If your freshly picked pimple is leaking or oozing, be sure to cleanse the spot before application. Simply apply the pimple patch over your zit — remember, they only work on open wounds — and leave it on for the recommended amount of time (which varies by product).
Basically, after you pop a pimple (shame!), stick on a hydrocolloid patch, and the material will gently absorb excess fluids, like pus and oil, from your popped pimple while also protecting the wound—yes, it's considered a wound—from bacteria, gunk, and your dirty little fingers.
While pimple patches are effective on open whiteheads and existing breakouts, they are not very useful on closed lesions or deeper pimples such as blackheads. They work best as spot treatments on active pimples but cannot help prevent breakouts.
There's no real harm in using hydrocolloid bandages on pimples. These are waterproof bandages and can be washed over without being removed, so they can be left in place for up to 3-5 days, allowing for healing of acne lesions under the bandages.
Apply an antibiotic ointment, such as Bacitracin, with clean hands or a clean cotton swab. Wash your hands after applying the ointment, too. Apply an antibacterial spot treatment moving forward, such as tea tree oil. This will help to fight bacteria while ideally reducing inflammation.
"It's best to let a pimple run through its life span," Rice says. Left alone, a blemish will heal itself in 3 to 7 days. Popped improperly, it can linger for weeks or lead to scarring.
Hydrocolloid is made of gel forming agents like pectin or gelatin (most commonly used) that create a moist environment with the body to promote healing. It draws out the fluids and pus and then forms a soft gel.
Contrary to popular believe that the white stuff is pus pulled out from their blemish by the acne patch, it is actually hydrated hydrocolloid. As mentioned above, hydrocolloid absorbs excess fluids surrounding a pimple to form a soft gel, creating an ideal healing environment.
Hydrocolloids work on the acne blemish by creating a protective seal over the skin, while absorbing excess fluid such as oil and pus, flattening spots faster and reducing inflammation/skin redness.
An acne patch absorbs excess fluids surrounding a pimple, such as pus or oil. This protects your skin from absorbing the bacteria from the pus, oil, or dirt from your fingers. This makes a more sterile environment for your pimple, which can prevent scarring and speed up the healing process.
More to know: Standard hydrocolloid patches are going to work best for formed zits, especially whiteheads, as they will pull out and absorb the pus, oil and more.
Hydrocolloid dressings are not suitable for all types of wounds. In particular, these dressings should not be used on wounds that are infected or require drainage. Hydrocolloid dressings are not ideal for wounds that require regular assessing as it can be difficult to see the wound without removing the dressing.
Pimple patches should stay on your skin for 6-8 hours! Any longer and the patches may start actually irritating the skin instead of helping it.
Disadvantages of Hydrocolloid Dressings
It can be difficult to assess the wound through the bandage. Bandages might curl or roll on edges. Sometimes dressing adheres to the wound and causes trauma to the fragile skin when removed. Dressings can cause periwound maceration or hypergranulation of wound.
While waiting is never fun, it's worth it when it comes to pimple-popping. Basically, what happens if you don't pop a whitehead is that it goes away on its own, usually in 3 to 7 days. It may happen that you wake up one morning and notice the pimple is gone.
Can pimple patches make acne worse? For most people, pimple patches are, at worst, simply unhelpful — which is to say that they won't make your acne worse, but they won't make it better, either. If you have sensitive skin, though, you may want to steer clear of pimple patches.
Although people can pop some noninflamed whiteheads and blackheads if they take the necessary precautions, they should never try to pop or extract inflamed acne. This type of acne is deeper in the skin and may be more likely to cause scarring and infection if a person tries to squeeze it.
Eventually, the hair follicle can burst, breaking the clog away from your pore and beginning the healing process. This is your body's natural mechanism for dealing with clogged pores and acne. When you pop a pimple yourself, you may be triggering this healing process and getting rid of the pimple while you're at it.
You can cause a blood-filled pimple by damaging blood vessels around an existing pimple. This often happens when you pop, squeeze, pick or over-exfoliate a pimple. Blood-filled pimples usually heal on their own if you prevent further damage and keep the area clean.
Traumatic wounds. In addition to their role in the treatment of major acute wounds, hydrocolloid dressings have also been used with success in the management of superficial sports injuries and other traumatic wounds.
Hydrocolloid bandages are meant to be used on open, superficial wounds and on oozing or opened pimples. They're self-adhesive and waterproof, so they'll remain in place during bathing.
According to Dr. Engelman, whether you wear it overnight or during the day, you should never go over 12 hours. "The adhesive on that patch could potentially irritate over time," she tells me.