By now, you've likely seen pimple patches. Rather, if you're a beauty fan or are acne-prone you've likely seen them. The K-beauty staple made its way stateside over the last several years, and now there are a plethora of options on the market that target blemishes with small rounds of hydrocolloid. (A small dossier: Hydrocolloid is a medical-grade dressing that helps absorb moisture and gunk.) The more sophisticated options contain actives such as willow bark, salicylic acid, and tea tree oil to help expedite the exfoliating and healing process. 

And while these do wonders to help tend to your breakouts in the moment, even the most attentive among us may wind up with a dark spot from post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. When this happens, we can turn to ingredients that help brighten skin, improve cell turnover, and soothe residual inflammation. Enter the new wave of patches: dark spot patches. 

Ingredients to target dark spots are a mainstay in beauty. Nothing new to report here: We've long talked about dark spot correctors, serums, and treatments that wield actives to help brighten and even tone. A few of the ingredients you likely even recognize, be it niacinamide, vitamin C, hydroxy acids, and various antioxidants like green tea. 

The delivery method of patches, however, does make them quite novel. Popping these stickies on the residue of an inflamed blemish helps impart a high, target dose of brighteners right to the source of the issue. And while you'd probably get more mileage with an all-over serum if your discoloration concerns are more robust—for those with just a one-off red or brown speck of skin, this can give you the results you want in the exact area you want. 

For example, I have a dark spot on my cheek that doesn't seem to want to go away. However, I've moved away from using exfoliators or potent actives all over (I've been experiencing more sensitive skin lately). But this helps me treat the stain without having to treat my whole face with ingredients that could potentially cause a flare-up. Sounds good, no?

Well, there aren't too many on the market at the moment, but in the meantime, we've rounded up our favorites.