So, you’ve patched up a pimple and it's now been at least 6 hours. You peel off the patch to check out that gross, but satisfying gunk and while there’s gunk on the patch, you also spot a little bit of redness too or maybe there’s a little gunk still left behind.
Whether it’s redness or some leftover pimple gunk, don’t be too rash and pick at the spot after you’ve just patched it. Even if there is still some pus visible, you don’t have to pop the spot to get the rest of it out. Sometimes, pimples may need more than one patch to get all the gunk out.
But, if you’re dealing with some post-blemish redness, another pimple patch might not do the trick. Redness after a pimple has healed is normal and is known as post-inflammatory erythema (or PIE) which basically means that there’s a reddish spot left behind after a pimple is gone.
What to do after patching:
When the pus doesn’t get fully absorbed after using one blemish patch, you can always apply another afterwards to help get the rest of the pus out. Hydrocolloid patches are gentle enough and non-drying so they are safe to use multiple patches on the same spot without risk of irritation.
So, If you’ve already applied a patch and it has managed to remove some gunk but not all of it follow these steps:
- Cleanse the skin with a gentle cleanser.
- If you have a toner in your routine, apply it to the spot after cleansing.
- Pick a fresh, new blemish patch and apply it to the spot on dry skin.
- Wait 6 to 8 hours then remove the patch.
On a quick note, you might be tempted to just try popping the pimple to get the rest of the gunk out, but you could run the risk of having the spot bleed or even leave a post-blemish scar behind. Our advice: just re-patch the spot and let the blemish patch do all the work.
On the other hand, if you are left with a little bit of redness after removing the patch, a regular blemish patch may not help in this case.
Even with no more gunk left in a pimple, sometimes redness will linger. The inflammation that occurs when breakouts pop up is usually the culprit when it comes to post-blemish red spots. While these spots can go away on their own, it can take quite a bit of time for them to disappear.
If you want to help the spot heal a bit quicker, you can apply our Dark Spot Brightening Patch, formulated with Niacinamide to help soothe and reduce redness. Just follow these steps:
- Cleanse the skin with a gentle cleanser.
- If you have a toner in your routine, apply it to the spot after cleansing.
- Apply the Dark Spot Brightening Patch over the spot (on dry skin) and press down for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Leave the patch on for 6 to 10 hours, or overnight.
- Reapply the patch, as needed to help the redness fade. But, remember to limit use of the patch to 2 to 3 times a week.
To wrap up:
If you’re not too sure about what to do after patching a pimple, you can always reapply a blemish patch if there is still gunk in the pimple or if you’re dealing with PIE (aka red spots) apply a dark spot patch to help reduce redness.
