I always thought that I was quite the lil’ skincare expert over here but to much my surprise, I actually only found out about pimple patches this year. They are such a smart idea so I’m so surprised it took me this long to discover them. Avarelle Cosmetics recently sent me a couple varieties to try and boy oh boy, was my skin thankful. I’m 23 years old and my skin is still going through major hormonal changes. I’ve luckily got my breakouts under control everywhere exceptmy chin area where no amount of acne treatments seems to work. Lately, salicylic acid, glycolic acid AND benzoyl peroxide seem to be doing nothing to rid those pesky little pimples so I looked towards these spot patches to see if they would be the answer to all my problems.
So what exactly are these patches and how do they work? Well, they are so much more than just a band aid or funky sticker for your pimple. What was that episode of The Amanda Show where people just stuck jewels on their pimples to cover them up? Anyone know what I’m talking about? No? Okay, moving on. These patches are made of hydrocolloid that was originally used as medical wound bandages. It helps draw out fluids from open skin such as the pus in acne lesions (mmm, cute). It also promotes wound healing and provides a hydration barrier for skin to heal while preventing bacteria and infections! So not only are you helping speed the healing of the pimple but you are also preventing the spread of bacteria AKA preventing new breakouts from forming. And that’s not all! Each of Avarelle’s patches contain other ingredients to help your breakouts even more!
First are the Acne Treatment Patches which contain 0.5% salicylic acid (not high enough to irritate the skin) to stimulate circulation by breaking down and pulling oil out of pores. These patches come in a set of 40 with 4 jumbo square patches, 6 large circle patches, 25 medium ones and 6 small circle patches! The huge square ones are particularly useful for people like me who have quite a few breakouts in just one area because instead of using 50 small patches (lil’ exaggeration), I can just use one big one!
The other varieties are the AM Spot Patches and the PM Spot Patches. The PM Spot Patches are meant for overnight wear and are more thick and durable! They contain natural anti-inflammatory ingredients such as tea tree and calendula oil that help to reduce redness and rid any bacteria! The AM Spot Patches are even cooler though. I always thought these patches were just reserved for when you’re sleeping and nobody can see you. However, these AM Spot Patches are meant specifically to be worn during the day. They feature a flexible and discreet design so they’re almost invisible! Plus, because they’re so thin, you can easily wear your foundation and/or powder overtop so nobody will even know they’re there! Genius! They also containTea Tree, Rosehip, & Calendula Oil to help avoid picking and scarring! And these are especially good if you’re going to be out in the sun becausethe hydrocolloid patches actually protects your pimples from UV light, which can decrease pigmentation and scarring the open wounds! Brilliant!
So now that you know exactly what these patches are all about, let’s talk about the nitty gritty of it all. Do they actually work? Well, I’m still breaking out as much as ever (unfortunately), HOWEVER, I do find that these patches do indeed speed up that excruciatingly long healing process. Normally, I find that from start to finish, an average pimple will linger on my face for about a week (except for those really deep painful pimples- those take like a month #fml). But if I wear a patch on it every single night (or even during the day), I find I can cut down that healing time to almost a couple of days! And so for that reason, I would definitely recommend these! Anything that is going to help a pimple disappear faster is a winner in my books!
Check out these other pimple patches: