The Spot Check
Which patch, which spot, and how long to leave it on.
Start here
Press gently on the spot. What do you feel?
A. A sore, firm lump under the skin. Nothing on the surface yet. It hurts before it shows. Early, deep, still forming. Reach for a microdart patch.
B. A soft head you can see. White or yellow at the tip. Surfaced, late stage. Reach for a hydrocolloid patch.
C. Both, on different days or different parts of your face. You are normal. Most skin does both. Use the right one each time.
That is the whole decision. Everything below is the detail.
Why the two are not interchangeable
A hydrocolloid patch works on the skin. It is a soft, translucent disc that sits over an open or surfaced spot, covers it, and draws fluid up and out while you sleep. It needs something to draw. On a deep lump with no opening, there is nothing at the surface for it to reach, so it mostly just covers.
A microdart patch works in the skin. The underside carries 420 tiny soluble darts. They dissolve into the upper layer and deliver actives where the spot is actually forming. That is why it is the one for the sore lump that has not surfaced.
The short version: hydrocolloid is for what you can see. Microdart is for what you can only feel.
How long to leave it on
This is the question we get most, and the answer is different for each.
Microdart: 6 to 8 hours. Long enough for the darts to dissolve fully. Longer does not do more. Apply on clean, dry skin before bed, remove in the morning. Do not wet the patch before applying. Damp skin dissolves the darts before they go in.
Hydrocolloid: until it turns white, or up to 8 hours. The patch turns cloudy or white as it draws. That is the signal it has done its work. If it is still clear after a few hours, the spot had little to give, and that is fine. Change it for a fresh one if the spot is still open.
Both. Clean, dry skin. No serum, no oil, no moisturiser underneath. Press the centre first, then the edges. Do not peel it off dry, lift slowly from one edge.
The three nights
One night is rarely the whole story, and nobody tells you when to stop. Here is the version we would give a friend.
Night one. Clean skin, completely dry. Press the centre of the patch first, then work outwards to the edges. Microdart goes on before bed and stays 6 to 8 hours. Hydrocolloid stays until it turns white, up to 8 hours.
The morning after. Lift slowly from one edge. Never peel a patch off dry.
With hydrocolloid, a patch that has gone cloudy or white has drawn what it can. The skin under it often looks flatter and calmer than it did the night before. It can also look pale or slightly crinkled from being covered. That settles within the hour.
With microdart, you may see a faint pattern of tiny dots where the darts sat, or feel a light roughness. That fades on its own.
Night two, and the question most people skip. Press the spot again and ask the same question you answered on this page. The answer may have changed. A deep lump that came to a head overnight is now a job for hydrocolloid, not for microdart. This is the single most useful line in this guide: on the same spot, the right patch can change from one night to the next.
Fresh patch every night. A used patch has nothing left to give.
Night three. This is where most people stop. By the third morning, a spot that was going to settle has usually flattened or come to a head. If it has surfaced, keep going with hydrocolloid until a fresh patch stops turning white. That is the signal there is nothing left to draw.
When to stop. If three nights have made no visible difference, a fourth and a fifth are unlikely to. Stop patching that spot and leave the skin uncovered for a few days. And if the same spot keeps returning to the same place, that is a pattern, not a single spot. A pattern is worth a conversation with a dermatologist.
Where it fits in your routine
The whole rule in one line: your routine goes around the patch, not under it.
Evening
- Cleanse as usual. 2. Dry the spot completely. Not nearly dry. This is the step almost everyone rushes, and it is the reason most patches slide off by 2am. 3. Patch on. Centre first, then the edges. 4. Now do the rest of your routine, going around the patch. Serum, essence, moisturiser, oil, all of it, everywhere except the patch and the ring of skin it sits on.
Nothing goes underneath. Not toner, not serum, not moisturiser, not a spot cream. A patch cannot stick to product, and a microdart patch loses its darts to moisture before they reach anything.
Morning
- Patch off first, slowly, from one edge. 2. Then your normal morning routine, including that spot. Skin that has been covered all night can take moisturiser. 3. Sunscreen last, over the area. If you are wearing a hydrocolloid patch through the day, sunscreen goes around it, not under it.
If you use actives
Retinol, acids and benzoyl peroxide belong on the rest of your face, or on the nights you are not patching. Keep them away from the skin under a patch. Layering them beneath one is not what either is designed for.
Under makeup
A hydrocolloid patch is 10 mm and translucent, thin enough to wear through the day. Makeup goes over the patch, not under it. A microdart patch is made for overnight wear on bare skin.
The three things that make it worse
1. Squeezing first. This is the big one. A spot you have squeezed is an open wound with broken edges. It now takes longer to settle and is far more likely to leave a mark. If you have already squeezed, a hydrocolloid patch is the right call, to cover it and stop you going back to it.
2. Applying to damp or product-covered skin. Neither patch sticks properly, and a microdart patch loses its darts to the moisture before they reach anything.
3. Leaving one on for two days. It is not a bandage. Once it has drawn what it can, it is just a sticker. Change it or take it off.
When a patch is not the tool
Honest section, because trust is worth more than one sale.
- Spots that never come to a head and keep coming back in the same place. That pattern is worth a conversation with a dermatologist, not a patch.
- Widespread breakouts across the whole face. Patches are spot tools. Covering twenty spots is not what they are for.
- Broken or irritated skin, or anything you are unsure about. Ask a professional first.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Both of our patches contain salicylic acid. Ask your doctor before using any product containing it.
