Acne Stickers Have Changed the Way I Deal With Zits

Acne stickers have been popular for quite some time, but up until recently, I hadn’t tried them. I had seen the hype online for pimple patches, designed to be stuck directly to zits in order to dry them out quickly but I wondered if they were just a gimmick. After recently trialling them myself, I’m happy to confirm that it is not a skincare stunt but rather an easy way to deal with acne when it pops up.

Before we go any further, I must point out that these patches only really work on surface-level zits so those who experience cystic acne probably won’t experience many benefits from acne stickers, so something to note.

I recently came across Peace Out Skincare’s Acne Healing Dots ($33), which can be found at Sephora in packs of 20 stickers. A few days after getting my hands on these dots, I experienced quite a large hormonal zit pop up on my cheek. So, thinking I had nothing to lose, I popped an Acne Healing Dot on the pimple and left it overnight (the instructions recommend leaving it on for a minimum of six hours or overnight).

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When I woke up the next day, I was surprised to see that the sticker had sucked all of the liquid out of the zit (gross, I know) and the pimple itself had gotten smaller in size. To say I was pleasantly surprised was an understatement. Whenever I experience pimples, I struggle to leave them alone, usually squeezing them within an inch of their life despite knowing how bad it is for my skin.

The next time I had a zit, I popped a patch on it while I worked from home and it effectively removed the temptation to squeeze it and once again, it drew all of the gunk out, so I didn’t have anything to actually pick at.

While it might sound fairly simple, it has been a significant change for me. I’m a bit of a picker and can’t leave zits/blackheads/scabs alone and often leave my skin looking red and angry thanks to my handiwork. Anytime a pimple has popped up recently, I’ve stuck a dot on it and let it be.

Formulated with vitamin A, to promote clear skin and aloe vera to soothe and minimise redness, these dots also contain hydrocolloid polymer technology which helps to extract impurities from the zit and guards against external elements, allowing it to heal.

Thanks to a TikTok hack, many people forgo the acne-specific stickers altogether and instead use hydrocolloid bandaids, which work the same by absorbing excess fluids like oil and pus without drying out the skin. These aren’t any old plasters though, so make sure to find the correct ones that actually draw out the impurities.