Do Pimple Patches Help Clear Breakouts? Hydrocolloid vs Microdarts ✨
Hey guys! Welcome back to another episode on Beauty Within. It's another episode on acne with me. Though before we start, I have another tea. This one is Green Tea Lychee or "Laichee". So because that's one of my favorite fruits. Okay. I got it. Mmmmm! *Plop* Oh my god! You can actually smell – *gasp* Oooh, this is so good! So for this video today, we're gonna be talking about all the different types, well specifically three main types, of pimple patches. And if you haven't watched my previous video, I talk all about internal ways to naturally help with breakouts and acne and healing it from within. Because every episode that you'll see me do is kind of based around my experience and my diary of overcoming problematic skin. So today we're gonna be talking all about pimple patches Because you basically see them everywhere on the market, and there seems to be a lot of them. But they kind of boil down to three main categories. And to know which ones to pick and go for, it's very important. Because some of them are cheaper, [and] some of them are a little bit more expensive. And they treat the breakouts on our skin a little bit differently, and we'll break down the reasons why. And this video is sponsored by Zitsticka, which I'm really excited to partner with today! Because Rowena and I previously found them. We just have them on during the day when we're working and at home. So when they asked us if we wanted to collaborate, we were like, "Hells yeah! We already use these anyway." Aaand yes! Let's just get into it! So before we jump into the different types of hydrocolloid patches or "pimple patches", let's give a quick recap over our pimples. Yay friend! So our pimples have many different types of sizes and shapes and forms and pain levels. But to make things easier, there are two types of acne that you can get. So it's inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne. So the first one, non-inflammatory acne, is what you'd refer to when we're dealing with blackheads or whiteheads. And they're usually found, you know, on the surface of the skin, especially around the cheek or the nose area. And they're relatively painless and quite easy to treat. You can just use a BHA toning solution or a serum that includes AHA or BHA. And that would just slough off the dead skin and help with that. Then we have the big boooys- *wuh wuh what* The inflammatory acne. And this is where you'll find the super painful, swollen, red, inflamed types. Because the root of this type is from the deeper layers of the skin. And these types of acne can take a little bit more time to recover. And can more likely develop scars and, you know, hyperpigmentation on the skin. A lot of you already know the magic called pimple patches. And pimple patches are also known as hydrocolloid bandages or stickers that help suck out all the trapped gunk and pus and oils from within the pimple. And these stickers are sooo great! Because if you have any sort of breakouts that decide to rear their pus-filled head – sounds delicious – on the surface of our skin, then this is where, you know, using some sort of sticker can really help. And this is because the material that makes up the little flesh-colored or clear stickers or bandages contains a gel-forming agent like pectin or gelatin that essentially acts as a moisture barrier that speeds up the skin-healing process. And [it] also just covers that area, so it doesn't, you know, inflame it even more or open it to different sorts of bacteria that are out floating around in the environment. And best of all, it also works to keep out UVB rays when you're outside and living yo life. So you might have noticed that there are quite a few brands of pimple stickers out there. But they essentially fall into three main categories. So the first is just the patch. The second is a patch with active ingredients. And then the third one is the microdot patches. So let's explore these a little more and understand how they work differently. So with the first one being just a regular hydrocolloid bandage or patch, you're essentially just getting that. It's like a band-aid for your face, Nelly style. But clear, and you don't want to see it. It's not a statement. Some are more skin tone. Some are a little bit more visible. Some are thicker So they come in different kind of consistencies. Oftentimes, if you want your zits to go away, hydrocolloid works best for the ones that are coming to its head or are already kind of popped. And it helps to absorb the gunk that kind of comes out. You know, sometimes you just can't help yourself with a pustule. The ones that come to mind are the ones from COSRX in the red packaging. But a tip here is that I wouldn't put it on after moisturizing or oils because it will kind of slip around. It's like *mmlaah* It's like hanging on for dear life. Now the second type is the pimple patch with active ingredients. And this is essentially the same as the first one, but with some sort of acne-fighting ingredient. And the most popular are salicylic acid or tea tree oil that's infused into the gel of the hydrocolloid patch. So while it's stuck on the face, it's also doing some work in delivering the ingredients to calm that area and also soothe it. Some of them also come with niacinamide. And that just helps with, you know, the post kind of hyperpigmentation, as well. So then moving onto what we want to share with you guys the most. Because it's the latest development in pimple patches that not a lot of brands actually offer. It's the microdot pimple patch. And these babies go straight to the soooource! Straight to the source of the drama or the zit's epicenter, if we want to talk about it in volcanic terms. Sounds scary. You know microdot. But it's really not. Because these patches look like your typical hydrocolloid bandage. Except that they have laid into them self-dissolving microdots that puncture through just the very surface of the skin to deliver the active ingredients straight to the heart of the pimple. So it's like if this is your skin, they kind of prick the very surface just so that it really gets into, you know, the root of that area. And the really crazy thing is that each microdot is finer than 1/3 of a strand of hair. So essentially if you shrink yourself down to a microscopic size, these dots would look like a crystallized icicle from a sci fi show. Frozen. Elsa. You know using her magic saying, "I've said enough!" So when you apply the patch to your skin, the dots sink into the heart of the pimple and slowly dissolve away as if it were snapped out of existence like feathers. *snap* And how this works for your skin is it, you know, delivers the active ingredients to settle down the drama once and for all! So to introduce you guys to Zitsticka a little and why I freaking love it is because it's an Australian brand. So I'm like, "Homies! Got to stick together!" And they specifically specialize in these microdot patches. [For] every box that you get, it comes with a two-step process. The first is cleansing swabbing pads called, Cleana. I love the names. It just allows me to speak in my Australian way, you know? Whether you're doing extractions or anything that can kind of stir up the skin, you want to really make sure that whole area is clean and you're working on a very disinfected surface. So that's what Cleana does. It disinfects the area where this drama is taking place. And these little swabbing pads contain salicylic acid, tea tree oil, vitamin E, and a little bit of alcohol to disinfect the skin and prep it for the application of the microdot patch. So a lot of you might be thinking, "Oh my god. Alcohol. Tea tree." It might be sensitizing to the skin. But in order to really cleanse the skin, alcohol is actually a good thing. You can think of it primarily due to excessive buildup of sebum. And so you want something that can help mop up the extra [sebum] that's surrounding it as a prep for the skin. Although it could be drying, you're only applying a little bit over your skin in a very targeted area. Next! We enter… killaaaa. Fashion killaaa. Zit killaa. Which is essentially the microdot patch that we mentioned before. So the thing with these is that instead of using them to just treat the outermost surface of the zit, you can use these types on those really painful, under the skin, blind mole living type, hormonal zits to eliminate them at the very root and at the earliest time possible. And it contains active ingredients, including hyaluronic acid to help pull moisture into your skin while it's treating it, as well as oligopeptide-76 to destroy the bacteria that's feeding and around that area. And there's salicylic acid. And if you're like me friends of the fam who have problematic skin, you'll know that salicylic acid or BHA really helps to gently exfoliate and break down the sebum that could be clogging the pores. Because BHA versus AHA, BHA is oil-soluble. Which means it can travel deeper down into the skin and really break up the bacteria and that cocktail of sebum that's in the pores. And then there's also niacinamide, which is also one of my favorite ingredients to brighten up any pigmentation that the zit is causing. So you're kind of helping it before it happens. When you put it on, you feel a slight prick. Nothing that you can't handle. The pain is 2 out of 10. In the next 1 to 2 hours, those microdots actually melt away, and they dissolve into your skin. So by the time you peel it off, it's just a flat patch. For me, I definitely use these a lot in the chin and jaw area. That's where I tend to get a lot of hormonal acne. And I'll use those as soon as I feel like something is popping up, no matter what time it is. Because I just feel the earlier you can get to it, the better. And the shorter time it'll take to go from here to there. And just a little fun fact: By the time a pimple has popped to the surface, it's already been culminating like a fly for at least, you know, a couple days or a week. So the quicker you can, you know, help aid that area, the better. You know, there's nothing that drying lotions or nourishing pimple treatments are ever going to do. Those types of treatments won't go down far enough to really treat it. And according to the reviews that we've read, it's usually said that just one application overnight is enough to really calm down that area. But you can also double patch. Double patch. Meaning that you can use it once and then you would remove that and add another one to follow on in the same spot for those more stubborn zits. Typically, I don't wear makeup on that area. Because the sticker itself is translucent, and it's like a skin tone. Once again, you have the patch to clean it You wouldn't want to apply makeup and then put it on again. It kind of defeats the purpose, you know what I mean? Before we move on, it's bloomed! It's come to a full bloom! Can you see this little flower? There's actually multiple flowers in there. Yooo, how awesome is this? If you had a clear teapot, this would look so awesome. Oh yeah! And the cool thing is it smells really fragrant and it tastes fragrant, as well. Some teas just smell really good, but they taste like water, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. And I get super annoyed at it 'cause it's like it sets you for this huge anticipation and it's like *womp*. But anyway, for some of you who are very vigilant – I know there's a lot of you out there – and you might be thinking, "Oh my god. There's this box and then there's packaging for each of the different steps." But there's actually a reason to the way that it's all designed. First of all, you need to understand that when you have active ingredients, packaging is very important to keep the integrity and the efficacy of that ingredient working on your skin. Because, you know, even with skincare, people will develop bottles and packaging in a way that is designed to keep all those ingredients working well for the skin, right? Otherwise, you might not even get the benefits of what it's supposed to do. So that's why each portion has its own package for the actual microdots. Because the dots are so fine, they have to actually be contained very well. And others might also say that this is actually quite expensive for a pimple patch. You know depending on what you need it for, how often you're gonna use it, that's really up to you to decide which one of these patches will really work. It's more about knowing what you need for your specific situation. But if you guys are interested, all the details will be below. The funny thing is we used these way before we did this collaboration. Just want you to know. So now, I hope you guys are way more clear about all the different types of pimple patches. And how they just boil down to three main ones. And how it can help specific skin conditions and specific pimples in different ways, so that you can make more educated choices. And, once again, skin care really does come down to you [and] your preference. There's no right or wrong. So just know that. *ding!* So for every episode, I'm going to switch different beverages. All teas and herbal teas and powders and things like that. So if you guys have recommendations, leave it below, as well. And that might be featured in the next video. Think that's it for this one! I'll see you in two weeks! Bye! Check out the tea by the way, love it! *ding* *Thanks for watching! <3*