by Yesl Han April 23, 2021

Pimple What?!

Patch the pimple, say goodbye to the gunk. Great result, but how?

If you’re curious about Subi’s Perfect Pimple Patch and how it works, then you’re in the right place. Today we’re going to take a look at what pimple patches actually are and the science behind them.

Pimple Treatments – The Old School

Remember when you got your first pimple?

Chances are you doused it with “tried and tested” ingredients like baking soda, tea tree oil, even benzoyl peroxide for the tough stuff.

Did they work? Sometimes. But the issue is how they work and the long term effect this has on your skin.

The one thing these old-school acne treatments have in common is that they work by drying out pimples. This can be a disaster for sensitive and dry skin types. Even for normal skin types, it can tricky to isolate the pimple from the rest of your skin. In many cases, using these ingredients leads to irritation, inflammation and a potential to make acne scarring worse.

Is there a way to banish pimples without drying and risk of scarring? Enter hydrocolloid.

What is Hydrocolloid?

A wound dressing.

It began in hospitals, but we’ve adapted it for a skincare solution.

First used by the medical community in the 1970s, hydrocolloid combines gelling agents like gelatin and pectin with adhesives to form a dressing. This applied to open wounds to treat them by suspending liquid from the wound on the patch itself.

More recently, vegan-friendly gelling agents like cellulose gum have been successfully used in hydrocolloid.

This is the kind of material you’ll find in Subi’s Perfect Pimple Patches.

How Does Hydrocolloid Work?

The medical community agrees that wounds heal best under wet conditions. The main benefit of hydrocolloid is that it creates a moistened environment to heal wounds.

The gelling agent used in hydrocolloid is water binding, meaning it draws fluids to it. Therefore, hydrocolloid draws fluid out of wounds (like, for example, the pus out of pimples). The result is a white dot appears on your patch once you’ve left it on for long enough – this is actually the fluid, which has been drained from your pimple and suspended on the patch.

Typically, hydrocolloid is combined with a protective polyurethane barrier that protects wounds and prevents them from drying out.

When To Use Hydrocolloid On Pimples

Hydrocolloid pimple patches work best on pimples with white heads. By this, we mean pimples with pus in them that are close to the surface of the skin.

For other pimples (think cysts, blind pimples etc), hydrocolloid can also be used as a protective barrier. This is to prevent you from picking at the spot, which increases your risk of acne scarring. Hydrocolloid can also be used on deeper spots to help prevent the spread of infection.