Is it good to treat acne with toothpaste?

This is an automatically translated article.

1. Why is toothpaste said to have the ability to treat acne?

Theoretically, toothpaste contains sodium pyrophosphate. This is an active ingredient that has the ability to remove excess sebum on the skin, capable of killing acne-causing bacteria.
In addition, toothpaste also contains the chemical silica with anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, many people think that treating acne with toothpaste is thanks to killing acne-causing bacteria, cleaning the skin, limiting sebum and preventing acne recurrence.

2. Is the toothpaste method good for acne?

Acne treatment with toothpaste is not effective at all, but can also be harmful to the skin. Toothpaste is not made to be applied or applied directly to the skin and the ingredients inside are not intended to be used for acne treatment.
One of the most misleading ingredients is Triclosan because it can be found both in acne treatment products and in toothpaste. Therefore, many people think that treating acne with toothpaste will have the same effect as other acne products.
Although the active ingredient triclosan has the ability to kill bacteria and is often added to the ingredients of acne products, in fact it has been and is being banned in some countries around the world.
Several studies have demonstrated that triclosan kills Propionibacterium acnes bacteria, a common bacteria that causes acne. But triclosan needs to be formulated and calculated by special measures to get this effect.
Users use a product that contains the right amount of triclosan to help treat acne. The content of triclosan in toothpaste is not enough to bring about the effects on acne on the skin.
Triclosan, despite its bactericidal effect, was banned after no scientific evidence was provided to prove that antibacterial soap containing triclosan is more effective than regular soap. At the same time, there are still many concerns about the safety of triclosan with prolonged use.
However, triclosan is still allowed in toothpaste, not because of its bactericidal ability but because it is effective in reducing plaque on teeth and gingivitis.
Besides, a number of other factors do not support the treatment of acne with toothpaste including:
Toothpaste has the potential to cause skin burns or cause discomfort on the skin; Toothpaste is not made to be applied directly to the skin, especially the face because it can cause redness and itchiness; Some people, when treating acne with toothpaste, may experience mild burns from the chemicals in the toothpaste. When burned from acne treatment with toothpaste, the skin may feel a burning pain that lasts for several days; Toothpaste has an acidic pH, which is not suitable for the neutral pH of the skin. This makes the skin less healthy by losing its natural pH when applied directly; In toothpaste, there are many chemical ingredients that cause dryness of the skin and lose the natural pH of the skin, so not only does it not treat acne, but applying toothpaste can also cause dysfunction and cause skin breakouts. than.

3. Some alternative remedies to treat acne with toothpaste

Although toothpaste can help acne reduce inflammation, but the harm to already damaged skin that toothpaste brings is many. Therefore, instead of using toothpaste, people with acne can choose some alternative products as follows:
Skin care products, acne treatment: Effective acne products often include: Contains ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and retinoids. We can easily find them in cleansers, moisturizers or masks. The advantage of the above ingredients is that it helps the acne to dry quickly, destroy the acne horn effectively and cause less damage to the skin; Tea tree: Some natural products help reduce acne, reduce skin inflammation quickly, including Melaleuca oil, which helps reduce inflammatory acne quickly. We can directly dab essential oils on inflammatory acne spots or use them with other products to treat acne; Willow: Extracted from the willow tree contains salicylic acid, which is an effective acne treatment; In addition to the above active ingredients, treating acne with products containing activated charcoal, sulfur or clay also has a relatively good effect.
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