The Magic of Nexcare Acne Patches | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

24 February, 2014

The Magic of Nexcare Acne Patches

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Hey everybody! Sorry if I've been a bit quiet here and on social media this week - sometimes I get busy with stuff outside the internet realm. Strange but true. Things will likely be back to normal by this Wednesday, but for today I thought I'd dive into the product vaults to ramble about something that has been - dare I say it - A GAME CHANGER for me in the unfortunate world of adult acne.


Pictured above are Nexcare Acne Absorbing Covers, AKA Nexcare Acne Patches. I suspect that those of you who are not already familiar with this product are wondering why they're so magical, so here's the deal:

Nexcare Acne Patches are basically like really small, non-medicated, pre-cut hydrocolloid dressings. In other words, blister bandages for your face. I'm not going to explain all the possible applications of hydrocolloid bandages here because that's sort of complicated and not entirely relevant (there's a good article here if you're really curious), but the short version as it pertains to this product is that they work by sucking the pus out your zits whilst protecting the wound (yum) and helping them heal faster. If you're a face-picker, this product is for you! Not only will it help reduce the size of your spots faster, but it will create a physical barrier to prevent your naughty fingers from wreaking havoc.

As for the pus-sucking... I'm not not going to show you a picture. It's gross. But basically what happens is you put the acne patch over the affected area, and when you peel it off a few hours later there will be a whitish dot of face goo (ewwww) stuck to it. Assuming that whatever's going on underneath your skin is close enough to the surface to get sucked out. I've read some reviews online indicating that people used these for cystic acne with success, but I'm not really sure about that as I've mainly used them on spots that have come to/are close to coming to a head. Note: Once the white goo dot thing has happened you should replace the dressing, as there's only so much one patch can absorb!

Now, the budget-conscious folks out there might be wondering: Couldn't I just get a massive sheet of hydrocolloid dressings for blisters/wounds and cut them up into small pieces to use on my acne? Yes, yes you could. However, I've found that dressings intended for blisters are sometimes stickier than Nexcare patches, which can result in some unintentional skin ripping. Not ideal when you're trying to heal up the marks on your face quickly. I suspect the level of stickiness varies from brand to brand, so if you experiment then you may have better luck than I did, but paying a little extra for Nexcare patches seems like a good way to definitely prevent the face-ripping. Also, I find that the Nexcare patches are more discreet. Are they totally invisible? No. I probably wouldn't wear them in public, but I've worn them around the house without my boyfriend noticing that I had something stuck to my face.

Anyway, the TL;DR version is that I like Nexcare Acne Patches because they suck the crap out of my zits, making them less painful and long-lived. The fact that they also cover the area prevents infection/spreading/picking, which helps them heal faster. Win-win. If you have problems with acne and/or face-picking, you should really give these a try.

Where to buy: This is one of those products that has has been available in various Asian countries for a long time, but an American version finally popped up on Amazon and Walgreens.com for $7.99 last year. Unfortunately they now seem to be out of stock in both of those places, which I hope is just a temporary shortage? Edit 25 Feb 2014: Looks like they're back in stock in both of those places for now!

If they're out of stock, don't fret - you can still get the Asian versions easily on eBay or Sasa.com. They come in different sizes/varieties, so make sure to pay attention to what you're getting - the pack pictured above has circle dressings in two sizes, which might be a good thing to get if you're not sure which ones you'll need most of the time.


Have you ever tried hydrocolloid acne dressings? If so, were they a success for you?


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.

32 comments:

  1. Such a good idea! I am lucky and only get a few pimples every now and then, but this sounds perfect to help eliminate them quickly. Thank you for sharing! Xx

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  2. I have never tried them. Nor have I ever heard of them. I wished I had had this when i was younger had had such a bad problem with acne. I might not have the scars I now have on my face from picking. I do still have the occasional pimple so I will be trying to pick a a box of these up. Thanks for introducing me to this product.

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  3. I've never heard of anything like this before but they sound great :) xx

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  4. Thankyou for sharing, I have just bought some! Hope they work for me :)

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  5. Whoa, these wound cool. I remember using a patch type thingy years ago that had salicylic acid impregnated in the fabric, but it didn't work particularly well. I hope these will become more widely available here!

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  6. Shalunya TheChronicBeautyFebruary 24, 2014 at 4:59 PM

    These are completely interesting. I have never heard of such a thing. Thank you for sharing these with us.

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  7. Oh my goodness, I don't want to wish for more pimples but I can't wait to try these. I went to the Amazon page and Nexcare put up this funny video with an angry, talking cartoon pimple http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m18UZQT8AM50RY/ref=ent_fb_link

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  8. OMG. I love these too! I bought like boxes of the stuff when I was overseas (I can't find them in stores here for some reason) and they really help speed up pimple healing! Also because it's skin coloured, it really reduces the appearance of redness!

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  9. Daaaaang this is crazy cool!!! Thanks for sharing Rebecca!!!!

    xoxo thesunnyscenery.com

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  10. I think I used something like that when I was younger too. Salicylic acid has its benefits, but it doesn't seem to work that well for everyone, plus it depends on what % is in the product... argh, acne products are so complicated. I think it's funny that one of the more effective spot treatments I've used is basically just a weak blister bandage. :P

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  11. Glad to introduce you then! From the comments it seems like they're new to a lot of people, so I guess they are still really uncommon here!

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  12. Oh. My. God. Somehow I missed that video when I looked at the Amazon page, but hahahahaha. I showed my boyfriend and he laughed his ass off too. Who knew acne could be so fun?

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  13. I didn't even think of the redness reduction but it is true! I feel like wearing a slightly-darker-than-my-skin-colored dot on my face somehow looks better than a big, red, enflamed spot, haha.

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  14. haha yeah, you can also buy the thinner version so it doesn't look so obvious (which are a little bit more expensive) but it really does reduce the thickness of the dressing in half.

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  15. I've tried both and I definitely like the thinner ones better. Totally worth a little extra. :)

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  16. Dumb question--I've never tried hydrocolloid patches before. Are these the same as the acne patches that Korean brands carry, like It's Skin--or are these more like a gel? I want to see the pus pulling out >...> I have a horrible fascination with that kind of thing hahahahaha.

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  17. I've never seen those, so I'm not sure how to answer that. Are the It's Skin patches medicated (with salicylic acid or whatever)? Do they look roughly like the ones above? The Nexcare patches don't contain any actual medication and feel sort of just like a bouncy sticker. I wouldn't describe them as gel-like, but they're fairly flexible and not stiff. Not sure how else to say about them. Another thing worth noting is that the Nexcare patches have different thicknesses, and I think the thinner ones are more comfortable to wear. The American release (pictured above) is the only local version but it seems to be on the thin side, FWIW. But to get back to your original question... I don't know, haha.

    Pulling the sticker off once it's filled with pus is both gross and satisfying. Especially if you've worn one overnight, because they can really fill up (ew).

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  18. I have just broken out with a golf ball on my chin. It's currently in the cystic stage, but I'm going to order these fast and hope they help.

    Shani x
    She Dreams in Perfect French

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  19. Ugh, sorry to hear that. Cystic acne is seriously the worst thing ever. Let me know how it does on cystic breakouts... I've only really used them with whiteheads. Hope it helps!

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  20. I figure if it doesn't work, at least I'll have it on hand for the next whitehead I get, so, win-win! I will let you know!

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  21. WOAH I've never heard of this. But since I suffer from acne, I'll keep it in mind. Sounds so gross but effective haha Thanks for sharing.

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  22. Curious and repulsed at the same time. Must order these...

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  23. They really are worth a try! Gross but effective is probably the most succinct way to put it. :)

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  24. Mmm, repulsive beauty products. Haha. Unfortunately there's no way to describe how these work without mentioning the pus, so there ya go...

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  25. This sounds really awesome and really gross. I don't get acne very often, although I am having a terrible flare up right now, but these sound perfect for my occasional disgusting cheek pimples!

    http://mattekat.blogspot.ca/

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  26. I've never heard of these, but they sound genius! As a bit of a gross person, I am interested in this face-goo-sucking business. I can't believe these aren't extremely popular already!

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  27. I think they are ideal for occasional disgusting cheek pimples, haha! I don't get bad breakouts 100% of the time, but my skin seems to get extra-angry during a certain time of the month (ahem) and these are very useful to have on hand...

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  28. Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only gross person out there! I tried to explain to my boyfriend in detail how Nexcare patches work, and he seemed slightly horrified. But just slightly.

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  29. I definitely need these!!!! Thank you for the introduction to them; I have never seen these before.



    Polished Portland

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  30. No problem! They're worth seeking out. :)

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