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Keep scrolling for the ultimate DIY hack for summer 2026! This is great for summer camp, family vacations, girls' trips, and more.
Pimple patches are the ultimate bug bite hack for 2026.
@miss_tabitha_rose Summertime mom hack! Saw this hack on this app, 10/10 would recommend!!! #summer #summerhacks #summervibes #summertime #pimplepatch #mosquitos #mosquitobites #momsoftiktok #momhack ♬ whos afraid of little old me - overlays ⸆⸉
If you've never used one, a pimple patch is exactly what it sounds like: a small patch you buy at a drug store and place over a blemish. The patches help with the inflammation in a blemish thanks to their Hydrocolloids. You can buy acne-specific patches like the Mighty Patch, or just get regular Hydrocolloid pads that are shaped like bandaids.
Hydrocolloid bandages (if only we got a dollar every time I used that word) work by insulating the area and absorbing water and impurities in your skin. This helps a wound, burn, etc. heal faster, and also can decrease swelling. This absorption is what leads to the gross, yet satisfying, white spots on the patches. Plus, since it's a bandage, you can't pick at the pimple, or, in this case, the bug bite!
We probably all know that a mosquito bite comes from the bug feeding off your blood (although I didn't know that only females drink blood; males only drink flower nectar). But the itching comes from the mosquito releasing saliva into your blood, and your body responding to the saliva like it's an allergen.
Chloe Williams/Brit + Co
Well, I applied one of my trusty Hydrocolloid bandages (I just get this Walgreens brand pack. It's $7 for 10, which means this hack could cost you under $1!) to my bug bite before going to bed. I usually cut them up to make them last longer. When I woke up, the bandage had completely absorbed all the saliva, and the skin on my arm wasn't swollen at all!
The central point (you know, the bite itself) was still pretty sensitive and a little itchy, but it had scabbed over by the afternoon. I'm also notorious for scratching bug bites and making them worse, so you might not have to deal with a scab at all.
All in all, this is only one of two TikTok DIY's that have worked for me (here's the other one!). And it's my new go-to hack of 2026!
Have you tried adding a pimple patch or Hydrocolloid bandage to a bug bite? Let us know your favorite DIY hack in the comments and follow Brit + Co on Facebook for more ideas.
