Acne is a struggle many of us face. Whether you’ve had to deal with it before or now, it is never fun when a new pimple decides to pop up out of nowhere. Especially when you have a big event the next day! The worst part is that every teenager that struggles with acne must have struggled with self-esteem and confidence issues too. We’ve all been there, so there is nothing to be ashamed of! 

With that thought in mind, Dododots are changing the game with their acne patches. If you’ve tried acne patches before, you’ll know that they can get oily and look out of place. What’s more, is that they kind of look a little boring at times! But with Dododots, you’ll never want to take it off! So, let’s find out with Beauty Insider how this cute acne patch brand came to be.

Dododots

Dododots are the first ever fully-coloured pimple patches in Malaysia. Their main goal is to help people feel good in their own skin, even on bad skin days. As a kindness-first brand, Dododots does everything with love. Treating everyone with kindness, the brand caters to customers of all ages, races, colours and sexual orientations. Striving to be an all-inclusive brand, Dododots is also a community-centric brand. It hopes to relate to everyone’s unique acne journey as they believe that, “nobody knows the struggle of acne more than the acne community itself”.

With Dododots, throw out your unrealistic standards of perfection. Dododots offer a safe space where everyone can feel comfortable in their skin. As the brand challenges norms set by the beauty industry, they are tackling the root problem of insecurities which is not only physical, but deeply psychological. Furthermore, they want to make healing a happy journey. Thus, Dododots created products that make you feel comfortable in your own skin. Instead of plain and boring pimple patches that may not help with your insecurities, they provide fun and cute pimple patches that make you feel confident! 

So, think of Dododots as the friend that wants “to be here for you when you feel like you can’t leave the house today”. Like a warm hug that will make all your troubles float away!

Tell us more about yourself and how you met. 

Esther Erin and Ethan Wong are the two brilliant minds behind Dododots. While Esther studied Medical Biotechnology, Ethan had his hands full with studying business, sustainability studies and Environmental Biology & Microbiology. Esther has also served as a COVID-19 laboratory frontliner during the pandemic, as well as being the former Asia Regional Programme Officer for the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA). After years of working apart, fate finally brought our two co-founders together when they decided to pursue their careers in a marketing agency. 

What was your personal journey with acne like?

As they both experienced severe acne issues back then, they are sure many can relate. Esther mentions that “It was the reason I cancelled so many plans, I would break down and cry in the toilet at school when people asked what happened to my skin or in the middle of the night when I saw my own reflection.” Her experience even led to her constantly avoiding mirrors at one point, “and could not look people in the eyes during conversations, I just stopped going out whenever possible”. 

For guys, Ethan shared that his experience was just as terrible. “I was on oral steroids, having frequent visits to the dermatologist, trying all sorts of remedies to reduce my swelling acne.” Ethan also mentioned that he experienced acne that was so painful, that it was also a nightmare to sleep on his cheeks. “But nothing compared to the emotional pain I was feeling. It was stressful to imagine what people would think of me when they saw my skin”.

How did the name Dododots come to be?

Who knew that chatting with a friend would lead to our two co-founders coining their brand name! “Back then, all we knew was we wanted our brand name to end with the word “dots”.” For them, they were aiming for a name that would be rhymey and punny. While messing around, one of them said, “let’s call it Do The Dots!”

From there, the brainstorming session went from Dodots to Doodots to Dododots! Feeling that the name was fun and sticks to your head like a good name would, they decided on the brand name. The next step was to get a website domain. Once they found out the domain www.dododots.com was available, they bought it that same night. So, the name Dododots was “purely random, spontaneous and fun (exactly what the brand is all about) ;)”

How did you overcome your insecurities of having acne?

Esther’s POV

In order to overcome her insecurities of having acne, Esther mentions that she also tried Accutane. Those who have experienced severe acne can relate and know exactly what it is. For those that don’t, “it’s actually a really effective and potent drug that helps to clear acne. It does however come with a lot of side effects and isn’t really good for the body”. But, Esther was willing to do whatever it takes to clear her skin. A determination we all have on the journey of clearing our own acne. 

Sadly, Esther’s “post-Accutane clear skin did not last very long because her acne came back with full vengeance after a year”. Soon, she started doing what anybody would do to cover up her acne. By using makeup. “I started piling on a lot of makeup to cover my acne which made it worse. I realised that my way of coping with acne was either through more pills or more makeup. It was kind of toxic for my mental health because I know neither were good for my skin long-term”. 

So when she and Ethan founded Dododots, it was a relief, “because these pimple patches really help me feel better whenever I have breakouts, especially during my period. I feel SO COMFORTABLE in my skin all the time now whether day or night because I can cover and heal my acne with these patches and they are cute too”!

Ethan’s POV

Ethan experienced severe acne at the ripe age of 14. Puberty was in full swing and he shared that it was a really difficult time for him and his confidence. He also shared that “there wasn’t a day that goes by without me overthinking that people were going to judge me for having a dirty face.” Desperate for a cure, Ethan tried over 7 different courses of medications, ointments and creams that year. It was through self-found remedies, suggestions from family and friends, TCM practitioners, steroids, help from Dr, Ranjit and many trials and errors that Ethan’s acne finally healed. The one thing that didn’t was his self-esteem and confidence. A psychological scar that many of us with acne have. 

Today, Ethan is “in the gradual process of recovery – but pimple patches really are a lifesaver”. He even says that he would rather someone ask “what’s that on your face?” than “why do you have so much acne?”. Stating that being part of Dododots made him feel good about himself and even boosted his confidence in overcoming his insecurities. 

What do you hope Dododots can achieve in the beauty industry? 

Both Esther and Ethan said that they wanted Dododots to be different. While others were looking for a miraculous cure for acne, they wanted Dododots to help people be content and confident, even if they have acne. When it comes to marketing, Dododots doesn’t market effectiveness at all. This is because they believe that a one-size-fits-all product doesn’t exist. 

“Since different people have different skins, it also means that different skins have different results. So what makes us different? 1 simple reason. We focus on Your Happiness.”

Almost 9 out of every 10 individuals experience acne once in their lifetime. There are even times when they shy away from parties, hide from photos, cancel gathering plans and just feel insecure about themselves (to the point where their mental health is affected).

And that’s exactly why Dododots was created. To challenge the norms and standards set by the beauty industry by tackling the root problem of insecurities, which is not just physical but deeply psychological.

Why did you choose to create pimple patches out of all skincare products? 

“All I could remember during that terrible time was that I sought comfort in pimple patches. I started wearing them when my acne was at its peak when I was still in high school taking my STPM paper and continuing to wear them throughout university. And then it really hit me, that pimple patches were something many people with acne-prone skin have heard about and tried. They are easy to wear and good for covering and protecting acne.”

So after surveying a few friends which eventually led to hundreds of individuals sharing their thoughts on the product, They realised the main reason that people refused to wear pimple patches out was that these patches were transparent. The gunk absorbed would become pretty obvious on the skin after a while. No one was going to walk around in school or in public with white pus on their forehead.

“I’ve had the idea of creating cute pimple patches for years. However, I never found the right business partner to work with until I met Ethan. We both shared the same drive for work and passion to help others. During the pandemic, so many people were experiencing maskne and felt depressed because of it. Our own family members and friends too. So we got working on a solution to pimple patches that are effective for preventing you from picking at your spots. That moment of epiphany led to Dododots Beauty Patches.”

What were the challenges you faced when creating Dododots? Have you ever thought about giving up? 

“On top of our really hectic full-time jobs in a marketing agency, the biggest challenge we had when starting the brand was sourcing for trusted suppliers who aligned with our brand values.” The pandemic made it particularly difficult. They spent weeks researching, hopping on phone calls, and discussing product specifications. All while maintaining the USPs for some of the biggest pain points our survey has shown, and keeping costs low and minimum order quantity affordable. 

We bootstrapped our business and started with a minimum viable product to ensure there was a demand for such a product in the market. Being Malaysia’s very first fully-coloured beauty patch, we wanted to make it easy and affordable for everyone looking for an alternative ‘beauty’ product that helps you feel comfortable in your own skin. No concealing, no baked faces. Just you with the cutest pimple stickers!

We have thought about giving up at one point, especially when we were already so busy with our full-time jobs. Working with the agency for more than 12 hours a day, Esther and Ethan were on the brink of burnout. But instead of giving up on Dododots, we took a leap of faith and quit our full-time jobs. We were moved when customers told us that we literally changed their lives with Dododots. We knew that we wanted to grow the brand and that requires focus.

Since everyone’s definition of beauty/perfect is different, would you care to share yours? 

We’re here to say it’s okay to have flaws, it’s okay to feel whatever it is you’re feeling, but don’t spend all your days hiding away because you don’t love this version of yourself. Please remember that the way you are is good enough. Right here. Right now. Today.

In fact, on our website, we tell our customers this:

We don’t want you to be confident. Yes, you read that right. Instead, we want you to be comfortable in your own skin. You see, we strongly believe that only when you’re comfortable in your own skin, can you start to project confidence in your daily interactions.

So beauty for us is really just being comfortable and happy in your own skin 🙂

What makes Dododots stand out from other pimple patches on the market?

Dododots

“The transparent pimple patches are precisely why we created Dododots and that is to provide the acne community with pimple patches that can actually cover your acne. The problem with transparent pimple patches is that it does not cover the redness or pus of angry acne. After wearing it for 1-2 hours, you’ll start to see it turn white and honestly it can be really distracting especially when it looks like an even bigger pus-filled mess on our faces.” 

Since Dododots Pimple Patches are fully-coloured you won’t notice obvious white pus even after hours of usage. No worries about people staring at your forehead or cheeks when having a conversation with you. We can all go about our day and still feel good!

“We now have 7 different designs since launching Dododots! Hearts, Flowers, Butterflies and more that come in different colours. Our dotters (that’s what we call our Dododots community) are super hyped up whenever we release new designs. We love seeing them wear our patches bare-faced or when they match it to their outfits and makeup looks!”

How would you convince sensitive and acne-prone skin users to use your products? 

As our products do not have any harsh chemicals or any active acne ingredients (unless stated otherwise), it is suitable for all skin types whether normal, acne-prone, dry, oily or combination. In fact, if you feel like it, you can wear the patches even when your skin is clear of breakouts.

We only release products that we are 100% happy with. We always test the products on ourselves first and then send it out to a sample size of candidates with acne-prone or sensitive skin. All our products have been tested to have zero adverse reactions. Suitable for everyone and of all ages.

What else do you have in store for Dododots? Do you have any secret projects you’re working on? 

Dododots

We’re now collaborating with many other beauty and even F&B brands. We’re also working on a never-seen-before product in the beauty industry. We can’t wait to share what’s in store! Stay updated through our Instagram @dododots.official 🙂

More Information

Price: Starting from RM14.99+

Where to buy: Dododots