The last time I used stickers, I was about 12 years old. We’d buy multipacks of scented ones and vie to see whose school books smelled most of strawberry or melon.
Stickers today have a rather more sophisticated image as they become part of our beauty and wellness routines.
They may not smell of strawberry (perhaps mercifully), but there are stickers for everything from zapping zits and fading age spots to smoothing wrinkles and helping us sleep.
Rachel Carlyle tested out a selection of the best beauty stickers available to purchase the UK (file image)
There’s sound science behind the idea of a sticker or a patch, says Dr Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic (cadoganclinic.com).
‘If they contain logical ingredients — for example, salicylic acid in the case of a spot sticker or niacinamide and tranexamic acid for dark spots — in the right concentrations, a sticker or patch can be effective,’ she says. ‘Occlusion — where the skin is directly covered — increases efficacy because it keeps ingredients in contact with the skin.’
Here are some of the best beauty stickers around — from the weird to the wonderful..
THE ONE FOR ZITS
Sarah Chapman Skinesis, SOS Sticker, £26, sarahchapman.com; lookfantastic.com
Rachel’s 18-year-old daughter was able to reduce the redness of her spots using Sarah Chapman Skinesis, SOS Sticker (pictured)
Place one of these tiny, transparent, circular stickers over an emerging spot overnight and it will calm the breakout and speed up skin’s recovery, according to skin guru Sarah Chapman.
Model Gigi Hadid has revealed she is a huge fan of SOS stickers, so if it’s good enough for her … The pack of 20 stickers contain salicylic acid to break down the blemish, Sytenol (like retinol) to calm skin, and vitamin C to speed up healing.
My 18-year-old daughter and I tried these: they reduced redness, although the raised area remained. My daughter felt her spot healed more quickly. 5/5
THE ONE FOR LINES
SiO Beauty Wrinkle Rescue patches, ¤55 (£48) plus ¤7.50 (£6.60) p&p, niche-beauty.com
Rachel claims you have to keep using SiO Beauty Wrinkle Rescue patches (pictured), to stop wrinkles from returning
These medical-grade silicone patches aren’t the most glamorous thing to wear to bed.
They’re quite thick, clear stickers which you press on to your neck, forehead, chest and around the eyes or mouth.
I found the neck patch too uncomfortable to use, but the others were surprisingly effective: the wrinkles on my forehead in the morning were definitely less noticeable.
How do they work? Compression flattens wrinkles and prevents new ones forming, and silicone creates a microclimate between it and skin, drawing up moisture to plumpen.
Silicone patches are a recognised medical treatment to fade scars, so it’s not surprising these work. You have to keep using them, though, or the wrinkles return. 4/5
THE ONE FOR AGE SPOTS
Peace Out Dark Spots, $28 (£23) plus £11 p&p, peaceoutskin care.com
Rachel said Peace Out Dark Spots (pictured) helped to lighten the appearance of a sun spot on her face
As a middle-aged woman with Irish roots and pale skin, I have no shortage of age and sun spots. I’ve tried products which claimed to fade them, but didn’t. So I was sceptical about these tiny micro-needling stickers. Each of the 12 stickers in the pack has 172 ‘micro-cones’ that create tiny channels in the skin to deliver ingredients quickly.
Those ingredients are niacinamide (a vitamin B that evens skin tone), liquorice extract (to brighten skin) and tranexamic acid (to lighten the spot). You use them twice a week overnight for two weeks.
In that time, a pale sun spot on my face faded to almost nothing and a much darker one definitely lightened. You need to use sunscreen to prevent spots darkening again. 5/5
THE ONE FOR ENERGY
Body Vibes stickers, £35 (reduced to £20, plus £7 p&p, revolve.com)
Rachel claims she felt jittery after initially applying Body Vibes stickers (pictured)
These are a ‘holistic, chemical-free vibrational tool’, which ‘work with your body’s electromagnetic field to enhance the body’s natural energetic systems’.
Each of the six shiny 3 cm stickers is designed to change your ‘vibe’ in a different way and has a picture on the front; the two I tested were energy and focus.
You stick them above your heart for up to 72 hours and the body’s electrical impulses mimic the frequencies programmed into the sticker.
Strangely, I was a bit jittery for the first hour after applying the ‘focus’ sticker and I hardly slept that night. I felt quite energetic wearing the ‘energy’ sticker, and managed an early morning run. But that could be the sticker’s presence reminding me I should be feeling energetic. 2/5
THE ONE FOR SLEEP
Disciple, CBD Miracle Patch, £30 disciplelondon.com
Rachel said she slept better than usual, while wearing Disciple, CBD Miracle Patch (pictured)
CBD or cannabidiol, the chemical in cannabis that doesn’t get you high and isn’t addictive, has been shown in several studies to improve sleep, reduce anxiety and lessen chronic pain. These patches deliver 8 mg of CBD over 24 hours — a fairly low dose, but you can use two. I stuck one to my inner arm and slept better than usual. 4/5
THE ONE FOR MOOD
Vie Healing Ear Seeds, £29, cultbeauty.co.uk
Rachel said Vie Healing Ear Seeds (pictured) are tiny and fiddly to apply to the right place
These gold-plated adhesive seeds are the brainchild of LA acupuncturist Mona Dan and are apparently adored by Penelope Cruz and Kate Moss.
They apply pressure to certain points on the ear which in Chinese medicine correspond to various body parts. One small study of auriculotherapy showed it could reduce anxiety and tension-related jaw pain.
The seeds are tiny (about the size of a pin head) and fiddly to apply to the right place. I’m not sure I found my ‘shen men’ point (middle of the upper ear) which calms mood, but they do stay in place for the recommended two to three days and look like tiny, pretty earrings. 3/5