Drawing impurities out and settling inflammation is the patch's job, done on just 3 ingredients:

• Hydrocolloid gel: It takes up the fluid and pus a blemish holds, leaving things moist enough that skin keeps hold of its own moisture as the spot heals. Blisters and pressure sores get treated with the very same wound-care material.
• Calendula: Settles redness and backs the skin barrier's recovery.
• Tea tree oil: Goes after the bacteria causing the breakout.

No salicylic acid, no benzoyl peroxide, no synthetic filler, only the natural skincare ingredients we are known for.

30 patches per pack across 4 sizes, so the patch can fit the spot. Sizes run:

• 6 patches at 14mm
• 8 patches at 12mm
• 8 patches at 10mm
• 8 patches at 8mm

A lone pimple takes one of the small dots; bigger or clustered blemishes want the large ones.

Clean, dry skin grips best. 3 steps:

1. A gentle cleanser, then dry the face completely, because hydrocolloid holds best on bare skin.
2. Press the patch down over the pimple and give it 6 to 8 hours, overnight if you can.
3. White means the fluid is absorbed; that is when you peel it away.

Once it comes off, the skin should read visibly flatter and clearly calmer.

Almost anyone with the occasional breakout, teens and grown-ups alike. Nonmedicated and free of harsh actives, they hold up across skin types: oily, combination, dry, even genuinely sensitive, with none of the sting or irritation strong creams can bring. For acne-prone skin and the everyday concerns that flare now and then, they are a calm option. Younger users can look at gentle teen acne treatment products .

A fresh patch can go on nightly over an active spot until it clears. Always a new one, because a used patch has taken up all it will hold. No cycling is needed the way an active treatment needs it, so grab one whenever a blemish turns up.

Skin that is broken or raw from picking wants a short break before the next patch; once it settles, carry on. To keep a supply in, a subscription refills on a schedule and cancels whenever you want.

No, you should not pop it first . Squeezing drives bacteria and dirt deeper, which lifts the risk of infection, of scarring and of dark marks. The patch does its job without that, and once a whitehead has surfaced it can lift the pus out of the inflamed spot. Hands off also ends the picking that feeds more inflammation. For further ways to settle a spot, see how to get rid of a pimple fast .

Fluid is what they need, so a pimple that has already come up as a whitehead is their best case. Where the bump is closed and there is nothing to pull, the patch is mostly a shield and a barrier against your own fingers. Everyday zits, and other blemishes sitting on the skin's outer layer, are what they are for.

Acne that is cystic, or severe and sitting below the surface, falls outside what these hydrocolloid patches were built for; breakouts of different kinds want different handling. Where there is a deep pimple or a lump that hurts, it pays to understand what causes a blind pimple before you treat one.

Not really. A blackhead is a hardened plug of oil and dead skin cells down inside the pore, not fluid resting on the surface, so the patch has nothing to take up. Whiteheads and raised, fluid-filled spots are where hydrocolloid patches perform.

Blackheads need actives that reach down into the pore. Salicylic acid is what medicated patches carry, and it unblocks pores and takes surplus sebum away, which makes that route the better fit for blackheads than hydrocolloid.

No. Hyperpigmentation already on your skin will not fade from a patch. Where they help is stopping new dark marks: keep your fingers off a spot and the odds of a lasting stain or scar drop. Prevention rather than erasure, in other words.

Some other patches carry tone and redness ingredients, niacinamide for instance, or retinyl palmitate, which is a mild vitamin A derivative. Different job entirely, and that is the route for marks already present. Read how to fade post-acne marks here.

Side effects hardly come up, because these are nonmedicated patches with nothing harsh in them. Medicated patches lean on strong drugs; these do not, so the purging, peeling and stinging that some acne treatments open with never happens. Most people wear them without trouble, reactive skin included.

Tenderness after peeling one off is usually coming from the spot, not from the patch. Where real irritation shows, stop use and speak to a professional.

All a patch does is cover the spot physically and gently, so over a clean spot it is perfectly fine by itself. Harsh actives or strong creams from other brands are not something to layer under it, since those irritate exactly the spot you want calm. Bare skin only: moisturizer or serum underneath will stop it sticking.

A hyaluronic acid product is not needed either, because hydrocolloid already holds the spot moist by itself. Our own Kill Acne & Redness Ritual is designed to run as one, and the patches take the occasional spot. On a prescription acne medication? Ask your dermatologist where they fit.