There is an unfortunate tendency among acne sufferers to deal with their acne via the brute force method, i.e. to aggressively treat its symptoms and forget that acne vulgaris is a condition with discrete causes.

Here's my back-story: almost a year ago now, in the summer before my freshman year of college, I started seeing really gnarly cystic lesions all over my chin. I didn't know why this was happening because for a few months my acne had been totally under control without the help of any medication, period. I talked to a dermatologist and she prescribed a bunch of topicals. But she also mentioned offhandedly during the appointment that toothpastes can cause acne, and changing toothpastes could help. Well, I didn't think much of that suggestion. I thought to myself, C'mon, I'm not slathering the stuff all over my face.

Flash forward a year: my freshman year of college is over, having been utterly sullied by chin acne and the psychological effects thereof. In the course of the year I switched from dermatologist to dermatologist and treatment to treatment--tretinoids, glycolic acid, oral antibiotics, and of course the Acne.org benzoyl peroxide solution--but only ever found temporary relief. Far and away the best solution was this website's BP-centric Regimen (so props to Dan) but even on that, I would see a cyst every few days and always on my chin. I came home from college feeling cursed somehow. Why had my skin gone to hell in a hand-basket?

Then I had a quiet epiphany--hadn't my old dermatologist said something about toothpaste?

For months I had been using one of two toothpastes:

• Crest Pro Health
• Crest 3D White

I switched about two weeks ago to Trader Joe's "All Natural Antiplaque Toothpaste" and then saw instant improvement on my chin--no more cysts. I feared it was a fluke but then woke up every morning as clear-skinned as I had gone to sleep. Now I've quit The Regimen (sorry, Dan) and still have no pesky pimples on my chin. Seriously, none. I'm ecstatic about it and I want to share the good news with y'all.

Now, the science behind this phenomenon is a little murky. It has something to do with the unnecessary additives in modern big-brand toothpastes. The most commonly named culprit around the 'net is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), a known skin irritant (used to lend toothpaste a foamy quality) that's in almost every toothpaste you can buy on store shelves. But fluoride may also be to blame, as well as the whitening agents in pastes of Crest 3D White's ilk. To be safe I got a toothpaste that does not include SLS, Fluoride, or whiteners. All of these have been accused around the web of causing comedones and irritating skin (i.e., being an inflammatory acne one-two punch).

You may be wondering how, exactly, these irritating chemicals inside the mouth affect the skin outside; and to be honest, I have no idea. But I do know that changing toothpastes made a HUGE difference for me.

And I'm not alone--check out this scientific article from 1975, in which dropping toothpaste altogether (and switching to baking soda) led to 100% percent remission of chin acne in a group of subjects:

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I understand if you're skeptical--so was I. But if you have persistent chin acne, and you've tried every treatment, you might as well try changing toothpastes. It won't hurt you any, and it could make all the difference.