How Do Pimple Patches Work? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

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 may gown 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 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 strategy to deal with blemishes. Right here, we dive into the science, advantages, and finest methods to rock a hydrocolloid pimple patch.When you’re desirous about pores and skin science, do not forget to take a look at our guides to pink gentle remedy masks and LED gadgets, exosome therapies, and the traditional historical past of snail mucin.Desk of ContentsAccordionItemContainerButtonUpdated 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 pimples, one blemish at a time. These patches unclog pores and take in extra fluid, velocity up wound therapeutic, and maintain you from selecting at your pores and skin—no small feat. Pimple patches are available varied formulation, with totally different components for various breakouts, however the most well-liked are hydrocolloid pimples patches.How Do Pimple Patches Work?{Photograph}: Andrew YoungbergHydrocolloid patches are a kind of wound dressing that helps retain moisture and create a moist, therapeutic setting for pimples, burns, or lesions. “They’re fabricated from a water-attracting materials, which is connected to a extremely skinny plastic movie,” says beauty chemist Michelle Wong. “So if in case you have an open pimple, for instance, it might suck out the pus.”Though hydrocolloid dressings has been used for wound care because the Nineteen 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—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. When you’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 selecting on the pimple—a behavior that may result in longer therapeutic instances, an infection, and scarring.Our Favourite Pimple PatchesCosrxAcne Pimple Grasp PatchHero CosmeticsMighty Patch Unique Patchdearcloudx Miffy Hydrocolloid Blemish Patches Refill SetCeraVeHydrocolloid Blemish PatchesPeach SlicesAcne Spot DotsOther 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 Middle, in an e-mail. “These are energetic components—whereas they might work, they will additionally probably trigger dryness and irritation.” Pure hydrocolloid patches, alternatively, don’t include energetic components, which makes them best for delicate or reactive pores and skin sorts.How Typically Can You Use Hydrocolloid Patches?{Photograph}: Yuliya Sheynina/Getty ImagesAccording 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 notably efficient on fluid-filled pimples, equivalent to papules, pustules, or cysts.