These Acne Patches Showed My Cystic Body Breakout The Door

I know my way around an acne sticker. Whether nearly invisible or bright yellow and star-shaped, I’ve had acne for most of my teen years and all of my adult life so far, giving me ample time to familiarize myself with a growing category of hydrocolloid patches. At this point, the only ones I haven’t tried are those that have only recently launched — which was the case with Athena Club’s Zit Delete Healing Dots, $12.

I’m quite familiar with Athena Club, but in case you’re not, here’s the five-second intro. Founded by Maria Markina in 2017, the direct-to-consumer brand sought to fill a white space for affordable, accessible women’s care products. Sleek razor handles and period care were early claims to fame, but since then, the startup has branched out to bath products, skin care, candles, and more. 

Most acne patches work by drawing out the contents of pimples as well as acting as a protective patch to heal the skin and prevent picking or popping. What makes Athena Club’s version different, however, is the addition of skin-care ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and peptides that penetrate the skin, thanks to the microdart design that delivers the actives directly when applied. (Yes, you can feel the tiniest pinpricks when you press it on, and no, it does not hurt.)

While clear hydrocolloid patches tend to work best on whiteheads that have come to a head, anything with micro points can be ideal for cystic breakouts, which can be difficult to treat since they like to lurk deeper within the skin. While I luckily don’t get many cystic flare-ups on my face anymore, I do get them occasionally on my body, either on my back or on the tush. I try to work out regularly, but if I do so much as check email right after a spin class instead of heading straight to the shower, I’m bound to wake up with a body breakout. Anyway, when I discovered an especially angry zit on my groin (cute!), I wasted no time in unboxing my Zit Delete patches. 

As with any acne sticker, you want to apply it to clean, dry skin for proper adhesion. Athena Club's dots included three packs of two patches each (a total of six), plus a separate mini envelope to keep the remaining patch fresh if you don’t use two at a time. (Many micropoint patches come individually sealed for this reason.) 

The next morning, I carefully peeled off the patch to see what progress had been made. The pointy parts of the patch had dissolved (that’s how you know it’s doing its thing), and sure enough, my zit had calmed down considerably. The redness and irritation had almost disappeared, and the bump had dramatically decreased in size. Magic? Nope — but it sure felt like it.

For $12, these are kind of pricey for the number of patches, especially compared to other brands you can find at the drugstore or Amazon. Because of this, I wouldn't singlehandedly rely on these every time I get a breakout. Plus, for certain pimples, I actually think basic hydrocolloid dots work better to flatten and draw the contents out. That said, if you 1) are dealing with a painful, stubborn zit that simply won’t go away on its own or 2) have an emergency pimple that you want to clear up before a big event, then I would definitely keep these on hand. The one-two punch of effective ingredients coupled with a solid delivery method enables these to work insanely fast — honestly, breakouts never stood a chance.