True Health Project

Can your toothpaste be causing your acne breakout? You'd be surprised.

With advance in technology, we pay or we give up something. During the earlier times, have you ever wonder, why are there rarely any commercials that advertises acne treatment products? Maybe, just maybe, the market is too small or maybe, the causes of having an acne are limited and relief is found in a very short time that no one experimented with skin products and started making money on making our face look the same way as before.

Knowing the causes of our problems will help us discover the solutions to such problem. The same with skin acne, the better we understand what promotes its proliferation or exacerbation, the more easier for us to explore the options we have in finding the needed treatment for this ageless skin ailment.

There are times in our life that we cannot thoroughly clean our face before we go to sleep. This is called residue. The excess oil, dirt, pollution and product residue from our faces are left to clog our pores, thus irritating them and causing acne.

Developmental stages bring about changes as well as life-situations. Hormones either fall or rise up which is also responsible for the sprouting of our facial skin disease. Moreover, stability of our hormones are further disrupted by stress. With stress, we become agitated, anxious making it difficult to catch some sleep and relax. If this is so, our body’s natural defense against infection falters and bacteria sees an opportunity to stay and do some damage.

Thinking that washing up does not cause acne? Think again, you might be wrong. When we wash our face, some of the cosmetic ingredients we used are not totally cleansed off, leaving them to clog our pores. These ingredients are called comedogens. They can cause acne when they are not totally washed off. Some products that has no connection to skin causes acne, such as toothpaste, shampoos, conditioners and other hair products. These can trickle down your face, neck and back so that when you perspire causes the pores to clog, influencing the bacteria-causing acne. This also explains why some people have acne on their backs and arms. If it runs in the family, it could also be the reason that you get acne however much you stay out of the causes.

Some activities that you do, medications you take, foods that you eat can contribute to the occurrence of your acne. Swimming pool water has chloride as well as your toothpaste. Some individuals develop acne when exposed to such chemical substances called halogens. Another culprit could be your cough syrup, your asthma medication, sleeping pills and even the chocolate you secretly carry to bed. They contain bromides which is also a factor in developing acne. Iodide containing foods can also trigger acne. These are found in salt, seafood, vitamins and processed foods.

Acne caused by substances containing halogen usually appears on the mouth and is also called peri-oral contact dermatitis. If and when you develop such types of acne, try to (1) verify whether you are using any of the products mentioned above. If so, try to lessen or stop using these items and (2) try switching to oral hygiene products without flouride, chloride, dyes or flavors.

Body acne, as mentioned earlier may develop if you did not rinse well. When this happens, the condition is termed as pityrosporum folliculitis or sweat acne. This is caused by a fungus that feeds on sweat and termed as pityrosporum. Fungus had been known for their ability to recur when treatment stops. So, make sure that when you consult your dermatologist, to ask when is the best time to stop treatment and what you can do to help prevent the recurrence of these acne.

Photo by shakestercody/ Cody Long