COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch for dry skin
Hydrocolloid Dressing
Cellulose Gum
Salicylic Acid
Melaleuca Alternifolia Tree Oil Leaf
Liquid ParaffinAverage
- AverageDry Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for dry skin; other serums fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with dry skin: flakiness, tightness, dehydration, fine lines, and wrinkles. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate suitability for dry skin as cellulose gum helps absorb exudate and protect blemishes, though it lacks essential humectants and emollients to directly address dryness.
- The formula provides general skincare benefits and is safe for your dry skin due to the absence of harsh ingredients, but it does not offer specialized hydration or smoothing for flaky skin.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your dry skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Apply this serum PM, starting 3×/week and working up to daily use as your skin adjusts.
- Place the serum after cleansing and toner, but right before your moisturizer.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the serum into your skin and let it absorb for a minute.
- Apply the serum on slightly damp skin to help lock in extra moisture.
- Avoid the eye area and do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 110.0k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this hydrocolloid patch is highly praised for its ability to extract impurities from whiteheads and prevent scarring by discouraging skin picking. It is very effective for surface-level pimples with visible heads, though it is generally reported as ineffective for deep, cystic, or hormonal acne that has not yet surfaced.
Highlights
Extracts gunk effectively Mostly Mentioned
- “Sucked the whitehead right out overnight.”
- “Woke up to see the patch white with absorbed gunk.”
- “Flattened my pimple completely by morning.”
- “Visibly pulls out pus and oil.”
- “Works like magic on ripe whiteheads.”
Prevents skin picking Often Mentioned
- “Stops me from touching and infecting the spot.”
- “Keeps my hands off my face.”
- “Great physical barrier against scratching.”
- “Helps me break the bad habit of popping.”
- “Protects the wound while it heals.”
Speeds up healing Often Mentioned
- “Reduces redness and inflammation significantly.”
- “Pimple healed in half the usual time.”
- “Prevents scabbing and scarring.”
- “Calms angry spots overnight.”
- “Spot was nearly gone after one use.”
Ineffective on cystic acne Often Mentioned
- “Did nothing for my deep, under-the-skin bumps.”
- “Useless on blind pimples without a head.”
- “Wasted a patch on hormonal cystic acne.”
- “Only works if the pimple is already open.”
- “No effect on early-stage, deep blemishes.”
Stays on well Sometimes Noted
- “Stayed on through a whole night of sleep.”
- “Survived a shower without peeling off.”
- “Adheres strongly even on oily skin.”
- “Doesn't budge once applied to dry skin.”
Not truly invisible Sometimes Noted
- “Too thick to wear under makeup.”
- “Visible shiny circle on my face.”
- “Obvious yellow tint against my skin.”
- “Okay for Zoom calls, but not for going out.”
- “Hard to conceal due to thickness.”
Adhesion issues Rarely Noted
- “Peels off if I toss and turn at night.”
- “Won't stick if I have any moisturizer on.”
- “Edges lift up after a few hours.”
- “Slips off easily on very oily areas.”
Sources: lovi.care, iherb.com, amazon.com, ulta.com, sokoglam.com, dermstore.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch work for dry skin?
COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch works moderately well for dry skin by protecting blemishes and absorbing fluid, though it does not provide specialized hydration for dry areas. It is unlikely to cause irritation due to its gentle formula, but dry skin needs treatments containing hydrating and skin-repairing ingredients like propolis, niacinamide, ceramides, vitamin C, or peptides.
Which ingredients make this patch a good fit for dry skin?
Cellulose gum is the key ingredient that helps protect blemishes and absorb fluid on your dry skin. Because this patch lacks specialized hydrating ingredients, a treatment for dry skin needs nourishing components like ceramides, vitamin C, peptides, or propolis and niacinamide to keep skin soft and smooth.
What does Hydrocolloid Dressing do for dry skin?
Hydrocolloid Dressing may increase skin moisture when applied to dry skin, though repetitive removal can sometimes disrupt the skin barrier. A product of this type needs gentle adhesive edges and hydrating ingredients like ceramides to protect dry skin.
What does Cellulose Gum do for dry skin?
Cellulose Gum helps keep dry skin soft and smooth by holding moisture in place and supporting a comfortable feel. This ingredient has a very safe profile and is unlikely to cause irritation when used in your daily skincare routine.
Where does this patch go in a skincare routine for dry skin?
This patch goes in the evening routine after cleansing and before moisturizing, though it only offers moderate suitability for dry skin. Because it lacks essential hydrating and softening ingredients to directly address dry and flaky skin, a dry skin routine needs additional moisturizing ingredients and soothing hydrators.
Can I use this patch with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this patch while using retinol, applying it directly on blemishes during your evening routine after your moisturizer has absorbed. The patch is unlikely to irritate dry skin, but a product for this skin needs added humectants and emollients to prevent dryness.
How often should I use this patch?
You can use this treatment in your evening routine. A product of this type needs moisture-binding ingredients and nourishing oils to keep dry skin soft and smooth.
Can this patch clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for dry skin?
This patch is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts on dry skin because it is free of harsh ingredients and has a very safe formula. It helps protect blemishes without causing irritation, though a product for dry skin also needs extra moisture and softening ingredients to keep flaky areas smooth.
What the research says
Biocellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose wound dressings significantly reduced healing times and wound areas compared to normal saline dressings in epidermolysis bullosa skin wounds.
Journal of Wound Care, 2019Polymeric bioadhesive microparticles composed of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and Soluplus and loaded with 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid form an in situ hydrogel upon contact with wound exudate, enabling controlled drug release that stimulates keratinocyte growth.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2021Daily application of hydrocolloid dressing completely prevented nasogastric tube-related pressure injuries, whereas skin care interventions showed no significant preventive effect compared to the control group in intensive care unit patients.
Journal of Tissue Viability, 2024Hydration of scars for 2 months resulted in significantly reduced itching, somewhat reduced pain, and increased pliability by 10% for both hydrocolloid dressing and moisturizer treatments in patients with keloids or hypertrophic scars, with no change in physical parameters.
Dermatologic Surgery, 1996Adjunctive hydrocolloid dressing with 0.1% mometasone furoate cream significantly increased treatment efficacy and cost-effectiveness compared to topical steroid alone in patients with moderate to severe lichen simplex chronicus.
Skin Health and Disease, 2023Cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel provided excellent correction of facial defects, high tolerance, and absence of side effects or migration issues in 84 healthy volunteers.
Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2010Biodegradable wound dressings functionalized with silver nanoparticles showed >99% pathogen growth inhibition, bactericidal effects, free radical scavenging, reduced inflammatory response in macrophages, and accelerated wound healing in animals.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 20223D-printed carboxymethyl cellulose/ε-polylysine hydrogels exhibited 95% antibacterial inhibition against E. coli and S. aureus, removed excessive reactive oxygen species, and promoted wound healing with increased VEGF and CD31 expression compared to Tegaderm film.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2021Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024A cream combining propolis, tea tree oil, and Aloe vera reduced erythema scars, acne severity index, and total lesion count better than erythromycin cream in sixty patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris compared to placebo.
Clinical Pharmacology, 2018Tea tree oil nanoemulsion containing adapalene gel demonstrated significantly greater reductions in total, inflammatory, and non-inflammatory acne lesions as well as acne severity index compared to adapalene marketed gel in 100 patients with acne vulgaris over 12 weeks.
Archives of Dermatological Research, 2022Topical 5% tea tree oil gel significantly improved total acne lesions and acne severity index compared to placebo in 60 patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris, showing 3.55 times and 5.75 times greater efficacy respectively.
Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology, 2007Repeated application of concentrated water-in-oil emulsions over four weeks caused no skin irritation, positively affected skin properties, and delivered almost 50% of the applied fluorescein sodium, with isopropyl myristate showing superior penetration performance compared to liquid paraffin in healthy volunteers.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2019
Why other serums fit dry skin better
A topical serum containing vitamin C, vitamin E, and raspberry leaf cell culture extract improved skin color, elasticity, radiance, smoothness, scaliness, and wrinkles compared to the untreated contralateral side in fifty female volunteers.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Treatment with cross-linked hyaluronic acid-based microneedle patches combined with acetyl hexapeptide-8 or epidermal growth factor significantly improved wrinkles and skin hydration compared to the patch alone in Korean females over 29 days.
Annals of Dermatology, 2019
Ingredients
Cellulose Gum, Styrene Isoprene Styrene Block Copolymer, Polyisobutylene, Petroleum Resin, Polyurethane Film, Liquid Paraffin, Tetrakis Methane
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
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