I know how you feel man! This is like, the worst place to get acne! I wouldn't mind cheek acne, seems like that's where most people get it... but around the mouth, you can always feel it, you can never forget about it, and sometimes people jump to conclusions like "oh! must be herpes!". I have to say though, yours is not nearly as obvious as mine, and your beard is a lot nicer too

There is a condition called perioral dermatitis, which can extend from the sides of your nose down around your mouth and onto your chin. It responds well to antibiotic treatments.

Have you considered that it could be a reaction to a toothpaste / mouthwash? It could be the flavoring, the SLS, the fluoride, or the whitening / tartar control components. Have you ever tried switching to a completely natural paste, or perhaps just a less fancy paste? Or just brushing teeth with baking soda for a short period? I've browsed threads on this forum, as well as in other places on the net, where peoples' chin acne has subsided after toothpaste changes.

Exactly what wombat said. Also, in your case it could actually be the beard/ facial hair that's irritating your skin. Have you tried shaving it off? Of course, some people break out from razors and shaving cream, but if it's the facial hair causing it then it will probably go away after you shave. Try the toothpaste switch first, then the shaving to see if it goes away. Since it is responding to antibiotics, it might be a minor skin infection, that's why you should make sure you at least keep your beard clean and try not to get toothpaste or crumbs etc on it.

I know how you feel man! This is like, the worst place to get acne! I wouldn't mind cheek acne, seems like that's where most people get it... but around the mouth, you can always feel it, you can never forget about it, and sometimes people jump to conclusions like "oh! must be herpes!". I have to say though, yours is not nearly as obvious as mine, and your beard is a lot nicer too

There is a condition called perioral dermatitis, which can extend from the sides of your nose down around your mouth and onto your chin. It responds well to antibiotic treatments.

Have you considered that it could be a reaction to a toothpaste / mouthwash? It could be the flavoring, the SLS, the fluoride, or the whitening / tartar control components. Have you ever tried switching to a completely natural paste, or perhaps just a less fancy paste? Or just brushing teeth with baking soda for a short period? I've browsed threads on this forum, as well as in other places on the net, where peoples' chin acne has subsided after toothpaste changes.

I had read about toothpaste being a factor in this kind of acne but for some reason or other ignored it. Yesterday when visiting your thread I saw the same discussion and started thinking...I have pimples almost all year round, though these couple of days seemed MUCH worse than usual....started thinking about the food I ate and indeed I did eat some things I don't usually eat over the weekend. But now that I'm thinking about it, last week I had a visit to the dentist, so might be a reaction to some products he used. Also I have used a mouth wash for a couple of days so that he finds my mouth totally clean (this is my problem...I care too much about how I look). So yes, toothpaste, mouth wash & dentist products could be the culprits of my recent flare. I'll try to switch to natural toothpaste and see how it goes. Certainly no harm in there.

Have you ever heard of homeopathy? I'm trying that out too. Guess no harm there either.

cheers

Exactly what wombat said. Also, in your case it could actually be the beard/ facial hair that's irritating your skin. Have you tried shaving it off? Of course, some people break out from razors and shaving cream, but if it's the facial hair causing it then it will probably go away after you shave. Try the toothpaste switch first, then the shaving to see if it goes away. Since it is responding to antibiotics, it might be a minor skin infection, that's why you should make sure you at least keep your beard clean and try not to get toothpaste or crumbs etc on it.

Honestly I doubt it's the beard. I've been having pimples for 3 years but the beard is just a recent addition. I used to shave before but it irritated me worse, so I bought a beard cropper which does get my beard almost invisible without having to shave. I'll change toothpaste and see how it goes. Today I'm already quite better than yesterday....hoping all this will go away some day.

cheers

UPDATE: went out to shopping complex to find natural toothpastes, and although there are many natural toothpastes, when you read all the ingredients there is always glycerin & some kind of sulphate thing.

So I bought baking soda (actually bicarbonate of soda...should be the same no?) & a new toothbrush in order to avoid any old stains of fluoride. Will see how this goes. Would using only baking soda have negative effects on teeth though? I already don't have the healthiest of teeth (have another appointment with dentist in 2 weeks time due to some fillings).

Found this...thought it'd be an interesting read.

Fluoride Toothpaste: A Cause of Acne-like Eruptions

ARCHIVES of DERMATOLOGY

1975; Volume 111; Pages 793

Fluoride Toothpaste: A Cause of Acne-like Eruptions

To the Editor - I feel that I should share with my colleagues in dermatology an observation relative to the treatment of problem acne. All of us have the adult female acne patient who has closed comedonal or papular acne extending from the corner of the mouth to the chin area, sometimes in a slightly fan-like distribution from the corner of the mouth to the chin area and the proximal area of the cheek. This type of acne has often been recalcitrant to standard methods of therapy, and many of us have been under the impression that it is caused either by chemicals from cosmetics, such as lipsticks (as per Dr. Kligman), or hand-to-face activity in this area.

Having accumulated a number of such patients ranging in age from the early 20s to the 40s, all of whom were adamant in their denial of hand-to-face activity, and many of whom willingly abstained from the use of lipsticks and cosmetics on a relatively long basis without effect, I have had to reevaluate my thinking and interview the patients thoroughly, with an eye to determine a common denominator. My hypothesis was that either the saliva of these particular individuals, or some chemical carried in the saliva, could, during sleep, drain on the areas involved, enter the follicles, and cause a process resembling acne. The only common denominator I was able to elicit from all of these patients (approximately 65 in number) was that they all used toothpastes containing fluoride. This brought to mind a fact that has recently been elucidated: fluoridated steroids applied to the faces of women resulted in a perioral erythema-type eruption resembling acne. Industrial halogen fumes may also cause an acne-like eruption generally referred to as chloracne.

Recognizing the fact that fluoride toothpastes are the prevalent type of dentrifice and that my findings could be a mere coincidence, I requested, nevertheless, that these patients switch, on a trial basis, from their fluoride toothpastes to a nonfluoride-containing toothpaste. Within a period varying from two to four weeks, approximately one half of the patients thus observed cleared of their previously persistent acne-like eruption. The condition of the other 50% tended to persist without change. No other variation in the therapy of these patients was undertaken during this test period. On the basis that at this time I had at least circumstantial evidence that the hypothesis might be true, I asked the remaining patients who had not responded to switch from their present dentrifice, which contained brightening and flavoring agents and other unknown chemicals, to baking soda and a commercially available mouthwash (Scope) as a mouth freshener after brushing. The results of this maneuver were remarkably successful in that nearly all of the patients thus treated had considerable improvement and an almost complete clearing of their acne-like eruptions.

Several of the patients, who were concerned about the dental health factors relative to fluoride and its exclusion, requested to resume use of a fluoride toothpaste despite assurances that fluoride in water and dental treatments should be sufficient for good dental health and protection. These patients were then allowed to resume use of a fluoride toothpaste. Without exception, each developed the same distribution of acne-like eruption that had previously occurred.

I note again that all of these patients had been treated for some time with standard acne therapy consisting of special washing agents, dietary control, tetracycline in varying dosages, and lotions of various types and strengths. But no patient during the treatment period had any variations of his therapy other than the dentrifice.

It was also interesting to note that the patients who were able to recall uniformly that the side on which they had the greatest involvement was the side on which they generally slept, thus giving further credence to the hypothesis of noctunal salivary drainage of chemicals onto the involved areas of skin.

I am hopeful that this observation will be of help to my colleagues in dermatology and that perhaps it might be worthy of a more scientifically controlled and statistically evaluated study.

MILTON A. SAUNDERS, Jr., MD

Virginia Beach, Va

http://www.fluoridealert.org/studies/saunders-1975/

UPDATE: went out to shopping complex to find natural toothpastes, and although there are many natural toothpastes, when you read all the ingredients there is always glycerin & some kind of sulphate thing.

So I bought baking soda (actually bicarbonate of soda...should be the same no?) & a new toothbrush in order to avoid any old stains of fluoride. Will see how this goes. Would using only baking soda have negative effects on teeth though? I already don't have the healthiest of teeth (have another appointment with dentist in 2 weeks time due to some fillings).

I'm not sure how natural the toothpastes you find on store shelves would be... your best bet would be to go online.

Someone pointed me to this toothpaste:

http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Solutions-Xyli-White-Toothpaste-Gel-Fluoride-Free-Refreshmint-6-4-oz-181-g/885

I know there is also Green Beaver toothpaste which is all-natural.

I don't think glycerin would be a problem, I mean it's in almost all our moisturizers anyway.

UPDATE: went out to shopping complex to find natural toothpastes, and although there are many natural toothpastes, when you read all the ingredients there is always glycerin & some kind of sulphate thing.

So I bought baking soda (actually bicarbonate of soda...should be the same no?) & a new toothbrush in order to avoid any old stains of fluoride. Will see how this goes. Would using only baking soda have negative effects on teeth though? I already don't have the healthiest of teeth (have another appointment with dentist in 2 weeks time due to some fillings).

I'm not sure how natural the toothpastes you find on store shelves would be... your best bet would be to go online.

Someone pointed me to this toothpaste:

http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Solutions-Xyli-White-Toothpaste-Gel-Fluoride-Free-Refreshmint-6-4-oz-181-g/885

I know there is also Green Beaver toothpaste which is all-natural.

I don't think glycerin would be a problem, I mean it's in almost all our moisturizers anyway.

Seems interesting. thanks!