the best thing ever

My uncle travels quite a bit between Buenos Aires to Seoul to Chicago and he always brings us goodies- usually a ton of duty-free chocolate and trendy beauty items from Seoul. Last year he brought these weird pimple stickers...on the packaging it said this product is only available at the pharmacy which caught my attention right away. Despite the creepy doll-like cartoon on the front, the product itself has become a bit of an obsession for me and my sisters (even my bro-in law haha). Here's a quick overview of my experience with this- what it is, what it does, the best way to use it, and where you can buy it!

What it is/does

I did a bunch of research on this because as many of you know, I have the most sensitive skin eva. Basically it's made of a material called Hydrocolloid- a type of wound dressing. Unlike a typical bandaid or gauze dressing, it adheres to the skin without the need for tape or glue (which are often irritating). It provides a moist environment for the wound to heal- I'm not a doctor but you know how wounds heal really fast in your mouth because of the moist surrounding? Pretty much the same concept. On acne spots, the dressing works two ways- first it prevents picking which can lead to deeper infections and scarring, and secondly, it blocks bacteria from entering and spreading to other parts of the face. For those of us with sensitive skin, it's awesome because there are little to no side effects or risk of irritation. I've also used it on the sides of my nose when I get eczema from the weather and it helps to calm the redness within a couple days!

How to use/some tips

In the beginning, I wasn't sure how to use the stickers so I just stuck it randomly all over my face lol. As time went on, I realized these work on certain types of acne and not so much on others. It does not work on- blackheads or pores (blackheads and pores are a result of genetics and lack of exfoliation) but it does work on- whiteheads, the typical red bumps (that have come to a head), and a little bit on deeper cystic acne spots. Okay now here's the kind of gross but satisfying part- the best way to use these is to wash your face thoroughly at night with a mild cleanser, moisturize only on the dry areas of the face (avoid putting moisturizer on the spots), then grab either a lance or sewing needle, disinfect it like it's your job, prick the whitehead of the acne spot, take a clean q-tip and gently squeeze excess gunk (you don't want to see blood!), then put the sticker on the spot overnight. I know it sounds gross and time consuming but I swear your spot will be at least 75% healed in one night! The next morning, you'll see the sticker has gone from a clear jelly like consistency to a more white, opaque color (it's basically the gunk from your spot that was absorbed into the sticker). It doesn't hurt to peel off and if there's any stickiness from the sticker, it'll wash off with warm water and face wash. If the spot is still looking funky, feel free to use a sticker during the day- it's a little noticeable but probably less noticeable than an angry red spot.

Where to buy

It's safe to say that almost anyone who suffers from acne spots can benefit from this product! Unless you have severe acne all over the face, these little zit stickers will save you from picking the crap out of your skin and heal the spots faster than any cream or medication can. Especially if you follow the steps I listed above, you'll soon become obsessed with these, too =] You can find them on Ebay or certain Asian sites like Yes Style.

<3yaeinn  

(Ecc3:11)