You should notice some white gunk on the patch. This is hydrocolloid gel that forms when hydrocolloid mixes with pus, bacteria, and oil.
The Science Behind Acne Patches: Mechanisms Explained
As they absorb impurities, including pus, they help reduce the size of the pimple and draw out contaminants. These convenient, easy-to-use pads don't contain any active ingredients or harsh chemicals, making them less likely to irritate sensitive skin.
A pimple patch (also known as an acne patch) is a small circular sticker made from a substance called hydrocolloid, which is a wound-healing gel that's derived from gelatin or pectin and has a slightly gummy texture.
Dr. Lee uses the video to educate about the difference between a whitehead and a milia, which can sometimes appear quite similar. Milia are bumps containing keratin that has been trapped underneath the skin, and are sometimes called “baby acne” or “Epstein pearls."
Hydrocolloid Pimple Patches absorb oil, pus, and impurities from pimples, creating a moist environment that assists the skin. They act as a barrier and stop picking, which helps reduce the risk of scarring or breakouts.
Kopelman. “For unpopped pimples, especially deeper cystic ones, pimple patches won't be as effective because they can't penetrate the skin to address the underlying inflammation.”
Home remedies, such as cleansing the skin, applying ice, and using benzoyl peroxide, can help shrink a cystic pimple. However, in some cases, cystic acne may require dermatological help. Cystic acne is a severe form of acne that causes large bumps to form under the skin.
Your body can gradually break down pus and reabsorb its components. That's why small accumulations of pus (like in a pimple) often don't need treatment.
Popping a pimple delays the natural healing process. It can cause infection and scarring, and it may make the pimple more inflamed and noticeable. Fortunately, technology has a solution, and that solution is pimple patches.
Prolonged use of acne patches might lead to hyperpigmentation or other skin discolorations if the patches are applied incorrectly or left on for too long.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not dirt that's trapped in your pores but old skin cells and oil. Whiteheads occur when these contents aren't exposed to the air. The 'white stuff' that comes out of a blackhead or more commonly in pimples is pus.
A blind pimple is a pimple (zit) that forms under your skin. Unlike other types of pimples that form a visible whitehead, blackhead or red bump, blind pimples develop under the surface. Some blind pimples eventually come to a head and “erupt” from underneath your skin's surface, forming a visible blemish.
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. They are also unable to prevent scarring, sadly.
You may be tempted to pop this unwanted guest, but it's not a good idea. Contrary to what pimple popping videos may show, squeezing your skin to extract the contents of a pimple — a mixture of oil, dead skin and bacteria — can cause scarring and infection.
Dermatologist Leona Yip says patches can be a "good idea". "It's just selecting the right type of spot that would benefit." Dr Yip says pimple patches are best for "that pesky spot that won't go away" or "smaller acne spots", and they're not going to work on cystic or extensive acne.
Pimple patches, acne stickers and acne patches are really helpful, specifically for blind pimples. You'll find unmedicated and medicated versions. Medicated patches, like ones that use benzoyl peroxide, help kill off unnecessary bacteria. But hydrocolloid patches are perhaps the most beneficial.
Pimple patches are made with hydrocolloid, a gummy polymer typically used in wound care to absorb fluid and promote healing. “Hydrocolloid helps draw out oil and pus from pimples, reducing inflammation,” Dr. Wong says.
As the hydrocolloid draws in fluids or pus, the patch changes from transparent to opaque white, which is all the gunk that was pulled from the pimple.
These dead cells have nowhere to go and so they collect, forming a hardened ball that looks like a tiny pearl, unattractively obvious under the new skin that has formed over it, hence the name "pearl acne".