This Viral Trend Has People Using Band-Aids On Breakouts & It's Working

Another day, another TikTok beauty trend. Only this one has legs, unlike some of the more questionable videos glossed over my feed. (Looking at you, "sunscreen contouring." Shudder.) 

This time, users have been placing bandages on their pimples overnight and waking up to calm, clearer skin. Take this video from user May Sanders (it's garnered 11.6 million views and counting): She secures a few Band-Aids over her face, cutting a couple in half to fit smaller areas, and leaves them on overnight. In the morning, she peels them off, et voilà—her blemishes have sufficiently shrunk in size. 

OK, you can't fasten just any bandage on your skin and expect it to magically erase your blemish. Rather, these users swear by Hydro Seal bandages (or their household moniker, "blister Band-Aids"). These are actually no different from the acne stickers and patches you may find peppering the market—they are made of hydrocolloid, which absorbs excess fluid, like oil and pus, without drying out the skin. 

Marketing, really. Hydrocolloid bandages as basically nothing but giant zit patches (since they're made to cover a larger surface area, like blistered heels, toes, and hands). And even if one is meant to deal with a wound and the other a blemish, the function is the same: Says Shamban, they both absorb excess fluid, speed up healing time, and protect the face from finicky fingers (which is half the battle when it comes to clearing zits, she notes). That's why the spot tends to turn white underneath the covering—it's from all the pus and gunk accumulating under the bandage without any air.

The bottom line? You can snag a box of these hydrocolloid bandages at your local drugstore and call it a night. Although, most proper pimple patches typically come loaded with an additional cocktail of acne-fighting ingredients, while these bandages typically only contain the hydrocolloid dressing.

Hydro-seal bandages are essentially the same thing as pimple patches—both are made with hydrocolloid, which can soak up all the gunk without tearing or drying out the skin. Although, pimple patches still earn their praise, especially if you're looking for additional ingredients to zap the spot.