BASED IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, MICAH LAMBETH IS A FREELANCE COPYWRITER, BEAUTY AFICIONADO, AND GENERALLY CURIOUS CAT.

Ranking 15 Pimple Patches

  1. Skin & Lab

I’m OBSESSED with these. They’re my top favorite pimple patches for many reasons. #1: the packaging. They have this unique way to peel them that makes them very sanitary and intuitive to use. #2: they’re effective (the most important part!). As soon as a pimple comes to a head, pop one of these on and it’ll look loads better in a few hours. #3: they’re super thin, making them pretty invisible! #4: the cost! They’re super affordable and can be found at Most Inc. through Costco Next.

2. Rael

If you have consistent hormonal breakouts on your chin, these are lifesavers! They are the perfect size + shape to wear overnight to soak up tons of oil, plus take care of any whiteheads that are brought to the surface. My skin was insanely oily over the summer and these were amazing at making sure all that oil didn’t lead to even more breakouts. I only wish they came in bigger packs that you could buy at Target!

3. LitBear

While these are super standard, the price, efficacy, and size options you get are unbeatable. You get 16 8mm, 16 10mm, 16 12mm, 12 14mm, and 20 60 x 30mm patches. Apologies for all the numbers, but just know this: you get a crazy bang for your buck (80 patches for under $10!) The 60 x 30mm patches are incredible if you don’t want to splurge on the large Zitsticka ones (because who wants to spend money on something for their acne that they’re just going to throw away?!) Love these.

4. Derma Angel

These were the first pimple patches I’ve tried with a thinner ring around the edge, making them truly ULTRA invisible. The middle of the patch is still thick enough to absorb gunk out of my pores, so I appreciate how balanced these are. I had a TikTok go viral where I mentioned these and there were quite a few comments from people saying they also loved these, so it’s not just me! These are definitely worth a try.

5. Panoxyl

I love that these are called the “Overnight Spot Patches” because some brands are getting a bit lofty with their pimple patch claims. You really do need to leave them for at least 6 hours for them to work (in my experience). I also like that these don’t contain any added ingredients—just hydrocolloid, which works great for me. They are a bit thicker than some others, but I don’t mind for nighttime use. Overall, I’d give them a 7/10.

6. Welly

A few years ago, pimple patches weren’t as easily accessible in stores as they are now, so I stumbled upon these in Target’s bandage section and instantly knew they were a winner. I do prefer them at night since I like ones with a more invisible ring around the edges during the day (like Skin & Lab + DermaAngel). These are still not too thick or too thin, though. They definitely work, are a good price, and come in a super cute little tin you can reuse when you’re done with the patches!

7. Hero Cosmetics

I appreciate these for being one of the first to bring pimple patches to stores like Target, making pimple patches easily accessible to all of us acne-prone people out there. That said, these are super standard. No bells or whistles, which is fine, but at around $0.33 per patch, these wouldn’t be my top pick. My holy grail pimple patches (Skin & Lab) are around $0.13 per patch. I know we’re just talking about cents here, but when you go through as many pimple patches as I have, it adds up 😅

8. ZitSticka

If you get clusters of acne (making it annoying to use multiple small, round pimple patches in one area) you should definitely try these! My problem area with my skin has always been my chin, but especially in the last year for some reason. It’s just been so oily! These have been amazing at drawing out the gunk from pimples that have come to a head. I love the different shapes and will most likely repurchase!

9. Peach Slices

I remember a few years ago when these were available at CVS for around $3. While they’re not quite as cheap now (but still affordable!), they’re still good for the price + they’re available at more places now! It’s nice that each pack includes patches of three different sizes, but I’ll admit that I don’t love the smallest ones. As someone who gets deep, large, cystic spots, the small ones aren’t big enough to cover all that I need them to. Keep this in mind if you get the same kind of acne!

10. Curology

These are pretty standard. They’re thick all the way to the edge, meaning they’re not as invisible as others, but I use them overnight, so that’s fine. They don’t contain any added ingredients, which I prefer because I find that ones with added ingredients don’t stick to my skin as well. I also don’t feel that added ingredients are necessary—hydrocolloid works super well for me on its own. They’re around $0.25 per patch, which is more expensive than my holy grails (Skin & Lab). Overall, 6.5/10.

11. Hanhoo

I wanted to like these because they’re affordable (currently on sale for $2.56 for 36 patches at Walmart) and tons of people recommended them to me on TT. Unfortunately, these are a miss imo. They do kinda work, but they’re super thick, so they don’t conform well to the face. The thickness also makes them much more visible than most when wearing them. While these are the cheapest patches I’ve tried (~$0.07 per patch) go ahead and go with LitBear for $0.11 per patch. They’re so much better!

12. Plumpie

I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of super visible pimple patches (like Starface and other cute-sy ones) but I was curious about these since they’re larger than normal patches. I love the larger Rael Hotspot + Zitsticka Face Map patches so I wanted to use these similarly (at night when no one would be seeing me lol). Unfortunately, these are super thick to the point that they don’t move with the skin easily and they ended up falling off while I was sleeping, rendering them useless.

13. Starface

I hate to crush dreams of cute pimple patches, so I’m sorry to say that I’m Starface’s #1 hater. As a brand, they’re clearly great at marketing because these did NOTHING for me + many people who have commented on my reviews about them on TT. I think the hydrocolloid is too thin to absorb much, and the size + shape just aren’t it. There isn’t enough surface area to cover my big ass zits lol. They never do anything except just cover the blemish, so you might like them if that’s what you’re into.

14. Squish

These are definitely made to be seen with fun colors + a rhinestone in the middle, which I found out I don’t love. I tried these before I even tried Starface, when I thought I was confident enough to wear essentially a sticker on my face, but alas, I’m not. These have similar issues to Starface as well, in that they’re super thin and don’t absorb much. I do think the shape of these makes them slightly better than Starface, though, because the flower petals give them a larger surface area. These aren’t for me, but I’m sure someone who likes the designs and doesn’t mind wearing them in public would enjoy them for what they are!

15. Truly

I bought these in my ~stoner era~ and, y’all…don’t be like me. These are so bad. Worse than Starface somehow. The worst pimple patches I have ever tried. The thin bits of hydrocolloid at the top of the leaf make it so that these barely cover anything. They also don’t stick very well (I'm assuming because of the added hemp seed oil). I would wake up from wearing them overnight and they would be crinkled and stuck together. Would give these 0 stars if I could.

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