Problem skin? Blame your toothpaste

Posted Jan 29th 2007 at 11:01AM by Anne Metz (Subscribe to Anne Metz's posts)

Filed under: Beauty

At the risk of being bombarded by dissenting opinions and angry toothpaste companies, I thought I would share with you a small nugget of beauty wisdom. My advice is this: don't use whitening toothpaste. It makes you break out.

Scientific it's not; observed it is. And I'm not the only one who has found this to be true. Lots of my friends have asked me over the years for skin-clearing advice, and my first question to them is, "Well, do you use whitening toothpaste?" If they say, "no" I just shrug and suggest a more gentle cleanser. If they say "yes," I suggest that they give it up for a few weeks to see what happens. If they nix the whiteners, invariably the breakouts follow suit.

Lots of people worry that switching to regular toothpaste will make their teeth look dull and old. I suppose that is a possibility, but if you brush well and try to use baking soda toothpastes, you'll have about 70 percent of the same effect without the breakouts. Decide for yourself, but I think it's worth it.

Source

Tags: break out, BreakOut, skin care, SkinCare, tooth paste, ToothPaste, whitening

Tina 2-02-2007 @ 6:49AM

Why do whiteners cause breakouts? What is in them that does it?

Christine 2-02-2007 @ 6:52AM

Rachel 2-02-2007 @ 6:56AM

My facialist told me the same thing.

Tonie 2-02-2007 @ 10:20PM

This is absolutely true. I suffered with breakouts and rashes around my mouth for years. From high school until I was into my 20's. I went to doctors, they gave me creams which would help for a bit but it always came back. Its a cycle; rash, pimple, clears for a bit then comes back.
I finally figured it out when I was working in a hospital and one of the doctors there commented his daughter had the same rash and she was allergic to the whitening toothpastes. He recommended I switch to a non-whitening one and wait as it could take 6 weeks to see results. Low and behold the rash was gone!
One caution, the ingredient that was to blame (at least for me) is also found in tartar control pastes. Sometimes its added to pastes that aren't labeled as either one. Just keep switching until you find the one that works.

expertbooks2 2-02-2007 @ 7:48AM

Wow! All this time, I thought it was the face creams I was using. The rash is always around the corners of my mouth - little blisters that flare up, stay red for days or weeks, then gradually go away.

Thanks for the tip!

William 2-02-2007 @ 8:55AM

I have also found that whitening toothpaste also causes mouth sores that clear up within a few days of not using it. Generally they are on the inside of my cheeks but sometimes I get sore gums too. This is any whitening tootpaste no matter what brand. Its too bad you can't get just plain ole toothpaste without tartar control etc.

Carrie 2-04-2007 @ 7:42PM

Totaly true I found the same prolem and I have switched to arm and hammer enamel care, which has also helped me with my sensitive teeth. Your dentist probably has a coupon for a 1.00 off enamel care paste... mine did. I had break outs around my chin moth area just like others discribed above.

Heather 2-02-2007 @ 9:32AM

Whitening toothpastes can also cause an allergic reaction that makes your gums itch and over time they recede. My dentist told me to use sensodyne for the sensitivity and then just plain old Crest.

Jennifer 2-02-2007 @ 9:31AM

This is absolutely true about whitening products. I was getting these horrible cysts on my chin, and went to see my dermatologist. The first thing she asked was if I was using whitening toothpaste. I was not, but I told her I was chewing whitening gum. She told me that was the likely cause of the problem and that a lot of her patients where having similar reactions to whitening ingredients. Sure enough, I stopped using the gum, and the problem went away.

Queen 2-02-2007 @ 9:52AM

This is amazing! I just thought I was having a bad stress reaction or not cleaning my skin properly. I will certainly switch to see if there is a difference. It is pretty embarrasing though with the inflamation and then the scarring. Thank you for the info!

Pearl 2-02-2007 @ 10:08AM

.....if you can't find any toothpaste in your regular store that doesn't have these ingredients, please search your local natural health food store. They usually have plenty of selections. Always read the labels and don't be afraid to ask for help. :)

JR 2-02-2007 @ 10:04AM

Correlation doesn't prove causation. Psych 101 stuff here.

Ben 2-02-2007 @ 5:55PM

Sex brings them on too so what we men going to do quit.no

nikkionthebee 2-02-2007 @ 10:33PM

this is so true. I'm 38 and for the past 2 weeks since I started using the whitening toothpaste I have developed acne on my face. I'm currently using the Crest Total and it has caused acne. Wierd this happened.

mare 2-02-2007 @ 1:51PM

TRUE..very true

It is called PERIORBITAL DERMATITIS...we don't know EVERYTHING that causes it.....but certain toothpastes can and do! ( other cosmetics can as well)

And they can make the teeth VERY SENSITIVE to cold, sweets

and the toothpaste companies already know this.......READ LABELS ON PRODUCTS..they DO have information you NEED to know..and most folks don't bother to do so

Lori 2-02-2007 @ 10:39AM

It's also true that whitening toothpastes can actually recede your gums and make the top of your teeth very sensitive!! ALSO, about 99% of ALL whitening toothpastes on the market ARE NOT recommended by the American Dental Association. When my dentist told me this, I didn't believe him, but then I went to the store to check it out and i couldn't find one whitening toothpaste that was approved. They are BAD news and over time you can actually scrub the enamal off of your teeth and they will actually be more yellow!!

Cheryl 2-02-2007 @ 10:53AM

While I agree that there may be an ingredient in whitening toothpastes that can be causing breakouts on the facial skin these breakouts are more than likely caused by the acidic nature of the toothpastes. I would also agree that using them over long periods of time may actually cause more problems than using them is worth. Stick to regular flouride toothpaste or sensitive flouride. Also, acne is not caused by acid in toothpaste. Acne, true acne, is a virus and is aggrevated by hormones causing flare-ups on the skin. Fats, sweets, and foods in general do not cause acne. Washing your skin until it's raw will not eradicate the acne either. Long term use (about 1-2 years) of tetracycline (antibiotic) and Retin-A (cream or solution) will clear up the acne and prevent it from returning. Check with a reputable dermatologist.

Jak 2-02-2007 @ 11:19AM

This article is about the bad effects of whitening toothpastes, and the link within the article brongs you to an ad for ... a whitening toothpaste. Anything wrong there??

Diane Spotilla 2-02-2007 @ 10:58AM

Just want to say THANK YOU. I'm 60 and thought I
was going thru puberty again. I just threw out all my
whiters. Hope I can find another whiter. Anyone?

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 20 Comments