Top 7 Best Stick to Skin Tapes

DISCLAIMER: For stick-to-skin medical tape intended for personal use, we recommend buying on Amazon or another retailer's site to avoid the higher bulk pricing for manufacturing quantities.

If you’ve reached the product development phase and are looking for material, congratulations! Now it’s time to cover your eyes and press order on the first tape you see online… or not.

Whether or not it shows up on the first page ads, material quality demonstrates itself best through proof of concept.

As a flexible material converter, Strouse has tested hundreds of different stick-to-skin medical tapes. This list will help you choose the right skin adhesive tape for your application.

This content isn’t sponsored; it’s a compilation of products Strouse has worked with over the years and found especially useful for our projects.

Ranking Considerations for Tape That Sticks to Skin

1. Skin friendliness and hypoallergenicity
2. Wear duration (short vs extended wear) based on skin or device substrate adhesion level
3. Gentle but secure adhesion
1. Non-traumatic removal, especially for injured, diabetic, child, or elderly users
4. Moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) and breathability
5. Absorbency (if integrated with dressings)
6. Transparency or opacity (depending on clinical need)
7. Biocompatibility (ISO 10993, USP Class VI)
8. Sterilization compatibility (ETO, gamma, autoclave)
9. Comfortable and conformable to body contours
10. Regulatory and sterilization requirements
    

Before you finalize your material selection, we strongly recommend talking to a manufacturer or converter. Buying a log of material isn’t the same as ordering a pair of shoes—by the time you realize a flexible material doesn’t fit your application, you may have already wasted thousands of dollars developing your product.

7 of the Best (Medical) Tapes That Stick to Skin

As we all know, “best” is subjective, so what makes these seven tapes better than any others?

Strouse has processed most of these materials in large-scale projects, running them through our machines and cutting them with standard die cut tools to observe their performance.

To make a fair comparison today, we’ve compiled public data about the tape’s material composition, test results, and other information regarding each tape. Our list is organized from tape that covers general stick-to-skin applications to more specific uses.

#1: 3M MEDICAL SILICONE TAPE 2476P

Adhesive type: Silicone

Material: Single-sided white spunlace polyester nonwoven

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: EtO

Highlights:

• Clear non-silicone release liner
• Flexible and conformable
• Doesn’t pull hair

3M’s 2476P medical silicone is a breathable, repositionable, and fluid-resistant adhesive tape. This adhesive is actually used in several constructions depending on the use case. It is the most widely used adhesive in stick-to-skin applications.

It’s an excellent choice for general medical applications requiring breathability, device attachment to skin, general taping to fragile skin, healthcare or medical device construction, and cover tape for finished devices.

#2: AVERY DENNISON MED 5707

Adhesive type: Acrylic

Material: Single-coated white spunlace nonwoven

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: Yes (both)

Highlights:

• Conformable and breathable
• Moisture resistant
• Heat-sealable

If you’ve been keeping up with Strouse’s blogs, there’s a slight chance you’ll recognize this tape from the #5 slot on our wound dressing tape ranking.

While it ranked among the best tapes for securing wound dressings, MED 5707 also performs exceptionally well in applications beyond wound care, such as securing devices in electromedical, ostomy, and other wound care applications.

Avery Dennison’s MED 5707 is an all-around, breathable tape with an acrylic adhesive for medical applications. The overall tape has a storage and shelf life of about two years when stored at the recommended conditions.

#3: 3M MEDICAL TAPE 1526

Adhesive type: Tackified acrylic

Material: Single-sided, surface-treated polyethylene film

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: Yes (both)

Highlights:

• Printable and flexible
• Translucent with a matte finish
• Fluid resistant
• Heat-sealable

3M Medical Tape 1526 is a tackified acrylic adhesive with a polyethylene film coated on one side and a pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive. Although this adhesive tape is labeled as medical, you can use it in a wide variety of applications, including healthcare devices and cosmetic adhesives.

Medical tape 1526 has many properties, including a liquid barrier that provides fluid resistance. It was specifically developed for skin contact.

#4: MACTAC TM8101

Adhesive type: Highly breathable acrylic

Material: Single-coated white spunlace nonwoven fabric

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: EtO, gamma, and autoclave

Highlights:

• Breathable
• Allows moisture vapor transmission
• Comfort and conformability

Mactac’s TM8101 is used in long-term applications where moisture vapor transmission is desired. TM8101 is intended for 3-5 days of wear with good adhesion. The fabric is resistant to aqueous solutions and has a two-year shelf life when stored in the recommended conditions.

This material is typically used in the construction of electrodes and sensors, ostomy and wound dressings, fixation devices, device coverings, and surgical garments.

#5: AVERY DENNISON MED 5634

Adhesive type: Acrylic

Material: Single-coated EVA foam

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: Yes (both)

Highlights:

• Relatively thick
• Heavy-duty liner with an easy release

Avery Dennison’s MED 5634 is designed for mounting electrodes, grounding pads, and other devices for extended periods.

MED 5634 is a powerful, water-resistant adhesive that forms a strong bond to the skin under any stress conditions. The thick foam tape has a high initial tack, allowing it to withstand stress and hold up wearable devices.

This material was designed for mounting electrodes and grounding pads for sustained periods.

#6: 3M MEDICAL TAPE 4576

Adhesive type: Extended wear acrylate

Material: Single-sided white spunlace polyester nonwoven

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: EtO

Highlights:

• Paper-based silicone release liner
• Flexible and conformable
• Excellent adhesion to low surface energy materials

Another top contender for both our wound dressing tape ranking and the stick-to-skin list is 3M Medical Tape 4576, which uses a pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive for strong adhesion in long-term wear applications.

3M Medical Tape 4576 has up to 21 days of wear time on the skin. Suggested medical or retail applications for this product include attaching finished devices to the skin for extended periods or constructing different devices.

#7: POLYMER SCIENCE P-DERM® PS 1813

Adhesive type: Silicone gel

Material: Single-coated adhesive on a polyurethane carrier

Gamma or EtO sterilizable?: EtO recommended

Highlights:

• Excellent Instantaneous Tack
• Atraumatic Removal from Skin
• Hypoallergenic
• Ability to be Removed and Repositioned
• Excellent Converting Properties

Polymer Science's P-DERM® PS-1813 is one of our current favorite skin tapes for its gentle, long-lasting performance. It's a relatively thin material that can be used in a wide range of different skin adhesive solutions without causing irritation. 

Common Types of Skin-Friendly Adhesives

You may want to consider other medical products besides the ones we listed, like hydrogel or hydrocolloid, but acrylic and silicone are the most commonly used.

SILICONE SKIN ADHESIVES

• Silicone adhesives typically form weaker skin adhesive bonds (with some notable exceptions)
• Ideal for delicate/fragile skin and repositionable applications.
• e.g., 3M Medical Silicone Tape 2476P, Polymer Science P-DERM® PS1813

Elderly, child, diabetic patients, or anyone with pre-existing skin conditions can benefit from malleable silicone skin adhesives that prevent tearing. Silicone skin adhesives are also considered biocompatible because they rarely cause harm.

Unfortunately, silicone adhesives can also be more expensive, and they don’t always have enough holding power to handle what you attach.

ACRYLIC SKIN ADHESIVES

• Acrylic adhesive is often considered the strongest adhesive tape for skin
• Hold more weight at a lower cost
• e.g., Avery Dennison MED 5707, 3M Medical Tape 1526, Mactac TM8101

While silicone skin adhesives are used for light fixings or gentle cosmetic purposes, acrylic skin adhesives can hold wearable devices such as glucose monitors.

Which Adhesive Skin Tape Should I Use?

Your choice of adhesive skin tape should reflect your product's needs:

1. How long does your product need to stay fixed to the skin?
2. Will this product be used on individuals with potentially sensitive skin (injured, diabetic, children, or elderly)?
3. Does it need to hold any devices or tubes?

• What are they made out of?
• How heavy will they be?

These are all questions converters should ask you while you create your skin adhesive product.

Avoid the frustration of having to make design or material changes later. Instead of waiting to stumble upon problems, we encourage you to discuss your product design with one of Strouse’s materials experts today.

You can also explore prototyping options to learn more about how we can help.

Originally published: March 15, 2023