Many people suffering from acne pimples often use toothpaste as an inexpensive and easily available spot treatment to ward off acne breakouts. While looking at their face in the bathroom mirror first thing in the morning, teenagers especially get panicked when they find an ugly pimple. On discovery of the beginning of this fresh zit eruption, they start looking for any available possible acne treatment for the uninvited breakout, and toothpaste seems like an easy and hassle free spot acne treatment. However, using toothpaste as an inexpensive and quick spot acne treatment can cause unpleasant results.
Some people swear that applying a little toothpaste dries up acne quickly; but most people will discover that the toothpaste leaves skin feeling irritated and flaky. It can also further aggravate the condition of your acne. Depending on the type, some toothpastes can even clog pores and cause acne.
Acne sufferers are prompted to use toothpaste as a spot acne treatment probably due to the reason that several types of toothpastes contain triclosan. Triclosan is an anti-bacterial ingredient that is often found in skin care products like soap, body wash, and deodorant. Triclosan is known to effectively kill bacteria. If you take a closer look at the ingredients of the acne treatment products, there is a high chance that you will find triclosan. This is however present mostly as a preservative, and not as an active acne fighting ingredient.
Despite all temptations, you must swear to stay away from using toothpaste as an acne treatment as it also contains other ingredients which can cause skin inflammation and redness. In some cases people after applying toothpaste on their acne found that it burns badly and leaves skin feeling sore. The bottom line is that toothpaste can aggravate and worsen your acne.
Alternative spot acne treatment:
If you desperately want your ugly acne blemishes to fade away soon then try other effective acne treatments instead. Remember to never experiment on your skin, you may just worsen your problem. Consult a good dermatologist to find out what type of spot treatment would be best for your skin. There are many acne treatment products available that contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, or both. These are quick and effective treatments for acne, but they may irritate the skin and have other harmful side effects such as premature aging, cancer, and birth defects. Products containing sulfur are the best spot treatment for acne because they work quickly and effectively without side effects. Sulfur even soothes skin and maintains balance. Sulfur products are less common, but they are over the counter and just as inexpensive as the benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid treatments .
Get a spot acne treatment that is mild and gentle on your skin. You may get a good acne treatment product from a drug store at less than $10. Why be cruel and subject your acne to toothpaste experiments?
Keep your toothpaste only for your teeth, and clear off acne using the right spot acne treatment.
