Toothpaste on a pimple: why dermatologists say no

Toothpaste is not a recommended treatment for a pimple. It is formulated to clean teeth, not skin, and several common toothpaste ingredients, including baking soda, peroxide and sodium lauryl sulfate, are known skin irritants rather than proven acne treatments. Any drying effect people notice comes from irritating the skin, not from clearing the clogged pore or bacteria that caused the pimple.

A toothpaste label checked on DailyMed lists ingredients such as sodium bicarbonate, better known as baking soda, along with calcium peroxide, a source of hydrogen peroxide, and sodium lauryl sulfate, a foaming detergent. All three are formulated for brief contact with the mouth's mucous membrane, not for the thinner, more sensitive skin on the face, and can dry out or irritate facial skin left in contact with them.

Yes. Ingredients such as baking soda and peroxide can dehydrate and irritate skin they sit on, and sodium lauryl sulfate is a detergent that can strip natural oils and disrupt the skin barrier, the outer layer that keeps moisture in and irritants out. A red, dry or stinging patch after toothpaste on a pimple is a sign of irritation, not a sign the treatment is working.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends spot-treating with a product containing benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, adapalene or azelaic acid, all ingredients studied specifically for acne. For a deep, painful pimple, the AAD also suggests a warm, damp washcloth held on the spot for 10 to 15 minutes, three times a day, or a hydrocolloid acne patch to protect it while it heals.

Older toothpaste formulas contained more triclosan and higher levels of drying agents, which likely started the idea that toothpaste could shrink a pimple overnight. Any size reduction people see is usually from the skin drying out and peeling at the surface, not from the clogged pore or inflammation underneath actually clearing, which is why the pimple often looks the same or worse once the irritation settles.

Mild irritation from a single toothpaste application often settles within a day or two once the toothpaste is washed off and a gentle, fragrance-free moisturizer is used. More noticeable irritation, such as a red, flaking patch or a stinging sensation that continues, can take longer and may need a plain moisturizer and a break from other active ingredients until the skin calms down.

Whitening toothpaste often contains peroxide-based ingredients, such as calcium peroxide or hydrogen peroxide, at levels meant to lift stains from teeth. Regular toothpaste can still contain baking soda and sodium lauryl sulfate, so it is not automatically gentler. Neither type of toothpaste is formulated or tested for use on facial skin.

A spot treatment with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid applied in a thin layer overnight is a reasonable option for a single pimple, since both ingredients are studied for acne specifically. A hydrocolloid patch placed over a pimple overnight can also absorb fluid and protect the spot from picking, which supports healing without adding an irritant meant for a different part of the body.

Ice can reduce swelling and redness on a pimple for a short time by narrowing blood vessels near the surface, which is a gentler effect than the irritation toothpaste can cause. Ice does not clear the clogged pore or bacteria behind the pimple, so it works best as a short-term way to calm a spot before or after using an actual acne treatment, rather than as a treatment on its own.

Toothpaste applied to broken or irritated skin, including a pimple that has been picked at, can add to inflammation in the area, and inflammation is one of the factors linked to darker marks and scarring after a pimple heals. Avoiding known irritants on inflamed skin, and letting a pimple heal with a proper spot treatment instead, is a more direct way to reduce the risk of a mark being left behind.

Toothpaste is not recommended as an acne treatment for anyone, including children and teens, since it was never formulated or tested for that use. Teen skin can be just as sensitive to the drying and irritating ingredients in toothpaste as adult skin. An over-the-counter product with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, used as directed on the label, is a more appropriate starting option.