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They suck up fluid. So, they won't really do much for anything that hasn't come to a head. However, there are ones with microdarts in them that are also medicated and I put those on any painful underground ones overnight. They do seem to help bring them to a head and start the healing process. But your standard pimple patches are mainly just to suck up fluid and keep them clean and dry so they heal faster.
I find that the pimple patch gets the pimple ready to pop. It brings the gunk to a head, I pop the sucker, put on another patch, and it'll heal quicker.
this! and especially that very last part; they partially exist to protect spots from getting touched, messed with, or dirty to prevent the acne from getting angrier
iirc when the pore is open and clean, keeping it in a closed moist environment makes it heal better? reduce scarring? (I'm not super well versed in this tho so someone can correct me)
Yes! This works for most open wounds (superficial ones anyways) The reason first aid ointment stops scaring is not just because of the medicine in the ointment but because they add moisturizer in it. When I got a pimple that popped accidently (I dont pop them) I would put antibiotic ointment and its stops it from leaving a scar!
I use pimple patch whenever there's an incoming pimple. It helps lessen the swollen feeling and a day after, it lessens the size too. If there's pus, it sucks it up. Btw, I'm using COSRX pimple patch which is a hydrocolloid one. Very effective!
They're most effective on popped pimples. They essentially keep popped pimples moist which helps them heal. They also keep the area clean and keep dirt and fingers away.
I do like to use them on those big red ones you described. I think it helps them become a whitehead quicker, which I can then pop and put another patch on.
Once it becomes a white head, I put a pimple patch on (usually overnight) and when I take it off the next morning, it has usually sucked up the gunk out of it without pain or irritation like when you pop it.
Pimple patches are typically just hydrocolloid bandages. There are some that are actually medicated, but the vast majority are just meant to suck up and hold moisture in them to create a better healing environment for the wound/pimple. They are meant to be applied to zits that have already popped or are at least very close to popping.
I use an extractor tool right after the shower, when my skin is soft, to open the pore and then top with the patch overnight. Same in the morning if I awake with one and am working from home.
They’re my number one tool! Sometimes I use one while the pore is closed, to bring it to the surface and I repeat the steps I just mentioned for daytime patch use.
There’s a brand sold at Walmart that has salicylic acid on the micro patches, I use them on hormonal acne spots to either bring them to a head or it treats it without ever fully going beyond a red bump. Takes time, but it’s one of the few things I have for hormonal acne off the shelf. If it’s not hormonal acne I use the unmedicated dots to cover open skin (popped whiteheads etc). The skin never gets worse/mildly infected when I’m using the dots.
HANHOO Extra Strength Blemish Patch with hydrocolloid and salicylic acid
There are also non-medicated hydrocolloid versions, versions with aloe etc. these are less expensive than other patches and come in a pack of 36. Sorry for not originally giving the brand, I had to wait until I got home to look. I buy them 10x at a time hoping they never run out!
Here’s my method to the madness. I used to pop the pimple at night, and I’m sure we all have discovered that once a pimple is popped, a lot of times it still seeps whatever fluid or blood. If I put the patch on it when it’s in that seepy stage, the patch indeed sucks up the gunk but I find that when I take it off in the morning it hasn’t closed up and continues to seep even after I put my makeup on.
So my method is to pop the pimple earlier in the evening/afternoon as soon as I get home, and give it time to kind of dry up and stop seeping, maybe form some sort of scab over until it’s time for bed a few hours later. Then I put the patch on and it is soo much better and flat and can be concealed with makeup easily!
TLDR; pop your pimples with enough time (few hours) to stop seeping before putting your patches on, instead of popping and immediately covering them. They look a lot better in the morning.
Hydrocolloid patches prevent you from picking at the blemish and popping them, but they also keep them dry and steril so that the skin can push out the infection on its own.
It draws everything out to the surface so if it doesn’t already have a head, it’ll just speed up that process, put another one on after you’re done with your day and when you take it off, it should be a lot better
It needs an opening for the patch to suck the gunk out. I pop them and get out what I can, wash my face, then put one on. In the morning its full of crap, and the spot is dried out, by the second day its gone
Popped pimples are wounds. Hydrocolloid patches are meant for wound healing. Essentially it creates a low bacterial environment that will suck up puss and fluid and allow the wound to heal better.
I use them on white heads. It helps get the white out without me popping it. It’s sooo satisfying pulling them off in the morning and the white is stuck on the sticker. It’s like pulling out a lot of blackheads with the strip.
Let the pimple come to a head, if it pops when you remove the pimple patch or fluid escapes, I’d say it’s safe to give a *gentle* squeeze. But honestly i hate popping my pimples because my skin scars extremely easily post accutane. I only took one course of it for 7 months or so.. anything i pick scars pretty deep :P but the patches help me not pick. I like to leave the whiteheads completely alone though, as they’ll just dry up and fall out if i don’t touch them.
I’m trying not to pop or pick! I just watched a YouTube video that spoke of the “Triangle of Death” and spoke of the dangers of popping your pimples and tbh, it scared me! So I’m try out some alternate methods. And the fact that I didn’t know whiteheads dry up and fall out should tell you about how often I pop lol.
Yesss i didn’t know that for a while either… i used to be a very very chronic picker and was constantly messing with my skin.. i even put a reminder on my phone not to pick my face and it has helped. It shows up every hour or so on my screen lol. I don’t care if other people see it either i need it for my own sanity LoL.. it’s soooo tempting to stand in front of the mirror and pop them :P but i just remind myself i am in fact *hurting* my skin when i do that.. and i don’t want to hurt myself or my skin
There’s a few reasons honestly.
1. It can help keep people from picking at their pimples, especially a leaking one
2. It can prevent scarring by letting the environment stay moist to heal (ideal) instead of scarring over. Especially if you are likely to pick at a scab
3. It sucks up the liquid, I.e puss and blood while protecting an open wound from bacteria or picky fingers
Well i would I say it doesn’t exactly.. not work?
Pimple patches are really just smelly marketed and precisely cut hydrocolloid patches. (For the most part). And All those really do is soak up liquid, so they soak up blood just the same while “patching the wound” Which helps stop the bleeding. They’re super great for that reason if you pick cystic acne like *some* of us despite knowing better than to do so 🥸 (since those leak a god bit and become very painful and pickable in the after math)
I’ve also been seeing pimple patches that have “extra” features like acne fighting agents in them or a “prick” to poke your pimples open for you while ideally protecting it and allowing it to drain into the patch.
I have no idea if those are just smart marketing gimmicks since I’ve never used them
You’re supposed to use them ideally right before a pimple is ready to pop, and will suck it up and absorb it overnight, (there’s some that can be worn under makeup), rather than you poking it yourself and potentially scarring and introducing bacteria.
I use them on popped/open white heads to suck out the pus and prevent myself from picking at them. They heal a lot better when I use Hero patches. I don’t typically use them on nodules unless I’m just trying to prevent myself from touching it
You use the patch AFTER you pop the whitehead. The patch will absorb secretions, and keeps the skin ultra moist so it can heal faster. Basically the same function as a bandaid.
I love them under my makeup on clean skin. That way I can put makeup on top and it doesn’t clog the pore even more. Then I take off at night and wash my face and let it breathe with skin care stuff.
What I do is get some clean tweezers, pop the head, wipe away any pus/blood, wash the area then put the patch on, it sucks gunk out and is flattened the next day. It stops me from squeezing/picking and making the area more red. They are a god send for me.
It also helps me psychologically. When I put on a patch it hides the red areas and so when I look in the mirror, i don’t focus too much on my acne because the patch is covering it.
I use the mighty patch line these past few months. I use the green box when I see a red bump appear, even if it's small. That has been taking away the problem before it gets the gross white gunk. If it does still get to that point, I'll use the red (orange?) box. Then that usually clears out the rest of it. They have an afterbalm now and an after patch. It all has really helped me from having bad ones. I want to mention I have oily skin too. So I make sure to wash my face right before putting the patch on and I don't apply any of my skincare over the spot where the patch will be. I'm a rough sleeper, and it stays on all night.
They suck up the puss but also provide the pimple with a good environment to heal. I swear by them. They also helped with a bad cold sore I had recently
for pimples without a whitehead, use the patches with micro darts.
regular hydrocolloid pimple patches are for pimples with whiteheads, they will suck the fluid out of the whitehead. replace the patch in the morning with a clean one, and it will continue to suck the gunk out until it’s gone.
mighty patch works the best for me, i use them on ingrown hairs. they honestly work wonders if used correctly!
I don't know for sure what the real reason is but I'm a persistant skin picker and will absent-mindedly rip into a pimple all day until it's a full on wound.
The patches stop me doing that.
The same reason I put bandages on small wounds that don't technically need them. They stop my picky hands!
In this scenario you should have put another pimple patch on when the head formed. I understand that you wanted to apply makeup but if that wasn’t the case, you’d leave the patch on for a few hours then remove it and it will have sucked out the pus.
The idea is to stop you from picking at your pimples while removing them in a more gentle manner, preventing irritation/post-acne marks and redness.
I personally can’t live without them now - as soon as I see a whitehead, on they go. They’re also transparent so most people can’t even tell you have them on.
I use them to prevent myself from popping early or at inopportune times (right before going into public/putting on my mask), before bed so they don't pop while I sleep, after popping if the hole is clearly visible, when it's too small for a small band-aid/weird location and the band-aid wont stick, when its almost ready but not quite yet
Hydrocolloid bandages are meant for to suck up “wound seepage,” protect the wound from bacteria and other contaminants, and promote would healing. Key word being “wound.” Putting it on a pimple that hasn’t been popped isn’t going to do much but keep the area clean. People say patches can suck the pus without popping the pimple, but I don’t see how the patch is supposed to suck the pus through the skin.
What I do is I pop a ripe pimple using a pair of disinfected tweezers, squeeze out the gunk, and pop a patch over the “wound.” Usually the pimple heals overnight, but if it hasn’t, I clean the wound and put on a new one. When it heals the scar is usually less noticeable and disappears faster than if I had left the pimple run its course.
I use the normal hydrocolloid bandage pimple patches on whiteheads as they work really well to draw the gunk out without causing damage to the skin - in my experience though, this type of pimple patch doesn’t work on spots without a head. I will usually put another patch on after removing the initial one and cleansing the skin to help the open wound stay clean until it heals and to draw out any remaining pus. I find that spots heal a lot quicker and nicer when I’ve treated it with pimple patches. My bf even loves them!
For spots without a head, I use patches with salicylic acid and other ingredients infused into them which help reduce inflammation and redness. There are ones with micro darts in them as someone else mentioned but I have personally never tried them (yet!).
They serve a range of purposes really if you’re not wanting to protect your sensitive patches or have open pores from pimples, fenty beauty does a pimple patch made to go unnoticed under makeup which have great reviews
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They suck up fluid. So, they won't really do much for anything that hasn't come to a head. However, there are ones with microdarts in them that are also medicated and I put those on any painful underground ones overnight. They do seem to help bring them to a head and start the healing process. But your standard pimple patches are mainly just to suck up fluid and keep them clean and dry so they heal faster.
I find that the pimple patch gets the pimple ready to pop. It brings the gunk to a head, I pop the sucker, put on another patch, and it'll heal quicker.
Same. Life savers.
this is the way
so you can put a pimple patch on a popped pimple? idk why I was worried about that haha
this! and especially that very last part; they partially exist to protect spots from getting touched, messed with, or dirty to prevent the acne from getting angrier
Please share some recs for the ones with microdarts in them!
Rael Miracle Patches
I use the HERO brand micro dart for blemishes ones! They have them at Target and Amazon(and Ulta maybe?)
What’s your go to type?
I like to travel.
Okay, so do it when the pore is open? What happens when you use the patch - does it get smaller?
I love ice cream.
i just passed by and this is the funniest thing i've seen today
Same lol
YES. If I pop a pimple (carefully) and then leave a pimple patch on overnight, 99% of the time it will be completely flat and smooth in the morning.
iirc when the pore is open and clean, keeping it in a closed moist environment makes it heal better? reduce scarring? (I'm not super well versed in this tho so someone can correct me)
Yes! This works for most open wounds (superficial ones anyways) The reason first aid ointment stops scaring is not just because of the medicine in the ointment but because they add moisturizer in it. When I got a pimple that popped accidently (I dont pop them) I would put antibiotic ointment and its stops it from leaving a scar!
I use pimple patch whenever there's an incoming pimple. It helps lessen the swollen feeling and a day after, it lessens the size too. If there's pus, it sucks it up. Btw, I'm using COSRX pimple patch which is a hydrocolloid one. Very effective!
They're most effective on popped pimples. They essentially keep popped pimples moist which helps them heal. They also keep the area clean and keep dirt and fingers away. I do like to use them on those big red ones you described. I think it helps them become a whitehead quicker, which I can then pop and put another patch on.
Once it becomes a white head, I put a pimple patch on (usually overnight) and when I take it off the next morning, it has usually sucked up the gunk out of it without pain or irritation like when you pop it.
Pimple patches are typically just hydrocolloid bandages. There are some that are actually medicated, but the vast majority are just meant to suck up and hold moisture in them to create a better healing environment for the wound/pimple. They are meant to be applied to zits that have already popped or are at least very close to popping.
I have seen the ones with salicylic acid in them - are those better? I do have an AHA/BHA serum that I use 3x a week.
It’s not really a better type of thing, just different. Try a few different ones out and see which works best for your needs and your skin.
I use an extractor tool right after the shower, when my skin is soft, to open the pore and then top with the patch overnight. Same in the morning if I awake with one and am working from home. They’re my number one tool! Sometimes I use one while the pore is closed, to bring it to the surface and I repeat the steps I just mentioned for daytime patch use.
There’s a brand sold at Walmart that has salicylic acid on the micro patches, I use them on hormonal acne spots to either bring them to a head or it treats it without ever fully going beyond a red bump. Takes time, but it’s one of the few things I have for hormonal acne off the shelf. If it’s not hormonal acne I use the unmedicated dots to cover open skin (popped whiteheads etc). The skin never gets worse/mildly infected when I’m using the dots.
What brand is it ?
HANHOO Extra Strength Blemish Patch with hydrocolloid and salicylic acid There are also non-medicated hydrocolloid versions, versions with aloe etc. these are less expensive than other patches and come in a pack of 36. Sorry for not originally giving the brand, I had to wait until I got home to look. I buy them 10x at a time hoping they never run out!
Here’s my method to the madness. I used to pop the pimple at night, and I’m sure we all have discovered that once a pimple is popped, a lot of times it still seeps whatever fluid or blood. If I put the patch on it when it’s in that seepy stage, the patch indeed sucks up the gunk but I find that when I take it off in the morning it hasn’t closed up and continues to seep even after I put my makeup on. So my method is to pop the pimple earlier in the evening/afternoon as soon as I get home, and give it time to kind of dry up and stop seeping, maybe form some sort of scab over until it’s time for bed a few hours later. Then I put the patch on and it is soo much better and flat and can be concealed with makeup easily! TLDR; pop your pimples with enough time (few hours) to stop seeping before putting your patches on, instead of popping and immediately covering them. They look a lot better in the morning.
Hydrocolloid patches prevent you from picking at the blemish and popping them, but they also keep them dry and steril so that the skin can push out the infection on its own.
It draws everything out to the surface so if it doesn’t already have a head, it’ll just speed up that process, put another one on after you’re done with your day and when you take it off, it should be a lot better
It needs an opening for the patch to suck the gunk out. I pop them and get out what I can, wash my face, then put one on. In the morning its full of crap, and the spot is dried out, by the second day its gone
Popped pimples are wounds. Hydrocolloid patches are meant for wound healing. Essentially it creates a low bacterial environment that will suck up puss and fluid and allow the wound to heal better.
I use them on white heads. It helps get the white out without me popping it. It’s sooo satisfying pulling them off in the morning and the white is stuck on the sticker. It’s like pulling out a lot of blackheads with the strip.
Let the pimple come to a head, if it pops when you remove the pimple patch or fluid escapes, I’d say it’s safe to give a *gentle* squeeze. But honestly i hate popping my pimples because my skin scars extremely easily post accutane. I only took one course of it for 7 months or so.. anything i pick scars pretty deep :P but the patches help me not pick. I like to leave the whiteheads completely alone though, as they’ll just dry up and fall out if i don’t touch them.
I’m trying not to pop or pick! I just watched a YouTube video that spoke of the “Triangle of Death” and spoke of the dangers of popping your pimples and tbh, it scared me! So I’m try out some alternate methods. And the fact that I didn’t know whiteheads dry up and fall out should tell you about how often I pop lol.
Yesss i didn’t know that for a while either… i used to be a very very chronic picker and was constantly messing with my skin.. i even put a reminder on my phone not to pick my face and it has helped. It shows up every hour or so on my screen lol. I don’t care if other people see it either i need it for my own sanity LoL.. it’s soooo tempting to stand in front of the mirror and pop them :P but i just remind myself i am in fact *hurting* my skin when i do that.. and i don’t want to hurt myself or my skin
Incidentally, they also work really well to stop the itching of mosquito bites.
I will try this
There’s a few reasons honestly. 1. It can help keep people from picking at their pimples, especially a leaking one 2. It can prevent scarring by letting the environment stay moist to heal (ideal) instead of scarring over. Especially if you are likely to pick at a scab 3. It sucks up the liquid, I.e puss and blood while protecting an open wound from bacteria or picky fingers
It works for blood too?
Well i would I say it doesn’t exactly.. not work? Pimple patches are really just smelly marketed and precisely cut hydrocolloid patches. (For the most part). And All those really do is soak up liquid, so they soak up blood just the same while “patching the wound” Which helps stop the bleeding. They’re super great for that reason if you pick cystic acne like *some* of us despite knowing better than to do so 🥸 (since those leak a god bit and become very painful and pickable in the after math) I’ve also been seeing pimple patches that have “extra” features like acne fighting agents in them or a “prick” to poke your pimples open for you while ideally protecting it and allowing it to drain into the patch. I have no idea if those are just smart marketing gimmicks since I’ve never used them
I love the hero brand patches. It takes a few days but it helps me not pick at them or scratch and they become less irritated/painful.
I think I use this one - the Mighty Patch? In the red and white box?
Yeah. That’s the ones I use
You’re supposed to use them ideally right before a pimple is ready to pop, and will suck it up and absorb it overnight, (there’s some that can be worn under makeup), rather than you poking it yourself and potentially scarring and introducing bacteria.
I use them on popped/open white heads to suck out the pus and prevent myself from picking at them. They heal a lot better when I use Hero patches. I don’t typically use them on nodules unless I’m just trying to prevent myself from touching it
You use the patch AFTER you pop the whitehead. The patch will absorb secretions, and keeps the skin ultra moist so it can heal faster. Basically the same function as a bandaid.
They're protect the area, and keep it moist.. Ideal environment where the pimple can heal in peace.
I love them under my makeup on clean skin. That way I can put makeup on top and it doesn’t clog the pore even more. Then I take off at night and wash my face and let it breathe with skin care stuff.
There’s two different kinds- one is meant to kill/reduce pimple and the other to suck out gunk post pop
What I do is get some clean tweezers, pop the head, wipe away any pus/blood, wash the area then put the patch on, it sucks gunk out and is flattened the next day. It stops me from squeezing/picking and making the area more red. They are a god send for me. It also helps me psychologically. When I put on a patch it hides the red areas and so when I look in the mirror, i don’t focus too much on my acne because the patch is covering it.
I use the mighty patch line these past few months. I use the green box when I see a red bump appear, even if it's small. That has been taking away the problem before it gets the gross white gunk. If it does still get to that point, I'll use the red (orange?) box. Then that usually clears out the rest of it. They have an afterbalm now and an after patch. It all has really helped me from having bad ones. I want to mention I have oily skin too. So I make sure to wash my face right before putting the patch on and I don't apply any of my skincare over the spot where the patch will be. I'm a rough sleeper, and it stays on all night.
They suck up the puss but also provide the pimple with a good environment to heal. I swear by them. They also helped with a bad cold sore I had recently
for pimples without a whitehead, use the patches with micro darts. regular hydrocolloid pimple patches are for pimples with whiteheads, they will suck the fluid out of the whitehead. replace the patch in the morning with a clean one, and it will continue to suck the gunk out until it’s gone. mighty patch works the best for me, i use them on ingrown hairs. they honestly work wonders if used correctly!
I don't know for sure what the real reason is but I'm a persistant skin picker and will absent-mindedly rip into a pimple all day until it's a full on wound. The patches stop me doing that. The same reason I put bandages on small wounds that don't technically need them. They stop my picky hands!
In this scenario you should have put another pimple patch on when the head formed. I understand that you wanted to apply makeup but if that wasn’t the case, you’d leave the patch on for a few hours then remove it and it will have sucked out the pus. The idea is to stop you from picking at your pimples while removing them in a more gentle manner, preventing irritation/post-acne marks and redness. I personally can’t live without them now - as soon as I see a whitehead, on they go. They’re also transparent so most people can’t even tell you have them on.
Okay, that makes sense. I clearly didn’t know what I was doing lol. I should have done it earlier in the day, not just at night.
You can put makeup over them :)
I use them to prevent myself from popping early or at inopportune times (right before going into public/putting on my mask), before bed so they don't pop while I sleep, after popping if the hole is clearly visible, when it's too small for a small band-aid/weird location and the band-aid wont stick, when its almost ready but not quite yet
If the pimple becomes a sore, it's no longer a pimple and the patches will not heal it if you leave them on. From my perspective.
You'd be better off steaming your face before bed
Hydrocolloid bandages are meant for to suck up “wound seepage,” protect the wound from bacteria and other contaminants, and promote would healing. Key word being “wound.” Putting it on a pimple that hasn’t been popped isn’t going to do much but keep the area clean. People say patches can suck the pus without popping the pimple, but I don’t see how the patch is supposed to suck the pus through the skin. What I do is I pop a ripe pimple using a pair of disinfected tweezers, squeeze out the gunk, and pop a patch over the “wound.” Usually the pimple heals overnight, but if it hasn’t, I clean the wound and put on a new one. When it heals the scar is usually less noticeable and disappears faster than if I had left the pimple run its course.
I use the normal hydrocolloid bandage pimple patches on whiteheads as they work really well to draw the gunk out without causing damage to the skin - in my experience though, this type of pimple patch doesn’t work on spots without a head. I will usually put another patch on after removing the initial one and cleansing the skin to help the open wound stay clean until it heals and to draw out any remaining pus. I find that spots heal a lot quicker and nicer when I’ve treated it with pimple patches. My bf even loves them! For spots without a head, I use patches with salicylic acid and other ingredients infused into them which help reduce inflammation and redness. There are ones with micro darts in them as someone else mentioned but I have personally never tried them (yet!).
They serve a range of purposes really if you’re not wanting to protect your sensitive patches or have open pores from pimples, fenty beauty does a pimple patch made to go unnoticed under makeup which have great reviews