By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Tribune Newspapers
A dab of toothpaste has long been a favorite home remedy for clearing up pimples. But could it also cause them?
Despite
suspicions from some zit-stricken folks seeking answers on online
advice forums, dermatologists say there's no reason to blame toothpaste
for acne breakouts.
What toothpaste can cause, however, is irritation or allergic
reactions in people with certain sensitivities, resulting in rashy bumps
around the mouth or, perhaps, rosacea, a chronic condition of redness
and skin sores that might be confused with traditional acne, said Dr.
Richard Gallo, chair of the dermatology department at the University of
California at San Diego.
"One of the instructions we give to patients with rosacea is to think about the toothpaste you're using," Gallo said.
People
can be allergic to just about anything, but toothpaste's mint and
cinnamon flavorings, which can include the allergens balsam of Peru,
cinnamic aldehyde and peppermint and spearmint flavors, are major
culprits in skin reactions, Gallo said.
Trouble is, 95 percent of
153 toothpastes evaluated in a study did not list the specific flavoring
ingredients, so people wouldn't know to avoid them, researchers wrote
in a study published in September in the Journal of Clinical and
Aesthetic Dermatology. And it's not easy to find toothpaste without any
flavoring.
Other potential allergens that were listed in many of
the toothpastes reviewed included sorbitan sesquioleate derivatives,
propylene glycol, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium benzoate and benzoic
acid, the study found.
People who are worried they are allergic to
toothpaste ingredients should see a specialist who can test reactions
to the specific ingredients, Gallo said.
But sometimes a skin flare-up has nothing to do with an allergy and is instead irritation.
Sodium
lauryl sulfate, a detergent responsible for the foaming properties of
toothpaste, is a common irritant that can aggravate the skin around the
mouth just as might happen when you eat citrus or spicy foods, said Dr.
Andrew Scheman, a dermatologist at the North Shore Center for Medical
Aesthetics in Northbrook, Ill., who specializes in contact allergies and
was the lead author on the toothpaste study.
Some dermatologists
have implicated fluoride as an irritant causing perioral dermatitis, a
rash of tiny red bumps around the mouth usually brought on by topical
steroids. But few studies have proved the link, and the claims remain
"unsubstantiated," Gallo said.
As for whitening toothpastes,
Scheman said that if they cause irritant or allergic reactions, it's
likely because of something else in the toothpaste, not the whitening
agents.
Source
home remedies for rosacea
