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The $5 pimple patch everyone's buying
‘Bargain’ isn’t a word you often associate with beauty or skincare, so it’s hardly surprising that this $5 product has whipped up such a frenzy after receiving thousands of glowing reviews.
The Acne Pimple Master Patch from Korean Beauty brand COSRX, is quickly becoming a cult buy in Australia, after reigning as one of the top-rated beauty products on Amazon in the US.
Its loyal fan base rave about the patch’s blemish banishing powers, swearing by its ability to reduce the size and healing time of pimples.
Unlike many skincare products that work to help prevent breakouts, patches are what you reach for when you’ve already got a problem pimple coming up and need to deal with it ASAP.
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They’re made of hydrocolloid, which is a gel-like dressing used to seal off a wound and create a moist environment that promotes healing, and they work best when the blemish is open and oozing.
The COSRX patches are particularly useful against inflamed pimples but they definitely don’t work on every type and are much less effective when it comes to deep cysts or blackheads.
But for a fiver you get 24 patches in three different sizes, so you can experiment a bit and see for yourself.
Most people use them while at home or overnight, but they’re quite discrete and you can wear them during the day to stop yourself from picking at your skin, or even have one on under makeup.
The product’s Amazon Australia page is flooded with gushing reviews, including one from a bride who used them for a quick fix on her big day.
“I put them on at night and by the time I wake up the zit is virtually gone. I even used them on my wedding day for unsightly imperfections,” she writes.
“These patches are great! I did find that they won't do anything if the pimple isn't open or popped already. If it's a deep, cystic pimple, don't even bother with it cause it'll be a waste. But if it's there's a spot for all the yucky stuff to come out, it will suck it all out and in the morning it'll be on the patch and not in your skin!” reads another enthusiastic review.
A third says: “I swear by this product. I put it on a pimple as soon as the head is white. The next morning it is all sucked up and cleaned out. Amazing!”
Of course, COSRX aren’t the only pimple patch on the market and a 12 patch packet of Mecca Max’s Spot Dots for $8 isn't too far behind price wise.
Sephora sell a 20 patch box of Peace Out Skincare's Acne Healing Dots for $33, while Aussie brand ZitSticka have a 36 patch box of Goo Getter dots doused with niacinamide, salicylic acid, vitamin c and tea tree, that will set you back $29.
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However, ZitSticka bring out the big guns with their Killa Kit which has medicated microdarts that “self-dissolve to flood the epicenter of your early-stage zit with targeted ingredients”, and a box of 8 of those patches (plus 8 cleansing swabs) goes for the steeper price of $39.
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