A dermatologist is going viral on Instagram after sharing why you should stop buying pimple patches at the drug store.
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Neera Nathan (@dermatologysurgeon), a Harvard-trained dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon, recently encouraged viewers to stop spending money on the patches. She singled out the brand Mighty Patch, which sells 36 pads for $17 at CVS (though they might be cheaper elsewhere).
“Stop wasting your money on pimple patches,” Nathan said in her video. She then shared a drugstore hack, which she claimed would save viewers “tons” of money. As of this writing, an identical video posted to TikTok had amassed more than 29,400 views.
What’s the hack?
According to Nathan, all pimple patches are “very tiny hydrocolloid pads.”
Instead of spending $17 on a 36-pack of Mighty Patches, the doctor encouraged shoppers to get what they need from the wound care aisle instead. At least at CVS, Nathan said you can buy a “ginormous pack” of hydrocolloid pads for just $14.99.
“These are identical to pimple patches but 10 times the product,” Nathan said. “Plus, you can cut these to the exact size you need.”
She added that sticking these cut-out pads onto your cuts and pimples can help them heal faster with less scarring.
Is this legitimate?
Nathan isn’t lying—pimple patches are bandages lined with hydrocolloid, a gel-forming material that can help heal wounds. Mighty Patch even advertises this on its website. All of its patches, it said, are formulated with “medical-grade hydrocolloid.”
How do pimple patches work?
When applied to a pimple with visible pus, the hydrocolloid helps drain the fluid and flatten the bump. The patch itself also helps prevent infection by protecting your zit from interacting with bacteria or debris.
“Pimple patches that contain ingredients that help treat the breakout, like salicylic acid, might deliver some extra help to clear dirt and bacteria out of pores and speed clearing,” Debra Jaiman, a New York-based dermatologist, told the American Chemical Society, a science-based nonprofit.
It’s important to remember, though, that these patches—hydrocolloid or Mighty Patch ones—won’t help with deep, cystic acne and don’t address the root cause of breakouts.
Viewers are wary of money-saving tip
Despite Nathan and other experts providing ample evidence that hydrocolloid and pimple patches are the same thing, some viewers were hesitant to swap the two.
Some users said saving $2 (at least at CVS, that is) wasn’t worth it; others worried that cutting hydrocolloid patches to make them as small as pimple patches are would transfer bacteria onto their skin.
“Wouldn’t cutting something with scissors put bacteria on the patch, then transfer it to your skin?” one woman asked.
“That’s a $2 difference. I’d pay the $2 for the convenience of not having to sit and cut shapes,” a second viewer wrote.
“Yeah, I did this but idk I hate having to cut it up,” another said.
Others who have tried Nathan’s hack said it didn’t work or questioned whether the store-brand patches had the same health benefits.
“Don’t some patches have added products, like salicylic acid?” one viewer questioned.
“I tried this and the patch adhered to my skin too much,” another shared. “It hurt so bad pulling it off.”
“Honestly, [I] tried hydrocolloid patches – made me break out,” a third viewer said. “But using the pimple patches from a Korean brand really helped keep my skin in check.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Nathan via Instagram comment and to Hero Cosmetics, the brand behind Mighty Patch, via its online contact form.
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