Budget Beauty: Four overnight stick-on pimple killers under P450

Forget about putting toothpaste on a pimple. It literally won't help your acne heal any faster and may even worsen the problem! That doesn’t mean you have to stay stuck with a nasty pimple or have to worry about scarring. Aside from the usual pimple creams and spot treatments, advanced (and cheap) skincare technology has given us some very special stickers to put over those painful blemishes.

Acne patches are small, usually translucent adhesives that are designed to hasten a pimple’s healing process. The covering protects the pimple from being exposed to more bacteria and from bad acne-picking habits. Meanwhile, the moisture and active ingredients mixed into the adhesive are supposed to help pimples heal faster and lessen the chances of scarring. You’ll definitely want to keep a few of these in your vanity so you’re always ready for any nastiness; besides, they’re all under P450!

COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch (P170 for 24 patches from theskincarecurator.com)

When Liz first raved about how well the patches worked on her pimples, we were puzzled by how it supposedly “soaked up” the zit’s contents. A bit of research revealed that these are made in the same way as the hydrocolloid wound dressings used in medical procedures. It doesn’t contain any actual medication but the soft gel-like material absorbs the fluids in the inflammation, so they can literally reduce the swelling overnight!

Miacare Acne Patches (P149 for 12 patches + 6 free at Watsons)

Similar to the CosRx patches, the MiaCare Acne Patches are also hydrocolloid stickers but with more options. Day patches are made of the thinnest material so that they’re less visible on the skin if you want to wear them out of the house. On the other hand, Night patches are thicker, stick better, and able to absorb more fluid. There’s also a Day and Night box that contains both types of patches, so you have both options. Unlike the other brands, MiaCare patches are individually packed like bandages so they’re much more hygienic.

So how does it compare to COSRX? Well, aside from being more accessible, it does exactly the same thing - sop up pus from your pimples without coming off easily. However, the Day patches can absorb less of the yucky fluid so they kinda get overloaded if there's a lot of the pus. The Night patches should be better! The adhesive of Miacare also has a more sticky/loose texture to it compared to the clean texture of COSRX. There's barely any difference though

One Miacare patch is P8.22 (18 to a pack) while COSRX is P7.08 (24 to a pack but there are 14 tinier ones) but that doesn't count shipping.

Purederm Spot Reducer Gel Patches (P99.75 for 30 patches in Watsons)

For flat pus-free pimples, it’s better to use a treatment patch to deliver a concentrated amount of salicylic acid and tea tree oil. With the medication stuck in place, the embedded, "un-poppable" pimples ripen and then dry up faster! You can wear it going out or under makeup but its best to just stick it on your face before applying skincare and going to bed. This way, you’re sure that your spot treatment isn’t getting rubbed off on your pillows and sheets.

This medicated acne patch from Purederm contains .5% salicylic acid as its active ingredient. It has a skin tone shade that's quite obvious so this is not a patch you can wear out! Prepare for a bit of sting when you put this on due to the fairly high salicylic acid content; it goes away quickly though so it's nothing to worry about.

Do remember not to put this on open, popped pimples - you don't want to irritate them!

Leaders AC Dressing Spot-On Patch (P448 for 50 patches at Leaders stores)

The Leaders patches work the same as the Purederm ones, except it features tea tree along with salicylic acid as its active ingredients. This is also translucent; more natural-looking than the Purederm patch. It also sticks on better as Purederm's adhesive seems to remain emollient upon sticking to skin.

What do you think of this new skincare product? Have you tried using acne patches? Which brand works best for you?