An acne care hack trending on social media inspired a product launch at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health. But this new treatment wasn’t developed by Aveeno or Neutrogena researchers. This new way to address blemishes comes from another well-known J&J brand: Band-Aid.

Consumers have been using Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal bandages off-label to manage and calm acne—and, as they do these days, sharing results on social media channels. In fact, there have been more than 263 million views for hydrocolloid on TikTok.

To leverage what was going viral on TikTok, J&J’s R&D team moved quickly to conduct clinical trials and create hydrocolloid bandages that would be safe and effective to heal closed and open pimples.

After spotting the viral trend in December 2020, the product was developed, clinically tested and out into the marketplace in record time according to Fernanda Bruzadin, senior director of R&D, wound care and self-care at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health.

“When we saw the trend, we gathered wound care and skin health experts and scientists to really understand how skin was behaving,” Bruzadin told Happi. The team also developed clinical protocols.

Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal Acne Blemish Patches hit the shelf in less than two years.

In fact, product development and the clinical support behind the products took less than 12 months, boasted Bruzadin.

Bruzadin worked with Jenny Du-Soriano, an R&D wound care manager at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, as well as Gabriella John, a clinical strategy researcher.

Pimple Healing Mechanism

The J&J team leveraged the Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal hydrocolloid technology that provides optimal conditions to help the body heal minor wounds better.

Popped pimples are, generally speaking, wounds or a break in the skin.

The bandage provides an optimal wound environment for better healing; it can flatten the pimple shape to absorb skin impurities and provide benefits.

The Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal Acne Blemish Patches are specially shaped for different places—cheeks or chin, for example—and they can cover more than one breakout at time. 

“We tweaked the shape of the product and the thickness of the product,” said Bruzadin.

The team developed clinical tests for overnight use as consumers apply the patch before going to bed and take if off in the morning.

Patches were tested on pimples and popped pimples, and results were positive, according to Bruzadin. The results were not ready to be shared externally at press time, according to the team.

From Trending Online to the Lab

For R&D, tapping into social media may be new, but assessing what consumers want and need has always been part of Johnson & Johnson strategy.

“At J&J we get close to consumers. Combining that with what we know technically and the science behind the product—that is the magical combination,” Bruzadin said about the launch of this new product.

Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal Acne Blemish Patches will be sold in the bandage aisle and online. 

Acne Treatments at Mass

According to Information Resources, Inc., sales of acne treatments rose 14.6% to $671.8 million for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 23, 2022.