Jan 17, 2026 14:00:00

The history of acne patches is actually quite old

Acne patches are widely used in modern society to hide and make acne less noticeable, protect from external stimuli, or treat acne with applied medication. The history of acne patches is surprisingly long, with documents dating back to the 1600s. Historian Sarah Reid explains the history of acne patches.

Pimple patches have hidden our blemishes for hundreds of years – historian explains

https://theconversation.com/pimple-patches-have-hidden-our-blemishes-for-hundreds-of-years-historian-explains-271013

The popularity of acne patches is not new; in 17th-century Europe, acne patches made from leather, paper, and silk were already being used. According to Reid, acne patches at that time were cut into diamond, star, and crescent shapes and came in a variety of colors, with black being particularly popular. This is thought to be because black provided a striking contrast to the pale complexion idealized by upper-class Western men and women.

Pimple patches also symbolized not working outdoors. They were also considered attractive accessories, with the 1602 play 'Blurt, Master-Constable' writing that 'if properly applied, they will attract the eyes of men, and make them take glances at you.' The 1601 play 'Jack Drum's Entertainment' states, 'Some wear black patches for pride, others to stop tears, or hide scabs.'

In addition, the diary of Samuel Pepys, a naval administrator, wrote, 'In the spring of 1660, at The Hague, two ladies, very beautiful and fashionable, with black patches, sang merrily along the way. All fashionable people speak French or Latin, or both. Many of the women are very beautiful, well-dressed, and have the fashionable black patches.'

Pepys described patches as 'often moistened with saliva and fastened in place,' and recalled that in May 1668 he 'saw Lady Castlemaine, mistress of Charles II, demand a patch from the face of a maid, moisten it with her mouth, and fasten it to her own cheek.' Pepys's account also reveals that James, Duke of York, was also a fan of patches.

Even back then, acne patches were worn by people who wanted to look attractive, or had medicinal properties, and some were used to hide imperfections such as scars left by diseases like smallpox or syphilis.

Gradually, the latter use became unpopular, and there is an anecdote in which Charles I's chaplain likened the patch to the brand

of Cain in a sermon. The chaplain is said to have even suggested that 'wearing such ornaments would bring about the spread of plague,' and there are records that this gave rise to a trend in which the role of the patch was to conceal and deceive. This criticism gained more weight in the 18th century, and the use of the patch came to be associated with sexual promiscuity.

'From the late 17th century, written references to specially designed containers for holding patches began to appear. Fashionable people carried velvet or silk boxes for storing acne patches. This may be the catalyst for the modern acne patch craze,' concludes Reid.