Tested by Brides: I Tried this TikTok Viral Skin Patch and it Smoothed My Fine Lines Just in Time for a Bachelorette Trip

Between stress from wedding planning, squinting in front of screens while scrolling endlessly through Airbnb listings, and UV damage from sun-soaked bachelorette weekends, it’s no surprise that you see a few more fine lines ahead of the wedding day. And, sure injectables are one option to mitigate these effects, but for the needle-averse among us Hero Cosmetic just launched a less invasive and more affordable option to rejuvenate your skin. 

Enter: The Mighty Patch for Fine Lines. Yep, the same brand behind the viral TikTok pimple treatment and the one that made wearing acne patches in public cool (and discreet), is delving into the world of non-acne-related skincare. And it's the perfect addition your pre-wedding skincare regimen.

Personally, I couldn’t be more thrilled with a product that targets fine lines and will—fingers crossed—finally help keep my foundation from settling into my smile lines. I had a big bachelorette trip coming up and wanted to get my skin in top shape for the weekend. After applying the patch twice over the course of a week, I found that my lines looked less pronounced and my skin felt smoother.

Keep reading to see how it worked.

Shop now: Hero Cosmetics, $25

The Inspiration

Hero Cosmetics has quickly climbed the staircase to fame and still has a comfortable seat at the top because the brand is always finding innovative ways to target what customers need. Take the Hero Cosmetics Mighty Patch Original, for example. The pimple patch takes up plenty of real estate on social media feeds and people’s skin because it's a hassle-free, more comfortable way to target blemishes in the comfort of your home and out in public thanks to its invisible design. 

The Mighty Patch for Fine Lines builds off this momentum in the same way by addressing another common skincare issue, says Ju Rhyu, Co-Founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics. “We know that acne is just one skin issue that people face amongst other concerns (rosacea, sensitive skin, etc),” she adds and explains that in their studies, the brand found that nearly 70 percent of its consumers were interested in a healthy-aging product from Hero. 

“We combined these two facts and decided it made so much sense for us to offer a Mighty Patch product leveraging our expertise in patches and micropoint format to tackle a totally different concern for us: fine lines,” says Rhyu.

The Product

Like the Mighty Patches for acne, whiteheads, and dark spots, the new product is a flexible, nearly undetectable transparent strip you apply to the problem area.  “It leverages our superior hydrocolloid patches and unique micropoint technology (same as Micropoint for Blemishes),” says Rhyu. “It's exciting because since we're using the same product foundation, I believe we can do to fine-line patches what we did for acne patches.” If that’s the case, you can expect one box of these to sell every two seconds, as it currently does for the original patches.

So how does it work? The over 1300 micropoints on each patch employ retinol and a couple of other vital ingredients to rejuvenate complexions while you sleep, work, or do practically anything else for the six to eight hours they stay on your skin. The patches are about the length and shape of a small Band-Aid, except that they are much thinner and have more defined, curved edges for easy application to tricky areas such as the sides of your mouth and around the outer corners of the eyes. 

Formula

Although this isn’t a miracle solution to quelling drama between in-laws or planning the perfect honeymoon, the patches can take the stress out of wedding planning by using science-backed ingredients to make it at least appear as though you’ve got everything under control.

The star of this show is retinol, which is a vitamin A derivative that helps increase collagen production, says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Nazarian. “It’s one of the easiest things that you can add to your regimen to help preserve your skin and repair skin aging,” she adds. The formula also contains adenosine which similarly improves signs of aging, including skin laxity, wrinkling, and increasing hydration.

What’s even better is that the retinol in the Mighty Patch won’t dry out your skin because it works alongside moisture-locking ingredients like niacinamide and sodium hyaluronate. Basically, if hyaluronic acid is a glass of water for your skin, sodium hyaluronate is an IV drip. “Sodium hyaluronate is a form of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance in our skin that can hold an enormous amount of water,” says Dr. Nazarian. “It's a key reason skin appears healthy, plump, and glows.”

She explains that since our body breaks down sodium hyaluronate faster than hyaluronic acid and produces it slower, using it in a topical application ensures skin stays well hydrated and in turn minimizes fine lines and wrinkles.

Plus, for all the good it packs into the patch, Hero leaves out all of the potentially irritating ingredients, including sulfates, mineral oil, and fragrance which should make it a safe pick for sensitive skin, too.

Results

Since you apply the patches to areas the skin is most delicate (think: the thin skin around your eyes where crow’s feet show) I was a little worried that removing them after eight hours would be painful. However, I was so pleased when I didn’t experience any pulling or tugging and instead, they peeled off seamlessly without catching on hairs or dry patches. This was especially surprising considering how well they stayed put, never curling up around the edges or sliding out of place as I wore them all day—they even stayed put on the sides of my mouth while I ate.

What’s more, the retinol left no redness or uncomfortable tingling in its wake, instead my skin was left feeling moisturized. There was a slight prickling feeling from the micropoints when I initially pressed down the patch, but it quickly dissipated and I kind of liked how this let me know that the product was working.

After one use, my smile lines were noticeably smoother, and the skin around the area I applied the patches was much softer, and I saw the same results around the frown lines between my eyebrows. However, I feel this is just the beginning of the results, and with six patches in each pack, I’m excited to keep using these patches whenever I want to combat dullness, dryness, or to make me look like I had a couple extra hours of sleep.

Why Trust Brides

Irene Richardson is a writer covering fashion and beauty trends for Brides, Byrdie, InStyle, and others. For this article, she personally tested the Mighty Patch for Fine Lines and spoke with Ju Rhyu, Co-Founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics for more information about the product.  She also tapped insights from Dr. Rachel Nazarian about how the ingredients can’t help improve signs of aging and diminish the appearance of fine lines.