11 Best Pimple Patches for Every Type of Breakout, Tested by Glamour Editors

^{Original photo courtesy of Glamour associate beauty editor Danielle Sinay}

“ZitSticka Killa Kit is also an excellent product that contains salicylic acid,” says Dr. Mudgil, and I couldn’t agree more.

You know those horrible, deep, and painful pimples that form beneath the skin? The kind that, no matter how much you poke, prod, or treat, just won’t budge or stop growing? Well, I get at least one of those every month just before my menstrual cycle—sometimes, a few additional ones on my jaw—and nothing, and I mean nothing, has stopped them from getting worse, except for ZitSticka’s Killa Kit Self-Dissolving Microdart Acne Pimple Patches.

I know I’m not alone in that, either: I discovered these holy grail stickers whilst on a desperate Reddit query for anything that might keep hormonal breakouts at bay. One user’s post about them was so convincing I decided to give them a try—it said something like, “these are the only patches that make a difference in my cystic pimples”—and months later, I wish I saved her username so I could thank her, because SAME! I’ve ordered and reordered more times than I can count because they really do stop those underground breakouts in their tracks, something I never even realized was possible. Cystic acne, you’ve met our match.

^{Original photo courtesy of Glamour commerce editor Jake Henry Smith}

Glamour commerce editor Jake Henry Smith is pretty much our in-house fashion expert, so it’s no surprise his preferred pimple patch is equally stylish. “What’s so great about Starface’s pimple-shrinking protectors? They’re hydrocolloid patches, which are known to suck up inflammatory fluid from pimples, curbing my stress-induced popping habit in the process,” he writes in his review. “These are also infused with salicylic acid, an acne-fighting active ingredient that can halt breakouts and heal blemishes faster by unclogging sebaceous glands deep within the pores. Their star shape is actually pretty important too, since the pointy arm shape allows it to grip skin more effectively than a circle.”

While Smith knows he’ll “be dealing with breakouts for the rest of time,” these adorable patches mean he no longer minds when pimples do pop up: “They’re simply excuses to accessorize a little more—and within a day or two, they’ll be gone.” It’s no wonder they won a Glamour Reader’s Choice Beauty Award!

^{Original photo courtesy of Glamour contributor Jessica Siskin}

While on the slightly pricier side of popular pimple patches, my good friend and fellow skin-care enthusiast, Jessica Siskin, a New York City–based writer, content creator, and author of Treat Yourself!: How to Make 93 Ridiculously Fun No-Bake Crispy Rice Treats, swears by the preventative powers of Peter Thomas Roth’s Acne-Clear Invisible Dots. In fact, she was so convincing in her plea she persuaded me to try them myself.

“There’s nothing else like the Peter Thomas Roth pimple patches—they completely nip pimples in the bud if they haven’t opened yet,” she tells Glamour. “Seriously, 99% of the time, if you feel a breakout coming, these will stop it from developing. They are life-changing.”

“This was the first K-beauty pimple patch I ever tried, and it still holds up,” says Glamour beauty contributor Sarah Y. Wu. “The thin hydrocolloid patches stay on all night (or day) and do an excellent job sucking out gunk from active breakouts. I also like that these packs come in a few sizes: small patches for my calmer breakouts and large dots for my monthly cystic chin acne. Everyone’s covered.”

Siskin says the same, pointing to COSRX as one of her preferred budget patches. “These are a great, affordable hydrocolloid option, especially if a pimple is already open,” she says.

^{Original photo courtesy of Glamour beauty contributor Sarah Y. Wu}

Here’s another pick recommended by Wu. “These microneedling pimple patches just dropped this month, and I’m already prepared to get backups,” says Wu. “They’re studded with micropins that are 1/7th the thickness of a strand of hair and coated with a potent mix of salicylic acid, cica, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide. Together, they help target sebum and inflammation while keeping my skin hydrated. I put this on a cheek pimple overnight and was shocked at how much it went down the next morning.”

^{Original photo courtesy of Glamour associate beauty editor Danielle Sinay}

TikTok star Tefi Pessoa turned me on to Rael’s pimple patches and I’ve never looked back, since they’re so sensitive-skin friendly, never fall off, and are genuinely invisible. “Rael’s Miracle Patches make your pimples invisible, and they don’t move!” she told Glamour. They’re so invisible, in fact, she wore them to the pool: “Nobody noticed when I wore one at the pool. I have very opinionated friends and they would’ve told me, but nobody could tell.”

Ideal for breakouts of all shapes, sizes, and parts of your face, there’s no pimple type or location Fazit’s Zit Zapper Acne Patches can’t handle. “I’ve tried every pimple patch you can imagine, but I love that Fazit’s Zit Zapper includes patches specifically made for different areas of your face,” says Glamour’s Navarro. “I tend to get hormonal breakouts on my chin, and this patch is perfect.”

^{Original photo courtesy of Glamour beauty contributor Sarah Y. Wu}

Scarring after breakouts? Look no further than Medicube’s Deep Vita C Patch. “If your breakouts are healing and on their way to forming dark spots, slap one of these brightening pimple patches on immediately,” says Wu. “Each of the 149 microtips is infused with a vitamin-rich blend of ascorbic acid, niacinamide, and glutathione to target hyperpigmentation and soothe redness. Think of them as a super concentrated vitamin C serum that fades acne marks faster. I’m obsessed.”

Stars really are just like us, in that they wear pimple patches, too! When Riverdale star Camila Mendes dropped her skin-care routine, she revealed her zit sticker of choice. “Good Light’s Luna Pimple Patches help shrink my blemishes, not only by absorbing the fluid inside them but also by keeping me from picking at them,” she says.