If you are using toothpaste, you are looking to get rid of zits.  It has been commonly used as a home spot treatment, and toothpaste has been commonly effective, some swearing that by applying toothpaste, they can even get rid of a pimple overnight.  Some claim that it is the only thing to use, and it’s certainly one of the cheaper things to use.

But the question is not is it effective.  To some degree, it has obviously shown results.  The question is, is it something that you want to use?  I would say no.  The fact is that while toothpaste does reduce the size of pimples, it does this in many ways by drying out all the oils therein.  Yes, excess oil is bad.  But your skin needs certain healthy amounts of oils!  And when you dry out even one spot, you are doing more serious damage than good in this case.

The biggest problem that many find is that while toothpaste does decrease the size by eliminating all the oils causing some degree of inflammation, it leaves the skin red, irritated, even causing greater scarring.  It is inexpensive yes.  But it leaves the zit.  It leaves the major characteristics and makes many worse with the exception of that inflammation.  So you still have trouble covering it up, because the zit is not really gone.

The reason it does this is because it uses one active ingredient called triclosan.  Now triclosan is also effective at killing bacteria.  But the question always remains at what cost.  There is a reason they choose to use benzoyl peroxide over the cheaper triclosan.  Though effective, and though cheaper, it is considerably more damaging even than benzoyl peroxide.  So yes, while you feel the tingling and burning, that is not a good thing, and while the inflammation goes down, the zit is not really going away.