Fact or Fiction #5 | Toothpaste as a spot treatment?

Hey there my lovelies,

Another fact of fiction post up and if the titled got you somewhat a little bit curious then I hope you keep on reading.

I must admit that ever since I once read in a magazine that Cindy Crawford used this trick, I have been faithfully using it myself, and if you watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” you know that toothpaste is a great emergency zit cure. It helps reduce the redness and draws out bacteria. However, it is best that you refrain from popping the pimple before application.

Must admit that I have been using this nifty little trick for
years now and in my case it has always been a life saver in cases of emergency when I get that odd pimple every once in a while. Applying toothpaste as a spot treatment to blemishes can help it and make it go away faster. So I decided to re-search the ingredients to see why is this such a good treatment for pimples.

Here are the ingredients in a normal tube of Aquafresh toothpaste:

PEG-8 – binding agent, stabilizer and emollient,
Sorbitol – thickening and slip agent
Sodium Saccharin – gives flavoring
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – cleansing aget
Calcium Carbonate – chalk with absorbent action
Sodium Benzoate – preservative
D&C Red #30- dye to give color
FD&C Blue #1 – dye to give color
Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium- thickening agent
Calcium Carrageenan – thickening and binding agent
Sodium Monofluorophosphate – fluoride
Titanium Dioxide – thickening and whitening agent
Hydrated Silica (gel) – dehumidifying and dehydrating agent

Based on the ingredients, I believe that the main three ingredients that have potential properties that could help to dry out the blemishes are: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: a detergent-based cleansing agent, Calcium Carbonate: a chalk that does have an absorbing effect that could offer mild oil and bacteria-reducing action, and Hydrated Silica, a dehydrating ingredient that may also have an oil-absorbing, bacteria-fighting effect.

As I said I have been using this trick for a good number of years and when this week I got the mother of all pimples right on my cheek, of course had a meeting after work!!! So the toothpaste came in for the rescue and since I wanted the spot gone in like now, I went in by applying a bit of toothpaste on a cotton bud and gentle dabbed it on the pimple. By now you should feel a tingly and  drying effect feeling.  Leave it on for 30 minutes, then wash it off.  Admittedly, over the years, I did leave the toothpaste on overnight, but this can leave you with dry skin. It never happening to me but I feel I won’t be honest if I do not give advise you with the other effects. If in the case that even after 30 minutes the spot area treated with toothpaste is dry please make sure to apply a good moisturiser immediately afterwards to replace moisture.

So if you are in dire straight and think that this trick could be helpful do try it out but if your skin is very sensitive and delicate go for specifically formulated spot treatment products.

So is this a fact or a fiction? I would say that in my personal experience is definitely a fact.

Until next time,

Disclaimer : All images used are via Google