Sigh. Honestly, I just wanted to write about three different types of pimple patches I had tested, and then I fell into a rabbit hole of hydrocolloid wound dressings. As you do. Wanna join me in my quest: find the best pimple patches?!
How do pimple patches work?
Pimple patches’ grown-up siblings are hydrocolloid wound dressings, which have been around for a while. They’re used because of mainly two things: you don’t need additional taping, and the moist conditions promote ‘wound healing, without causing softening and breaking down of tissue’. (Wikipedia)
The dressing is coated with an adhesive mass that swells up with contact with water by absorbing it. It can be used to drain wounds.
Pimple patches are mostly much smaller hydrocolloid wound dressings, designed to drain fluid – like pus – from an inflamed pimple without scarring-inducing popping. Some people use more cost-effective drugstore options, mainly blister bandages for their zits.
How do I use pimple patches?
Always use patches on clean and dry skin, and don’t leave them on for longer than 12hrs. The moist environment has a downside – bacteria love it.
Most patches are designed to withstand some moisture and oils, but I personally don’t slather all products from my skincare routine directly on it, but around it.
Drugstore option
balea anti-pickel patches (36 patches, 1,95€ – ca. $2)
Let’s start with the one I like the least. It’s drugstore chain dm’s own brand balea, and I just wanted a product I can easily buy in the drugstore. No such luck.
Description: those patches are supposed to be anti-bacterial and soothing, and supposed to dry out pimples.
Pros
- Thin material, a bit flimsy
Cons
- Contains alcohol & fragrance
K-Beauty option
cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch (24 patches in various sizes, $6 – red label) / Clear Fit Master Patch (18 patches, $6 – black label)
Description:
Master Patch: ‘Hydrocolloid patches that protect wounded or troubled area from getting worse while maintaining humidity of skin to prevent further breakouts.’
Clear Fit: ‘Adheres to the skin naturally, perfect for daytime use since it’s even more unnoticeable under makeup.’
Pros
- Clear Fit Master Patch: exactly the right thickness for me
- Clear Fit Master Patch: Nearly invisible, you can use them during the day, too
- Clear Fit Master Patch: Great size
Cons
- Acne pimple master patch: too thick
- Acne pimple master patch: for me, most of them are too small, making the application very fiddly
Fancy option
Acnemy Zitless® (5 patches for €10,95 – $11)
5 x patches with microdarts for early-stage pimples
Description: ‘It’s a patch that is packed with 24 micro darts filled with a unique blend of ingredients such as retinol, salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and oligopeptide-76, the best ingredients to fight this type of acne. Once applied, the micro darts penetrate the first layers of the skin and dissolve, releasing the active ingredients and treating the problem at its root.’
Pros
- Thin, packed with actives and fancy delivery system.
Cons
- The garbage it produces – more than five pieces of plastic for ONE patch?!
- FIVE patches for over $10 – that’s expensive.
The best pimple patches:
I do think the cheapest option here is the worst one, too: thin, flimsy feeling material with both alcohol and fragrance that seems to me a great opportunity to aggravate inflamed skin further. Plus, the skin feel is just not very nice: I could feel it the whole time wearing it.
I’m also not a very big fan of the OG cosrx patches (red label) – for me, the material is just too thick, which makes it hard to stick to curved areas of your face. They do what they’re supposed to do, though: ‘absorbs discharge, maintains humidity to prevent further (i.e. secondary) breakouts’ (from website).
The cosrx black label ones though – my fave! – are chef’s kiss. Thin, matte material makes them nearly invisible, and they do what’s advertised on the tin: ‘reduces inflammation by absorbing exudate of breakouts while protecting the breakouts from secondary infection. The zit size will shrink remarkably without leaving scars after a few hours.’ Yup. I’ve bought them so many times.
A slightly different approach
There’s one thing they don’t work well for: those painful, deep zits that won’t come to the skin’s surface.
Acnemy claims to offer a solution for that. The thing is, while those micro darts are filled with actives that are beneficial for acne-prone skin, it’s not a ‘one-shot’ solution. Retinol and niacinamide need about four weeks to start to change your skin, Salicylic acids need two to four weeks, and with peptides, you need at least four weeks.
(Looking for a quick fix? The only ingredient that works nearly immediately on breakouts is benzoyl peroxide, because it kills bacteria in about 10 minutes.)
So, no matter how fancy the micro darts, I call bogus on the whole thing. The patches are also incredibly expensive, and the amount of plastic waste for one single patch is insane. No. Just no.
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
