Ostomy Paste Guide: Stomahesive vs. Adapt vs. Brava Strip Paste -- Which One and How to Use It

adapt paste
Convatec Stomahesive paste

Ostomy paste is the most misunderstood product in the ostomy aisle. The name suggests glue -- and that single misconception causes more frustration, wasted product, and skin damage than almost anything else in ostomy care. Paste is not an adhesive. It doesn't stick your barrier down. It's caulk: a filler that levels the dips, creases, folds, and scars around your stoma so your barrier can seal against a smooth, even surface instead of bridging over gaps that output will find its way into.

Used correctly, paste is one of the highest-impact accessories an ostomate can own -- it's why paste tubes are among the most reordered products in our entire store. Used incorrectly, it causes leaks, skin irritation, and a mess at every change. This guide covers the three best-selling pastes we carry -- ConvaTec Stomahesive, Hollister Adapt, and the Coloplast Brava line -- how they differ, exactly how to apply each type, and when a barrier ring is the better tool for the job.

What Ostomy Paste Actually Does (and When You Need It)

When your peristomal skin is perfectly flat and even, your barrier can seal against it directly and paste adds nothing. Most bodies aren't perfectly flat. Weight changes, surgical scars, skin folds, a stoma sitting in a crease, or an abdomen that changes shape when you sit -- all of these create low spots under the barrier. Output is remarkably good at finding those channels, tracking under the barrier, and causing the leaks and skin irritation that make ostomy life miserable.

Paste fills those low spots. Applied in a thin bead around the stoma opening or into specific creases, it creates the flat foundation your barrier needs. Signs paste (or a ring) belongs in your routine:

  • Leaks that always start from the same spot -- that's a channel paste can fill
  • Visible creases, folds, or scars within the area your barrier covers
  • Undermining: output creeping under the inner edge of your barrier before wear time is up
  • A stoma at or below skin level where the barrier edge doesn't sit flush (also see our guide to flat vs. convex barriers -- deep retraction is often a barrier-shape problem, not a paste problem)

If your barrier seals reliably for its full wear time with no leaks, you don't need paste -- adding products to a working routine just adds cost and cleanup.

The Three Best-Selling Pastes Compared

ConvaTec Stomahesive Paste: The Workhorse

The ConvaTec Stomahesive Paste 2 oz Tube ($10.42) is the most-ordered paste in our store and the standard against which the others are measured. It's a hydrocolloid-based filler with decades of clinical use behind it -- the same barrier chemistry as the Stomahesive wafers it's designed to partner with.

Strengths: Excellent filling and staying power, strong resistance to being washed out by output, extends wear time noticeably for people with undermining problems, and pairs naturally with ConvaTec Sur-Fit Natura systems (though it works under any brand's barrier).

Trade-off: Stomahesive contains alcohol, which flashes off as it sets. On intact skin most people feel nothing; on raw or broken peristomal skin it stings briefly on application. If your skin is currently irritated, heal it first (our powder and barrier method guide covers this) or choose a sting-free option below.

Best for: Everyday gap-filling on intact skin, ileostomy output resistance, ConvaTec system users.

Hollister Adapt Paste: The Comfortable All-Rounder

The Hollister Adapt Paste 2 oz Tube is the second pillar of the category and the one we recommend most often for older ostomates and anyone with hand strength or dexterity challenges. Hollister designed the details well: a soft, easy-squeeze tube that can be emptied to the last drop, and a bright red cap that's easy to find in a supply drawer.

Strengths: A low-alcohol formulation that minimizes (though doesn't fully eliminate) stinging, easier dispensing than any other tube paste, and reliable filling performance. Also available in a 0.5 oz travel size that's ideal for your on-the-go change kit.

Best for: Sensitive (but intact) skin, limited dexterity or arthritis, Hollister New Image system users, travel kits.

Coloplast Brava Strip Paste: The Moldable Problem-Solver

The Coloplast Brava Ostomy Strip Paste ($12.77 per box of 10 strips) is a different animal entirely -- and for the right person, it's the answer nothing else provides. Instead of squeezing from a tube, you get pre-formed 0.2 oz strips of pectin-based paste that you mold with your fingers like putty and press exactly where you need them.

Strengths: Completely alcohol-free and sting-free -- safe even on irritated skin. Because it's moldable rather than flowable, it excels at deep folds, surgical scars, and significant contour problems that tube paste struggles to fill without slumping. No drying or flash-off time -- apply your barrier immediately. No mess, no tube pressure control, and each strip is a consistent portion so there's no over-application.

Trade-off: Slightly higher cost per use than tube paste, and for tiny hairline creases a thin bead of tube paste is quicker.

Best for: Deep creases and scars, sensitive or healing skin, anyone who finds tube paste messy or hard to control, cold environments where tube paste gets stiff.

Also in the Brava family: if you like a traditional tube but want the gentlest formulation, the Brava Sting-Free Paste 2 oz is pectin-based with low alcohol content and includes a tube key so you waste nothing.

Worth Knowing: Fortis Entrust No-Sting Paste

One more option deserves a mention: the Fortis Entrust No-Sting Pectin Paste is formulated to handle high liquid output and is designed to expand and contract with the stoma -- genuinely useful for ostomates whose stoma changes size through the day, a problem that undermines rigid seals. If that's you, it belongs on your shortlist.

Quick Comparison

Paste Form Sting Factor Best At Price
Stomahesive Paste Tube Contains alcohol Everyday filling, output resistance $10.42
Adapt Paste Soft tube Low alcohol Easy dispensing, sensitive skin see product page
Brava Strip Paste Moldable strips Alcohol-free Deep folds, scars, healing skin $12.77 / 10
Brava Sting-Free Paste Tube + key Low alcohol, pectin Gentle tube option see product page

How to Apply Tube Paste Correctly

  1. Start with clean, completely dry skin. Paste won't perform on damp skin -- pat dry thoroughly.
  2. Less than you think. Squeeze a thin bead -- about the width of a pencil -- either directly around the stoma opening on your barrier, or into the specific skin creases you're filling. The single most common mistake is using too much: excess paste squeezes out under pressure, breaks down faster in contact with output, and makes removal miserable.
  3. Smooth with a damp finger. A slightly wet fingertip prevents the paste from sticking to you while you level it into the crease. Fill gaps completely but leave no raised lumps -- the goal is flat.
  4. Wait 60 seconds if the paste contains alcohol. Letting Stomahesive or Adapt set until tacky (not wet) lets the alcohol flash off and improves performance. Brava Strip Paste needs no wait.
  5. Apply your barrier as normal and hold warm pressure over it for 1 to 2 minutes -- body heat activates the seal. Our step-by-step pouch changing guide covers the full routine.

How to Apply Strip Paste

  1. Tear or cut the amount you need from a strip -- a full strip for a long fold, a pinch for a small dip.
  2. Warm and mold it between clean, dry fingers for a few seconds until pliable.
  3. Press it into the fold, scar, or gap, feathering the edges flat against the surrounding skin. You can also ring it directly around the stoma base for 360-degree protection.
  4. Apply your barrier immediately -- no drying time needed.

Paste or Barrier Ring? How to Choose

Paste and barrier rings solve overlapping problems, and plenty of ostomates have strong opinions about which is better. The honest answer is they're tools for different jobs:

  • Choose paste when the problem is specific and irregular -- one deep crease, a scar line, a divot on one side of the stoma. Paste goes exactly where the problem is and nowhere else.
  • Choose a ring when you need uniform 360-degree protection around the whole stoma, when your skin is fragile (rings apply and remove with far less residue and trauma), or when you want maximum simplicity -- stretch, place, done. Moldable options like the Adapt CeraRing and Eakin Cohesive Slims also swell slightly on contact with moisture, actively blocking leaks. Our complete barrier ring guide covers application and stacking techniques.
  • Use both when you have a serious contour challenge -- strip paste in the deep fold, ring around the stoma. Many ostomates with hernias or significant scarring settle on exactly this combination (see our parastomal hernia guide for pouching with changed contours).

The Five Most Common Paste Mistakes

  1. Using paste as glue. It adds zero adhesive power. If your barrier won't stick, the problem is skin prep, moisture, or barrier choice -- not a missing layer of paste.
  2. Too much. A thick ring of paste doesn't seal better -- it breaks down faster, migrates under pressure, and doubles your cleanup. Thin bead, always.
  3. Skipping the flash-off wait with alcohol-containing pastes, which traps solvent under the barrier and can irritate skin.
  4. Applying to damp skin. Paste and barriers both need bone-dry skin. Humid bathroom after a shower? Wait, or use a cool hairdryer.
  5. Scrubbing it off. Aggressive removal damages the skin you're trying to protect. Use an adhesive remover wipe or spray and let it do the work -- residue wipes away without scrubbing.

Which Paste Should You Buy?

If you're choosing your first paste and your skin is intact: start with the Stomahesive Paste -- it's the proven standard at the lowest price. If stinging, dexterity, or mess are concerns: the Adapt Paste. If you're dealing with deep folds, scars, healing skin, or you just want the cleanest application experience: the Brava Strip Paste. And if your stoma changes size through the day: look at the Fortis Entrust.

All of them cost less than the supplies a single serious leak wastes -- which is exactly why they're among our most reordered products.

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Disclaimer: This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not replace advice from your healthcare provider or WOC nurse. If you are experiencing persistent leaks, skin breakdown, or significant changes in your stoma or peristomal contours, consult your WOC nurse -- product changes work best with professional assessment of your individual anatomy.