43-year-old mom insists on wearing pimple patches to her sister-in-laws wedding to show her 13-year-old daughter that it's okay to have acne: 'She has struggled with cystic acne her whole teenage and adult life.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Dec 6, 2025 8:00 PM EST

Right intention, wrong time and place.

It's not very socially encouraged to be proud of your acne. Teenagers are put on intense medications like Accutane and do everything in their power to hide their acne from their peers. Not only does acne make you feel unattractive, but it can also be physically painful. 

One of the newest acne inventions sweeping Gen Z is pimple patches. These are little stickers that you put on your zits and somehow slurp some of the pus out of them. People wear them to sleep, but they also wear them out in public. Whether this is a product meant to accentuate acne or hide it is still a mystery to me. It both hides the actual pimple while making it much more apparent that there is a pimple under that patch. 

However you feel about pimple patches, it's very clear that they have become much more socially acceptable to use in everyday life. Young people don't just wear them to the gym or the grocery store. They wear them to work, school, and just about any place you can think of.

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  • A woman with acne on her face
    via Pablo Merchán Montes (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The mom in this story struggles with cystic acne, so she wears pimple patches to work to show her teenage students it's okay to have visible acne. That's all well and good at an all-girls Catholic High School, but now she wants to wear her pimple patches to a formal event, and neither her husband nor her teenage daughter wants her to follow through on that.

  • Am I the bad guy for asking my wife to please do NOT wear visible star-shaped pimple patches to a wedding?

    First things first, I (41m) love my wife (43f). I think my wife is a gorgeous woman with gorgeous skin. My wife has struggled with cystic acne her whole teenage and adult life. She's a teacher
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • at an all-girls private high school and my wife would wear visible star-shaped pimple patches (without makeup) in class to help the students feel more comfortable. I think that's
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • wonderful in that context. Also, I honestly think my wife looks cute wearing those pimple patches. But thing is, our daughter (13f) is struggling with cystic acne just like her mom. My daughter, wife,
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • A woman with acne on her face
    via Barbara Krysztofiak (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • and I are going to my sister's (37f) wedding. My wife wants to go wearing visible star-shaped pimples patches without makeup. My daughter has told me she doesn't want people there paying extra attention her mom's acne
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • since they may then pay extra attention to her acne as well. Also, my sister is laid back but I think she wouldn't want one of her guests to wear very visible pimple patches.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • A woman wearing a veil and a pair of earrings
    via Karolina Grabowska (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Without bringing up our daughter's concerns since she didn't me to tell her mom this, I asked my wife to please do NOT wear very visible pimple patches to my wedding.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • She got upset with me and is now questioning my previous statements when I had told her that she looks cute with them. I had mentions my concerns of how my sister may feel. I thought that would be enough but it wasn't. Am I the asshole ?
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • Equivalent_Lemon_319 Ik you swore to secrecy with your daughter but it's a big reason as to why your wife isn't picking up what you're throwing up.
    via u/Equivalent_Lemon_319
  • OP MarriedToATeacher True
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • Dangerous_Touch_7081 NTA I know she has good intentions but doing that will make her look like an attention seeker. Fair enough if she wants to wear some patches but they should be the clear ones. It's a wedding and there's a level of class/formality that's to be expected
    via u/Dangerous_Touch_7081
  • OP Married ToATeacher I didn't consider that. If a woman is wearing visible pimple patches, would some people really think she's an attention seeker ?
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • springflowers68 NTA. But be careful how you approach the topic. I find it rather odd she would want to wear something on her skin that is visible and draws more attention than wearing a foundation for a few hours. I would not ask your sister, she has enough going on with wedding planning. Whatever your wife decides to do, support her by ignoring the patches. But strongly suggest you take your daughter to a dermatologist to find a solution where she won't feel self-conscious.
    via u/springflowers68
  • OP MarriedToATeacher My daughter is on accutane. But we're not getting her hopes up. My wife had been on accutane 5 times and not even accutane had cleared her up.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • springflowers68 I hope it works. My kids did not need anything that strong, but had friends whose kids used accutane and it made a difference. Best of luck to all of you.
    via u/springflowers68
  • OP MarriedToATeacher Thank you
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • WaffleWebcam You meant well but asking her to change something tied to years of insecurity is always going to sting, so approach her with empathy not correction.
    via u/WaffleWebcam
  • OP MarriedToATeacher You have a point. I thought that was what I was doing but I guess I dropped the ball.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • Brayneeah I actually had accutane-resistant cystic acne - my flare-up period on accutane lasted close to 6 months instead of the typical, much shorter 1-2 month period. Turned out I had congenital adrenal hyperplasia, so it was caused by 11-oxo androgens, which normal testosterone/DHT tests don't show! If your wife and/or daughter have PCOS or PCOS-like symptoms, I'd consider maybe discussing the possibility of CAH with a doctor and getting 17-OHP tests. The only thing that ever fixed most of my
    via u/Brayneeah
  • OP MarriedToATeacher I have questions. Is that okay?
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • Ocean_Spice INFO, does she seriously think that's appropriate to wear at a wedding?? The lack of self- awareness is appalling.
    via u/Ocean_Spice
  • OP MarriedToATeacher The dress code is formal but my sister is not a bridezilla. She's actually very chill. But I know that visible pimple patches would be pushing it.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • grovetemple Does she not want to wear makeup to the wedding? I would think it's a one off very special occasion to get all fancy. Maybe ask her if she wants to get her makeup done with her daughter and you will pay for it?
    via u/grovetemple
  • OP MarriedToATeacher My wife doesn't intend to wear makeup to the wedding.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • catkillingcuriosity4 Op I have a question, since your sister is getting married would you and your family be apart of the wedding photos? If yes do you think bringing that up could be a good route for convincing your wife?
    via u/catkillingcuriosity4
  • OP MarriedToATeacher My wife, our daughter, and I will be in the wedding pictures. I already made that point to my wife, it didn't convince her.
    via u/MarriedToATeacher
  • Exotic-Rooster4427 I think there is difference from everyday empowerment and being visible in photos for a wedding that the bride will spend a lot of money on. It's a formal setting and she needs to be in a formal setting. To each your daughter's confidence it might he nice to get a makeup artist to do her makeup. Hair. Some nice clothes. Spoil her a little.
    via u/Exotic-Rooster4427

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tweens marriage teenagers acne wife skin secrets teacher parenting husband sister in law wedding dad high school family daughter Reddit mom
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