People who suffer from extreme acne will know all about it, how it is caused and will no doubt have sought medical advice. For those more fortunate an inconvenient single pimple or zit is the most they have to worry about. There is a clear difference and I am not playing down the latter, as minor acne can still be an embarrassment and have a detrimental effect on the sufferer.

It is more likely to be the latter group of people who are interested in the question – ‘how to use toothpaste to get rid of acne‘. It is a question asked by many people in one form or another and I can tell you that toothpaste does work on acne. I must emphasise though, if you suffer from serious acne you must seek medical advice from a professional. Toothpaste is not some kind of secret miracle cure for acne that has not been discovered yet; it is more of a home remedy that is cheap and worth a shot if you have an important social event coming up.

Further down I will tell you how toothpaste can be used to help acne but first of all let me explain a little bit about how acne is caused. Acne is a common condition that is suffered by millions of people from all walks of life, teenaged to adult. It is part of a very natural process within our skin but for some this process goes a bit wrong.

To keep it in basic terms, our skin has pores all over it. Each pore is the opening to a follicle, where a hair grows. Within the follicle is a gland that produces oil called sebum, used to lubricate the follicle and the hair that grows from within. Sometimes the sebaceous gland produced too much oil and it is this excess amount that gets trapped and blocks the follicle. This blockage is what causes most types of acne and depending on how close to the pore it occurs a different type of acne can appear. The most common types of acne are whiteheads and blackheads.

Toothpaste contains some ingredients that can help to kill bacteria and draw impurities from within the blocked pore. Triclosan is one of those ingredients, which is also found in genuine acne treatments, although as a preservative rather than an active ingredient; it kills bacteria. Ethanol or alcohol is also found in many types of toothpaste. Alcohol will dry the skin but be mindful that it may cause too much dryness which could be harmful to the skin instead of helpful.

So, what kind of toothpaste gets rid of pimples? If you want to try toothpaste on a pimple use white toothpaste with no added color (avoid the gel type toothpastes). Go for one with fewer additives, such as fluoride and whitening agents as they can cause minor burning. It is said that Aquafresh and Colgate are the best brands for using on acne.