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Products that claim to zap zits overnight are old news, but recently they’ve taken a novel form: a pimple patch, or individual zit-sized bandages that you slap on and forget about overnight. In the morning, you’ll wake up to a calmer, clearer complexion—or so the packages say.
These claims are as appealing as they are bold. Whether you get lots of small pimples or a couple huge ones, persistent acne is incredibly demoralizing—which makes products that promise to fix it overnight very tempting. I’ve been there: For most of my twenties, I had the kind of acne that drives you to buy literally anything that could help. Had pimple patches been more of a thing even three years ago, I’m sure I would have tried them all.
Generally speaking, pimple patches are just hydrocolloid bandages in cuter, smaller, single-serve packaging. (Hydrocolloid bandages are made of a sticky, gel-like material that’s excellent at absorbing liquid; you’ve probably seen them in the first aid aisle as “blister bandages.”) They’re great for protecting lesions that leak fluid as they heal, which is how most pimple patches market themselves.
But some brands are impregnated with medications like salicylic acid and niacinamide, and others even contain dissolving microneedles designed to enhance the penetration of those medications. What they all have in common is how they claim to help acne sufferers: namely, by accelerating the healing process and stopping—or even reversing—the progression of emerging zits.
That sounds great, but do they work? Like, even a little?
To find out, I stuck six popular brands of pimple patches to my face for a couple of weeks and judged them accordingly.
Here are the products I tested:
- Starface Hydro-Stars ($22, Starface)
- Peace Out Acne Healing Dots ($19, Sephora)
- Dr. Jart Focuspot Blemish MicroTip Patch ($18, Sephora)
- CosRX Acne Pimple Master Patch ($5, Soko Glam)
- C&C by Clean & Clear Over Zit Spot Patches ($16, Amazon)
- ZitSticka Killa Kit ($29, ZitSticka)
There’s no such thing as scientific rigor in a one-person test with no controls, so I tried to compare the patches with a known quantity: my usual acne-fighting routine. My go-to procedure for treating a zit is to wash the area thoroughly with gentle soap (I use Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bars), dry it off, and apply an extra dab of my azelaic acid cream. Usually, this takes care of things within a day or two. That’s what the patches were up against.
I used the patches according to their instructions, which are pretty consistent across products: Clean your skin thoroughly, let it dry completely, and apply the patch directly on top of your targeted zits. At least two hours later (for the microneedle patches) or the next morning (for the others), peel the patch off and repeat the whole process if desired. Sometimes I found the patches left a little bit of sticky residue behind, but it came off easily with soap and water.
As someone who is prone to isolated clusters of deep-rooted, rock-hard cysts that hang around for weeks on end, I wasn’t expecting much. But I was intrigued to see how well these products would stand up against my usual methods.
The science on pimple patches is spotty—and dermatologists aren’t convinced.
For this experiment I spoke with two board-certified dermatologists—Olga Bunimovich, M.D., at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Shari Marchbein, M.D., at NYU Langone—to get their takes on the trendiest new thing in acne treatment.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no peer-reviewed data on pimple patches as an acne treatment, the experts tell SELF. Hydrocolloid bandages are usually studied as a dressing for pressure ulcers, where they haven’t been found any more effective than other methods, rather than acne. There are a handful of small studies on dissolving microneedle patches impregnated with antiaging ingredients like hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, which have shown promising wrinkle reduction results. While this could be good news for wrinkles, there’s no evidence yet that the patches work with acne-fighting ingredients.
Clinical opinion is similarly mixed. Both of the dermatologists I interviewed were pretty “meh” on pimple patches as a concept. Although they agreed that patches are helpful for their patients who compulsively pick at their faces, neither was ready to cosign the universal claims of faster healing and cyst reduction—and they have concerns for sensitive skin.
The biggest concern shared by Dr. Marchbein and Dr. Bunimovich has to do with occlusion, or covering your skin in a way that blocks or slows airflow. Pimple patches are strongly occlusive, and putting medications under occlusion increases their potency. If a topical medication doesn’t evaporate fully, it can cause irritation and even chemical burns. Never, ever put topical acne medications underneath a pimple patch—and if your skin is prone to irritation or contact dermatitis, approach medicated patches with caution.
Dissolving microneedles are also potentially problematic because it’s unclear how deep they actually go. Penetrating the skin with any foreign body poses a risk of infection or an antigen response, particularly for people with sensitive skin, Dr. Bunimovich says. If the needles are actually getting where they’re supposed to go—through the epidermis and into the dermis—and then dissolving, “that’s problematic on many levels,” she cautions.
Dr. Marchbein agrees, but ultimately thinks the risk is pretty low: “It is highly unlikely that [microneedles] reach the dermis,” she says. Still, if your skin is especially reactive, you’re better off with a plain, flat patch.
So do acne patches really work? Well, here’s what happened to me:
All of the brands I tested seemed to encourage the healing process to some degree, either by reducing inflammation on emerging zits or absorbing pus from those that had come to a head. Although none of the patches helped more than my trusty azelaic acid, I did find that my pimples healed relatively quickly.
It’s impossible to say whether the patches themselves did anything or if the simple fact that they kept me from touching my face was helpful. And both dermatologists I spoke to say that the biggest potential benefit from using pimple patches is their ability to keep your fingers out of healing zits.
I tested the two microneedle patches (from ZitSticka and Dr. Jart) on a couple of emerging lumps, and both seemed to leave the spots a little less red and more hydrated than the plain patches. But I couldn’t really discern a difference between the two patches, and the effects were subtle at best.
Surprisingly, I found the microneedle patches far more effective on zits that were on their way out. Both of these patches contain similar soothing ingredients—like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide—which could explain why they were so good at, well, soothing the dried-out husks of past zits. However, neither managed to fulfill their promise of fully sending zits back whence they came. And neither worked better or faster than my trusty azelaic acid.
The results aren’t that surprising considering that experts say a microneedle patch can’t halt a burgeoning hell-cyst in its tracks, nor can it kill one that’s already come to a head. The only true magic bullet for cystic acne is a cortisone injection from a dermatologist—and even that isn’t ideal. Really, you don’t want to just spot-treat acne; "you want to treat the whole face,” Dr. Marchbein explains. “[Patches and/or cortisone shots] would not be my primary treatment strategy by any stretch of the imagination.”
One other thing to keep in mind here is that, while applying a needle patch to a small, relatively noninflamed zit didn’t hurt, it also didn’t feel good. Just thinking about pressing prickly little needles into a rock-hard, under-the-skin cyst in training made me shudder.
My two favorite pimple patches were…
I found both the CosRX Acne Pimple Master Patch ($5, Soko Glam) and Peace Out Acne Healing Dots ($19, Sephora) to be conveniently packaged, sticky enough to stay where you stick ’em, and thick enough to absorb zit goop.
However, neither was perfect. For instance, the Peace Out patches are more expensive, likely because they contain salicylic acid. And although the CosRX patches come in three sizes, only one of those was big enough for the zits I get. So, if you also tend to get larger pimples, you might find that many of the patches in a pack don’t fit your zits.
Ultimately, there is no single answer to the question of whether pimple patches actually work. In that they’re guaranteed to keep you from picking at zits while they heal, yes, pimple patches absolutely work as advertised. But the claims of faster healing and arrested cyst development didn’t hold up. To me, pimple patches are best used like Band-Aids for zits to help keep your gross fingers off your face while your zit takes care of itself.
And, of course, your experience with pimple patches will come down to a few different factors, including the type of pimples you get, what other types of treatments you try, and your expectations for an acne patch. If you’re looking for something to slap on a zit so you aren’t tempted to dig it out with your fingernails, any pimple patch in your budget will do just fine. But if you’re expecting a miraculous overnight cure for a mountain of a cyst, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Save your money for a dermatologist appointment—or at least an over-the-counter treatment that actually works.
All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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