For those with acne, there's nothing more uncomfortable than going to bed covered in lotions and potions in a bid to bring down an absolute corker of a spot that has erupted that day on your chin/forehead/insert spotty area here.
Although beneficial, sulphur smells awful, benzoyl peroxide creams almost always mean you'll wake up to flaky skin, and salicylic acid gels tend to be sticky – and being glued to your pillow all night is not the one.
But the dilemma of having to sleep on your back so your products can work their magic without being absorbed into your bedsheets or just giving up and letting your monster spot take over is officially no more, because cult acne treatment Mighty Patch by US brand Hero Cosmetics is finally available in the UK – and I for one am completely sold.
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If you're not yet familiar with the Korean-made product, it's simply a circular gel sticker (vegan and drug- and cruelty-free, FYI) that adheres to your spot. It may not look like much but it's seriously clever. Thanks to fluid-absorbing agents like pectin, it takes spots with a visible head (you know the ones) and works to draw out the pus without the need to squeeze, a habit which often leaves behind areas of hyperpigmentation that can sometimes take weeks to fade.
I've suffered with hormonal acne for around 10 years and find it so difficult not to pop and pick before bed, which ultimately leads to a spread of bacteria (and subsequently a cluster of brand new spots in the AM), not to mention scarring and flaking. But I just stuck this on, went to bed and woke up to a much smaller, more manageable blemish, instead of an unsightly whitehead, which are notoriously difficult to cover up, even with the most pigmented of concealers.
Think of it as a blister patch for your spots. Instead of drying out the area with chemicals, it simply extracts and prevents the bacteria from spreading to other areas of your skin. Okay, it is pretty gross to see the pus stuck to the patch when you peel it off, but at least it's not on your face, right?
So where can you buy them? Online at Amazon, where you'll find 36 12mm patches for £12.99.
After removing the patches, I'd recommend washing your face with a gentle foaming cleanser like La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Purifying Cleansing Gel, £9, to banish all traces of oil and bacteria before applying the rest of your products as normal.
Clear skin this way!