Remember fretting over the right shade of concealer to match your pores and skin tone and canopy your blemishes? These days are over: now, there’s a brand new technology of blemish bandages which might be virtually trend statements. You’ll be able to placed on a shiny yellow star-shaped patch, a purple butterfly, or one other whimsical form to cowl your pimples.
It’s commonplace to see folks strolling round with colourful pimples stickers on their faces in broad daylight. Alternatively, some subtler designs do hearken again to the times on the make-up counter, coming in a spread of shades that present a greater match on your pores and skin tone.
What’s up with these zit stickers, anyway? Do they actually work?
Anatomy of a pimple patch
The know-how behind pimple patches isn’t new. These patches depend on a gel-forming materials referred to as hydrocolloid that’s been a staple for wound care relationship again to the Nineteen Eighties, says Dr. Danilo C. Del Campo, a dermatologist on the Chicago Pores and skin Clinic. In addition to offering a protecting protecting for the wound (a zit, on this case), hydrocolloid patches “pull extreme fluid out of the wound with out sticking to the wound,” Del Campo explains. “Identical to with wound therapeutic, with pimples you need to permit the pores and skin to heal itself with out including to an infection.”
Apart from the fanciful design components, the brand new technology of pimple patches “have been formulated with superior know-how and focused substances that transcend merely protecting a pimple,” says Dr. Hope Mitchell, a founder and CEO of Mitchell Dermatology in Perrysburg, Ohio. “Newer patches usually incorporate lively substances like salicylic acid, niacinamide, or tea tree oil. These additions actively deal with the pimple whereas the patch protects it from exterior irritants like filth and micro organism.”
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Among the latest ones include tiny micro-darts that push lively substances deeper into the pores and skin to boost their absorption, explains Dr. Joshua Zeichner, an affiliate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York Metropolis. (Don’t fear: These micro-darts don’t trigger ache, and so they dissolve naturally.)
How they might help
In addition to the aesthetic perks, by protecting pimples, these patches make it much less seemingly that individuals will push, squeeze, choose at, or attempt to pop their blemishes; avoiding these actions can cut back the possibilities of additional an infection or scarring, says Zeichner. Plus, the hydrocolloid movie attracts fluid and pus out of the pimple, and the patch absorbs it, thereby decreasing irritation and serving to the blemish shrink and heal.
There’s not lots of impartial analysis on zit stickers. However in a 2024 study within the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, which sells pimples patches), researchers in contrast using hydrocolloid patches and mild pores and skin washing to simply light washing (the management group). They discovered that when teenagers and adults with facial pimples used hydrocolloid patches, the scale, texture, and redness of their pimples improved considerably inside one to 4 days—sooner than the management group.
Relying on different substances which might be included, there could also be further advantages. If the patch comprises salicylic acid, that may assist open and unclog the pore and cut back redness, says Dr. Pooja Rambhia, a beauty dermatologist at UnionDerm in New York Metropolis and Greenwich, Conn.
Niacinamide, in the meantime, can cut back redness and strengthen the pores and skin barrier, Mitchell says, and tea tree oil has antibacterial properties. “Some formulations add brightening brokers like vitamin C to assist restore the pores and skin after a pimple has healed,” she provides.
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However patches are usually not equally efficient for every kind of pimples. “They’re nice for pus pimples or pink, offended pimples,” Zeichner says. And “they work on early-stage pimples by stopping their development,” Mitchell says.
They aren’t as efficient for blackheads or deep, cystic pimples. “It’s exhausting for one thing that sits on the floor of the pores and skin to make a lot of a distinction for deep, cystic pimples,” Del Campo says.
Whereas they’re helpful as spot remedies, pimple patches don’t handle the underlying reason behind pimples. “They undoubtedly play a task in providing help, however they don’t get to the basis of the issue,” Zeichner says. When you wrestle with breakouts, “it’s nonetheless essential to make use of benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, topical retinoids, or prescription medicines from a dermatologist.”
Pimple patches are “like a sport of Whac-A-Mole—they’re extra reactive than proactive,” Rambhia agrees. “They’re a very good factor to make use of in tandem with focused medical therapy for the kind of pimples you will have.”
Methods to use them successfully
Earlier than you slap on a patch, ensure your pores and skin is clear and utterly dry, Rambhia says. As soon as positioned, you may put on it for six to 12 hours or in a single day.
Some dermatologists suggest taking a break between pimple patches so that you just don’t have a barrier over the pores and skin for twenty-four hours. “You need to give the pores and skin some respiratory time,” Zeichner says.
How rapidly you may count on enhancements varies extensively, from individual to individual and pimple to pimple. “Some folks get results quick—inside a few hours,” Del Campo says. “Others use them in a single day and by morning, the pimple is healthier. And different folks use the patches for an extended time.”
To hasten therapeutic, you might be able to double up by sporting a pimple patch on high of an pimples therapy like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, which can enhance absorption, Zeichner says. However take note: The extra substances you utilize, the higher the potential for irritation. “When you’ve got delicate pores and skin, you could need to keep on with a straight hydrocolloid patch,” he provides.
And whereas they could be enjoyable to put on, if pimple patches don’t sufficiently enhance your pimples, it’s time to maneuver on, Del Campo says. “Generally more practical remedies are so as.”
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