Problem skin? Blame your toothpaste
Filed under: Skin Care
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.
Tina 2-02-2007 @ 6:49AM
Why do whiteners cause breakouts? What is in them that does it?
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Christine 2-02-2007 @ 6:52AM
Why do whiteners cause breakouts? What is in them that does it?
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Rachel 2-02-2007 @ 6:56AM
My facialist told me the same thing.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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JR 2-02-2007 @ 10:04AM
Correlation doesn't prove causation. Psych 101 stuff here.
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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. :)
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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!!
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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.
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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?
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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??
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mary d. 2-02-2007 @ 11:24AM
Begginning in July of this year, I began getting cankers on the inside of my mouth. Cankers generally take over a week or more to clear up, sometimes these went away after several days. They would appear again, several days later in a different location. After 3 months of this and swithching tootpastes, cutting out acidic foods I made an appt. with my dentist. She told me to stop using whitening toothpastes, to go to a place that sold natural tootpastes without SLS AND CHEmical whiteners. I went to Wild Oats and bought a brands SEa someting or the other. Within 3 days, the current cankers went away and havent' been back since.
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janis pierce 2-02-2007 @ 11:36AM
Whew, I'm 66 yrs young and I thought I was going thru the teenage years all over again. I never associated teeth sensitivity, pimples, and skin itching problems with toothpaste whiteners. Thanks for the info.
Jan
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vee 2-02-2007 @ 11:49AM
Baking soda and a little peroxcide works just as well, along with regular toothpaste.
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Sally Leiden 2-02-2007 @ 11:50AM
I am so happy to have read these articles from different people. I have had this rash, like they say, come and go...a little red blister, maybe with a little watery head on it. I never broke them because I thought it would make the rash, pimples, whatever, spread. But. that didn't help. I quit using my facial creams as I thought it may make it worse. I had a prescription from my family Dr., which would help once in awhile, but they always came back. Now, I will certainly quite the whitening toothpastes, and if I want my teeth white I will use baking soda. I will use it sparingly as they say baking soda can interfer with the enamel on your teeth. Gee, this is the best news of the day...thanks!
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BGG 2-02-2007 @ 11:57AM
I've had the same problem and discovered it's the SILICA in the paste. Silica is really poisonous stuff and we are bomabarded with it in almost everything. Check out the labels for eyeshadow, vitamins and even glazes for porcelain...dishes and crowns ( teeth). It causes flulike symptoms, facial flushing and muscle aches. I bet when you stopped using the paste, you also started feeling better in general.
By the way, silica is the fossilized skeletons of microscopic critters.
GROSS!
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