Gentle Spot Treatment for Acne: Spot Dots
K-Beauty does it again! I keep finding some truly fantastic Korean beauty products. Today, I wanted to share these spot treatment dots from Peach and Lily.
WHAT are these things & why?
Adult acne is embarrassing and stems not from lack of care. I double cleanse (oil and gel cleanse) twice a day but I still have to deal. Once a month, I still get breakouts on my cheeks and a little on my forehead. They anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks to heal. They're red, ugly, and at times painful. When I'm frustrated, I'll pop them which will leave broken skin and extra redness.
I discovered these acne spot dots (I'll be referring to these as dots, patches, and stickers interchangeably) a few months ago while shopping at CVS. They're basically circle bandages made of hydrocolloid that you place over your blemish. What this material does is absorb all the pus and fluid that is causing your outbreak. These patches rid the "disease" so that any medication you apply after does the healing.
I'm a huge fan because these are a very, very, very gentle way of reducing the size of a blemish and expediting the healing process. These patches do not contain ingredients like salicylic acid, tea tree oil, or benzoyl peroxide which are known to be drying. Because of the nature of the patch, the blemish is kept hydrated and there is no further damage.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
- These patches work best on pimples that have surfaced. Not so much for acne that is still under the skin. However, I have punctured the skin over an "unripe" blemish, cleaned it, and applied a patch over it - instantly effective.
- Wear these dots while you sleep, get 7-8 hours use. Guaranteed size reduction and redness overnight. Sometimes you may need to use multiple patches.
- Peach & Lily says you can apply make-up over them - I would NOT recommend this. They're not invisible due to the raised thickness of the patch. In my photos, I applied NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer but you can clearly still see the outline of the patch.
- A pack includes 30 patches in 3 sizes. I think the smallest patches (7mm) are not useful. I wish that they gave more of the 10mm and 12mm sizes.
- Extremely affordable, you can buy a pack for under $5.
- Peeling off the patch to see all the grossness is oddly satisfying. You'll see.
>> WARNING - Sharing a photo of a used patch below.
WHERE TO BUY & OTHER OPTIONS
Out of convenience, I'm using these patches from Peach and Lily since they're available at my local drugstore. I've seen them at CVS, Target, and Walgreens. However, other well-known brands have similar patches. Make sure to pay attention to the active ingredients so you know what to expect. COSRX and Peace Out are the most comparable to Peach and Lily; leveraging hydrocolloid material to suck out any secreations.
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