You’ve got a closed bump, and you are deciding whether a microdart patch is worth the money or whether the box goes back on the shelf. That is the job of this page.
A hydrocolloid disc is the cheap round sticker, roughly 15–40p, for a whitehead or anything already weeping. A microdart is a small square of dissolving cones, typically £0.60–£2.50 or more each, for a bump that is still closed. They are not two strengths of the same sticker. If the spot is deep, painful, cystic, or it keeps returning, see a GP. A patch is not a cure.
The short fork is the hydrocolloid vs microdart comparison. This page is the next question: when the dearer format is the better one, and when you should stop.
What counts as a closed early bump
Look before you open anything.
A closed early bump is a small raised mark under the skin. No white head, nothing leaking, surface still intact. Press it gently. If it feels like a lump with no fluid on top, you are in the right conversation.
A hydrocolloid disc can sit on that all night and stay clear. There was nothing for it to collect. That clear disc, after a proper wear, is the usual clue to switch format. The unchanged-bump guide is that morning. This page is what you buy, or do not buy, next.
A whitehead, broken skin, or anything weeping is a different spot. Leave the microdart on the shelf. The cheap disc is the one that collects that fluid.
When a microdart is the better format
A microdart is the better spend when the bump is closed — no white head, no broken surface, no leak — and it is early and small, not a deep sore knot under the skin. Use one when a hydrocolloid disc has already stayed on and stayed clear, or when you can see there is no surface fluid to collect. A thicker disc will not invent that fluid. The skin around it should be calm enough for a sticky patch overnight. One patch covers one bump.
Put it on dry skin. Wash, wait until that spot feels dry, and skip moisturiser, oil, serum, and SPF on that exact bit. The microdart apply guide is there so you do not crush a cone you have already paid for.
Leave it for six to eight hours, or overnight, if it feels comfortable. Do not peel it after twenty minutes to check. A microdart does not go white in the middle the way a hydrocolloid disc can. A clear square in the morning is not the same signal as a clear disc. The white-centre guide is for hydrocolloid colour only.
When the cheap disc is still the better buy
Stay with hydrocolloid if the spot has a white head, if you have already picked it, or if anything is weeping. The disc is built for that fluid. A cone on an open spot is the dearer patch doing the wrong job. If you have already squeezed it, the picked-spot guide covers what a disc can do next.
A still-clear disc only counts after a proper wear: six to twelve hours, or overnight, on dry skin, with the middle on the bump. A disc that peeled off, or one you took off before you left the house, has not told you the format was wrong. Fix the hold first. Dry skin and a pressed rim are in the overnight apply guide. If it lifted in the night, use the peel-off guide.
Under-eye ovals and smile-line crescents are a different format. They are cut for a line, not a single closed bump on the chin, and they cost pounds a wear rather than pence. They do not belong in this decision.
When to stop
Stop before you open the pack if the bump is deep, very sore, cystic, spreading, or it keeps coming back in the same place. See a GP. Another cone will not change that call.
Stop if the skin is more painful after a patch than it was before, or if you feel unwell. Take it off. That is not a prompt to try a different logo the same night.
Stop stacking cones night after night on the same bump because the first one looked unchanged. Check three ordinary things first. Did it stay in the middle? Was the skin dry, with no cream under it? Was the bump actually closed? If those were true and it is still a deep sore lump, that is a GP visit, not a second box.
Stop if you are buying microdarts for a whole face of spots. This format is one patch on one closed early bump.
One comfortable night is the trial. These patches are single-use. Bin the one you wore. Do not stick it back on, and do not move it to a second bump.
Where to buy in the UK
For a closed early bump, look at microdart stockists, not another sheet of round discs.
Revolution Super Dart (Amazon UK) puts dissolving cones on a small hydrocolloid dome. It is often listed around £5.51–£9 for 9 patches. Skin Choice Classic Darts are the plainer square, often listed around £10.99, and Holland & Barrett stocks that range. Check the price on the day. On this site, microdart patches are typically £0.60–£2.50 or more each. A hydrocolloid disc stays in the 15–40p band.
More shops are on where to buy microdart patches. The Super Dart explainer is the hybrid read if you want it before you buy. If the spot is open or weeping, skip the cone and use where to buy hydrocolloid patches.
More reading is in all guides. If you are still choosing a format rather than this one bump, start with hydrocolloid vs microdart.