says beauty chemist Michelle Wong. “So you probably have an open pimple, for instance, it may well suck out the pus.”
Though hydrocolloid dressings has been used for wound care because the Sixties (the dressings have been initially developed within the Thirties by a dentist), it wasn’t till the early 2010s that pimple patches began exhibiting up on skincare and wonder 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 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 Therapies
“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 components—whereas they could work, they will additionally doubtlessly trigger dryness and irritation.” Pure hydrocolloid patches, alternatively, don’t include energetic components, which makes them supreme for delicate or reactive pores and skin varieties.
How Typically 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 carrying them for as much as 12 hours, ideally in a single day. However they may also be worn in the course of the day. They’re notably efficient on fluid-filled pimples, corresponding to papules, pustules, or cysts.
