Pimple Patches: From 18th Century Beauty Spots to My Grocery Store Experiment
Recently, I came across a TikTok that stopped me in my tracks. Someone my age was passionately insisting that wearing pimple patches in public is “unprofessional” and “inappropriate.” She spoke about it with the same scandalized tone you’d expect if someone wore a whale-tail G-string to a corporate meeting.
It was honestly the first time I’d ever thought of pimple patches as anything but normal. To me, they’re no different than a Band-Aid, a tiny, discreet patch doing a job. But her reaction got me thinking: is it really that big of a deal to wear them out in public? Is it socially acceptable now, or are we still quietly judging each other’s skin care routines?
Before I dive into my personal experiment - wearing my pimple patches everywhere, unapologetically - I wanted to see if there’s any precedent. Turns out, “pimple patches” have been around a lot longer than we think.
A Brief History of Pimple Patches (a.k.a. Beauty Spots)
I first learned about beauty patches in a college costume history class. Aristocrats in the 17th century wore little decorative stickers, called beauty spots, to cover blemishes and scars — especially from diseases like smallpox or the effects of toxic makeup. So in a sense, our modern hydrocolloid dots have a lineage!
Ovid, the Roman poet who gave us vivid glimpses of ancient style, even wrote: “A number of beauty spots covered her superb forehead.” This could refer to natural moles — think Marilyn Monroe’s famous beauty mark — but it’s not a stretch to imagine people also placing faux spots to hide less glamorous marks.
The Greeks used splenia, linen pads or compresses, for wounds or to cover tattoos. The Romans picked up similar habits, and by the 16th century, the trend fully bloomed in Europe. Beauty patches became popular among the elite to hide pockmarks caused by smallpox or reactions from lead-based makeup… yes, lead, mercury, arsenic, and even horse crap were common cosmetic ingredients! Without modern skincare, bathing, or makeup removers, clogged pores were inevitable. Beauty spots were the quick fix.
By the time of Louis XIV (1638–1715), these patches evolved into little fashion statements. People cut them into hearts, crescents, stars, and more. They were playful, flirty, and a subtle way to communicate social status or romantic availability. The trend spread through France and Europe until the early 1700s, when the fall of French aristocracy and a shift to more “natural” looks made the practice fade away.
When Beauty Spots Came Back — and My Modern Take
Beauty patches never disappeared entirely. They popped up in the 1920s and ‘40s as retro-glam accents. You could even buy a cute little tin to keep your patches in. (Pimple patch brands today: please bring this back! Who wouldn’t want a pocket tin of star or heart-shaped patches to whip out on the go?)
So what does all this mean for my grocery store experiment? It means that slapping a tiny sticker on a blemish is hardly shocking. It’s history repeating itself, just with hydrocolloid science instead of velvet moons and mercury-laced powder.
The Point: It’s Just a Patch
By the end of this, I’ll share my real-world results: did people stare? Did anyone care? For now, here’s my takeaway: maybe wearing a pimple patch in public isn’t about being “unprofessional” or “inappropriate” at all. Maybe it’s just a modern twist on an old, very human impulse: to cover what we want to cover, decorate what we want to decorate, and not apologize for our skin.
Stay tuned for the results of my sticker experiment and if you see me rocking a heart-shaped patch in aisle five, just know I’m in good company.
