Here’s Why Needle Patches Will Be Your New Skincare BFF

Let’s be real: as amazing as some skincare products might sound, we all know that there are limits as to what topical skincare products can do. Which is why some women turn to aesthetic treatments like lasers, threadlifts and injectables for more pronounced and long-lasting results. But if anything remotely invasive makes you cringe, would something that improves the penetration of active ingredients while remaining non-invasive sound like a fantastic alternative?

Enter the category of needle patches: skincare patches which come with tiny spikes on one end so that when applied onto the skin, pushes active ingredients deeper into the skin without actually being invasive. The idea of delivery active ingredients into the body via such needle patches is not new, as it’s been used in medical therapies to deliver drugs into the blood via the skin. Now adapted to be suitable for at-home use, these tiny needles are usually made with soluble ingredients so that they can be completely absorbed into the skin over time while releasing specific active ingredients to target skin conditions like breakouts and fine lines.

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From the moment you apply these patches onto your skin, the tiny needles first make tiny openings into your skin surface to facilitate optimal penetration of active ingredients. And as they start to dissolve, these active skincare ingredients then get absorbed by skin cells for their desired effect. Here, the best needle patches to try, regardless of whether you need to calm breakouts or plump wrinkles:

Medicube Red Spot Solution Needle Patch, $13

Made with hyaluronic acid and madecassoside, the tiny needles on this patch instantly penetrate the skin to reduce inflammation and neutralise redness so that any angry red zit looks less visible. At the same time, it also delivers moisture to the area so that the skin is not dry and flaky even as the zit subsides. If you’re worried about makeup application, use this before bedtime on specific pimples and you’ll wake up to smoother, less bumpy skin.

Acropass Trouble Cure, about $24

Combat unexpected breakouts with this intensive, two-step treatment product. First, sanitise the area with its cleansing pad, which is soaked in salicyclic acid and tea tree leaf oil to decongest pores and kill bacterial. Then, apply the pimple patch onto your skin as a combination of hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and peptide is gradually released into the skin to help your blemish heal faster and reduce the inflammation.

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111Skin Meso Infusion Overnight Micro Mask, about $170, Net-A-Porter

Made with a unique self-dissolving structure technology, each pair is infused with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C to deeply penetrate skin to plump fine lines and stimulate collagen production.

Beauty Pie Hyaluronic Acid Microneedle Patch, about $266

Developed to fade deep wrinkles, each patch has tiny needles to infuse skin with anti-ageing ingredients. Amongst them is Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, a powerful peptide which stimulates the production of collagen to improve skin elasticity and firmness. In addition, hyaluronic acid plumps fine lines and madecassoside soothes inflammation.

ZitSticka Killa, about $39

Feel a bump coming on and you want to nip it in the bud? ZitSticka’s zit patch is powered by its unique microdart technology to deliver active ingredients deep into the epidermis to effectively combat that burgeoning blemish. Each microdart is much finer than a strand of hair, and dissolves into skin to release plumping hyaluronic acid, OG-76 (a peptide that stops zits in their tracks), exfoliating salicylic acid and soothing niacinamide.

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