The rumor mill might have you believing that dabbing some regular old toothpaste on your zit will help it clear up overnight. But, while it's true that several ingredients found in toothpaste are drying to skin and might help shrink your pimple, this home remedy for breakouts isn't worth the risk.
Before you apply toothpaste onto a pimple, you should wash your face with a gentle cleanser and warm water, then pat your skin dry. Then, apply a very small amount of toothpaste directly onto the pimple. Leave the toothpaste in place for at least 2 hours, or let the toothpaste stay on overnight for extra drying.
The chemicals in toothpaste can irritate the skin, causing dryness that can stimulate the oil glands in the face. Excess oil production may result in new or worsening breakouts of acne.
'While toothpaste might dry out your pimple overnight, it is not a safe long-term fix for your skin,' notes Dr Ward.
Gently prick only the very top of the whitehead with the tip of the needle. Do so on an angle that is parallel to the skin. Don't go so deep that you draw blood. If this hurts, either you're poking too deeply or the pimple isn't ready to treat yet.
cold for treating pimples. While ice can help reduce symptoms of an inflamed pimple, heat works well on noninflamed, blind pimples. A blind pimple is a type of closed comedo that develops in the deep layers of the skin.
Blind pimples are caused by oil getting trapped beneath the skin. An overproduction of oil might occur during certain parts of your hormonal cycle, which is why many women get these types of pimples at a certain time each month.
The main difference is in the case of a blind pimple; the infection gets trapped deep in the skin next to the nerves, and because there is no “head” on the surface of your skin, pressure can build and causing pain.
Nodules are a type of hard pimple that can be large and painful. They form when an infected skin pore or follicle is located deep below the skin surface. Cysts are found deep below the skin when a pus-filled membrane forms around the infection. They are likely to scar.
A symptom of both basal and squamous cell skin cancer is a spot that looks like a pimple and doesn't clear up for at least several weeks. The spot may also look like a pimple that disappears and reappears in the same spot. These bumps aren't pus-filled like pimples, but may bleed easily and crust over and itch.
Don't pop or squeeze pus-filled pimples
You can cause the bacteria to spread and the inflammation to worsen.
For classic whiteheads, use a formula with benzoyl peroxide (it kills acne-causing bacteria), and for little clogged pores and inflamed bumps, try salicylic acid, which dissolves oil and skin cells.
Some people leave the toothpaste on overnight, but if you have sensitive skin this prolonged exposure could cause irritation. Be conservative in order to minimise the risks of damaging your skin. When you wash it off, use warm water and a gentle circular motion.
The reasoning behind using toothpaste on pimples is simple: Toothpaste typically contains ingredients like baking soda and alcohol, which can dry out a zit and get rid of it — or at least make it less obvious. “Toothpaste can dry out a pimple because of the drying ingredients it contains,” says Dr.
Hard pimples are caused when dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria get under the skin's surface. Certain types of hard pimples should be treated by a doctor to prevent them from getting worse and leaving scars.
If you're bleeding, she says to “gently blot the area with a clean tissue or cotton pad and clean the area with alcohol.” Once the blood has stopped, she advises applying a spot treatment containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid as mentioned above.
Toothpaste Irritates or Burns Skin
Here's the biggest reason to forgo the toothpaste on your pimple: besides being unlikely to really work, toothpaste will probably burn and irritate your skin—especially your face.
The bottom line. As a pimple heals, your body sometimes produces cells with too much melanin in them to replace the damaged skin. This results in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which we sometimes just call a dark spot.
Usually, you know that a pimple has been completely drained if no more pus can be expressed, so if you see a little blood, stop squeezing. ' 'Once a pimple has been popped, be sure to keep the area clean and let it heal properly to avoid scarring.