Yo, people with acne

These are hydrocolloid bandages. They work wonders at pulling fluid through skin and absorbing all that gunk. 

You can cut them down to size, wear them on your face at night, and in the morning you’ll see a noticeable difference plus the bandage visibly absorbs the goo and it’s gross but weirdly satisfying.

They’re cheaper than most acne products, they work, and 1 pack lasts for ages. They’re sold in the band-aid section of most pharmacies; try them if you can.

it’s the same stuff they use to make those new acne spot patches, but

• medical grade material, absorbs more fluid
• much cheaper 
• comes in a large size you can trim down. some people use hole punchers to cut out circles to wear during the day. i trim large rectangles to use on problem spots at night

These are also absolutely game-changing for anybody with a skin-picking problem. This is a judgment-free zone, I’ve Been There, and there are plenty of times I still find myself unable to leave something alone, whether it be a bug bite or a pimple or whathaveyou, because it’s There and I can’t ignore it long enough for it to properly heal.

Hydrocolloids basically act as a scab over the thing you can’t stop bothering, and as Gaud mentions above, they absorb gunk, which makes them bubble up like a little artificial blister. It’s so satisfying, you have something to pokepokepoke at, without actually hecking up the thing healing under the bubble.

These are, hands down, the fastest way to get problem spots under control; you can leave them on for multiple days at a time (up to a week, actually), based on the size, location and severity of your picky spot, so you can slap a hydrocolloid on something minor before it becomes a problem, and four days later or so you peel it off and there is no more problem, just smooth new skin. (They minimize scarring too, in case that’s something anybody else has psychological issues with.)

Basically, these are magical and they’re worth every. single. cent.

well hot damn

have you noticed if they help with old scarring? my picky areas are kind of my entire upper arms, back of neck, and various shoulder regions.

Yannow what? I have no idea? My instincts say probably not, hydrocolloids help speed up a natural bodily healing process called debridement (DON’T LOOK UP PHOTOS THEY’RE HORRIFYING), so once your body’s finished bombing an area with white blood cells and scar tissue’s formed, I want to say a hydrocolloid won’t do anything.

That being said, there’s another option in the ‘stick a gooey bandage on it and ignore it for a while’ field of treatment, and they’re called “silicone scar sheets.” They’ve been used as a treatment for scarring, both new and old, since the 90’s, and while I can’t personally vouch for their efficacy, apparently they do actually work?

I see ‘em at the pharmacy all the time, and I’ve been too put off by the price to have actually noticed that apparently they’re reusable???

I just learned this in the last thirty minutes, so I’m here like “?????” but more critically, scientists are also like “?????” because despite having been in effective use for thirty-some years, they don’t know how or why silicone gel treatments work. This is honestly hilarious to me and has piqued my contrarian nature, so TELL YA WHAT:

I will run a field test for you! If one box of silicone gel sheets actually is the two-month supply it advertises itself to be, they’re cheaper than an equal volume of hydrocolloids, especially if there’s an equivalent store brand. I’ve got a couple largeish, unlovely surgical scars I wouldn’t mind being rid of, so. Yeah.

I’ll pick up some scar sheets this week and try ‘em out, then update you on how that goes. Call me weird, but I won’t recommend something to somebody else unless I have firsthand experience with something, and I have intense opinions about bandaid-type products.

LET’S SEE HOW IT GOES

in my experience, silicone sheets are quite helpful for scars!

• i’ve seen studies mention that they probably work by keeping the area continually moist (love that awful word. MOIST.) but no one’s really sure
• i’ve noticed the most improvement when using them on new scars for 2 or 3 weeks, but you can still get long-term improvement for months afterwards

the one annoyance i’ve had is some brands don’t stick very well, so you may have to tape over them or try another brand. they also make silicone gel, which is applied like a liquid bandage. there’s less research on the effectiveness of gel, so if you use it, i recommend applying a normal silicone sheet over it (buy the sheet + gel pack if you can).

but yeah, silicone will be especially helpful for newer scars, so apply it sooner rather than later. that said, it should improve the appearance of old scar if worn long enough.

note: silicone sheets are more expensive but can be worn for much longer than hydrocolloid bandages. they don’t absorb gunk and can be wiped off, so there’s nothing preventing you from wearing them for weeks at a time. like hydrocolloid bandages, there are plenty of generic options.

Great info! Just wanted to add I did some research about silicone scar sheets because of a nasty dog bite scar a while back and discovered that you can get a roll of silicone scar tape which is the same thing (near as I can tell) to the name-brand “Scar Away” but for way cheaper. This roll is 60 inches long x 1.6 inches wide for $15:

I didn’t end up using it so can’t verify if it works but my mom taught me to bargain hunt, so there ya go.

Also, I don’t know if it’s the same with acne scars, but what helped with my dog bite was (1) time and (2) regularly massaging the scar to break up the keloid and increase blood flow. It’s still more visible than I’d like but after 4 years it is definitely less red/raised than it was. Hope this helps, and thanks op for the info!