Acne appearing before an important event can be anybody’s worst nightmare as they tend to pop up at the wrong time due to the stress piled up around us. If you have pimples, the one thing you can always count on doing is either to pick it up or pop it and pimple patches may seem like a quick-fix lifesaver to anyone who has ever had an untimely outbreak of acne (and let’s face it, all outbreaks really are untimely) but do acne patches actually work?
Dermatologists will only advise you to take a hands-off approach to pimples if you have them. Pimple patches are stickers made of hydrocolloid, which helps in wound healing and these acne stickers are promoted over the internet as savior treatments to tide over the crises but do they actually work?
How do pimple patches work?
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Sneha Ghunawat, Consultant Dermatologist and Cosmetologist, Director and Co-Founder of Meraki Skin Clinic at Gurugram, revealed, “Acne patches work only for superficial acne and are not for deep, large, cystic acne. The material that these patches are made up of is hydrocolloid. This substance has the property of absorbing moisture to help dry out the wounds faster. The same substance is also used in the healing of chronic wounds. Apart from this, the patch acts like a protective cover from external pollutants, sunlight, and dust. It also helps to prevent the habit of picking.”
What are pimple patches made of?
Dr Sneha Ghunawat shared, “The essential component of the acne patches is hydrocolloid which helps in wound healing and drying out the superficial acne. The deeper lesions such as cystic acne do not respond to these patches. Some of the patches contain other anti-acne actives such as salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, etc.”
Dr Debeshi, Clinical Cosmetic and Aesthetic Expert and Founder of Lueur Aesthetics, gushed, “Despite how absurdly quickly hydrocolloid patches gained acceptance, the wrong kind of zit will yield no results, which will quickly turn you into a hater. Pimple patches are essentially hydrocolloid bandages that are packaged in more adorable, single-serve packaging. (Hydrocolloid bandages, also known as “blister bandages,” are made of an adhesive, gel-like material that is excellent at absorbing liquid). The majority of pimple patches promote themselves by stating that they are excellent for shielding lesions that leak fluid as they heal.”
She added, “Some brands contain pharmaceuticals like salicylic acid and niacinamide that are intended to increase the penetration of those products, and some even have dissolving microneedles. They all claim to help acne sufferers by accelerating the healing process and stopping—or even reversing—the growth of newly appearing pimples.”
How to apply pimple patches?
According to Dr Sneha Ghunawat, patches have to be applied on dry skin as they don’t stick on wet skin. She advised, “It is important to dry the skin before applying the patch. It has to be worn for a couple of hours to start showing effect. The patches to be worn for day and night are different in terms of ingredients.”
Limitations of pimple patches:
Dr Sneha Ghunawat cautioned, “Pimple patches work only on superficial acne. The deeper and infected oozy lesions are not meant to be treated by these patches. They have limited active ingredients in them and thus provide limited results.”
Dr Debeshi pointed out, “Pimple stickers may be somewhat effective when combined with salicylic acid and hydrocolloid but they are ineffective against moderate to severe cystic acne. Acne can come in a variety of forms, grades and types, so to heal it quickly and prevent scarring it requires precise, customised tropical products.”
A consultation and individualised treatment plan are the best options.