Around-the-Mouth Acne: Toothpaste, Lip Balm and Other Triggers

Around-the-mouth acne is a very common frustrating skin condition literally faced by many people around the world. This condition is commonly known as perioral acne. This directly interferes with your basic facial gestures. The way you smile, talk, eat, brush your teeth and other movements of the facial muscles stretches the skin. This action often turns these painful pimples into a physical reminder of their presence. Such acne lesions trigger a sense of self-consciousness during social interactions and work meetings with confusion and difficulty to figure out the hidden causes responsible behind around the mouth acne. This stubborn condition feels like an unavoidable hurdle in everyday life. 

While hormones, stress, diet and genetics play as important factors, there are also various common everyday products which might be the hidden reason for triggering acne around the skin of the mouth.

The toothpaste you use to brush the teeth, the lip balms you apply for moisturization on the lips, regular shaving products and certain foods you eat can contribute to the skin irritation that stimulates the formation of acne. Identifying these breakouts causes can help you to make a significant difference in the skincare to build a routine that helps in the prevention and the management of acne.

There are basically two similar looking skin conditions around the mouth that can be confusing and require a dedicated approach for the management. They are perioral dermatitis and perioral acne. 

Perioral Dermatitis Vs Acne

• Perioral dermatitis is the inflammation of the skin as a biological immune response of the body around the mouth with the appearance of tiny uniform bumps that resemble the rashes and leave itchy and burning sensations. 
• Perioral acne occurs due to the abnormality in the functioning of the pilosebaceous unit followed by clogging of the pores, poor desquamation, microbial proliferation and inflammation on the skin. This may appear as comedones or inflammatory acne lesions like papules, pustules, nodules or cysts around the mouth.

This comprehensive guide basically explores in detail the formation of around mouth pimples, daily use products that trigger perioral acne, anti-acne ingredients you need to incorporate for a healthy skin and a few tips to modify your routine to manage and prevent perioral acne.

How Does The Formation Of Around Mouth Pimples Take Place?

The skin around the area of the mouth consists of a large number of sebaceous glands. As the excess oil combines with the trapped dead skin cells, sweat, dirt and other residual buildup on the skin contributes to the clogging of the pores. It is the area which is prominently prone to the direct exposure of 

• Lather of the toothpaste
• Excess sweat and oil
• Saliva
• Food items
• Lipcare products
• Hands
• Face Mask
• Shaving blade

On top of that, hormonal fluctuations often reflect on the lower part of the face. The combined effect of overproduction of oil, friction, contact with abrasive substances, bacterial proliferation, hormonal swings, make up residue and dirt makes the area ultimately prone to the acne. This area is a hotspot for recurring breakouts.

Lets Decode The Science Behind The Development Of Acne Around The Mouth

There can be various factors involved in the development of acne around the mouth. Here is the step by step explanation of the main factors that can contribute to the development of around the mouth acne . This includes

1. Hormonal Imbalance--This usually happens around your periods, clinical conditions like PMOS, during repeated stressful episodes, with pubertal changes, post-partum hormonal swings, etc. These stimulate the breakout development to be deeper, tender and slower to heal. 

2. Pore Cloggers--Lip balms, heavy lip oils, Creams, make up products and comedogenic occlusives have the ability to clog the pores around the skin near the mouth. 

3. Oral care products--Some people's skin is very sensitive to the abrasive ingredients generally present in the toothpaste they use. Certain strong flavoring agents, whiteners, foaming agents, etc. tend to irritate the skin when in direct contact. 

4. Friction and frequent touching--Masks, straps of the helmet or musical equipment, frequent contact of the skin around the mouth with unclean hands and wiping mouth with a common use towel can create excessive friction. This frictional force can cause irritation to the skin surface and damage the protective barrier.

5. Food residues--Spicy, acidic and greasy food residue generally touches the surface around the mouth while eating the food stuff with frequent licking of lips or dripping around the corners of the mouth. This can disrupt the natural skin microbiome and optimum pH of the skin barrier. 

6. Hair removal and shaving practices--Shaving, waxing, threading, depilatory creams or electric trimmers near the mouth can cause irritation to the skin barrier and induce inflammatory response in the form of acne. This can also often lead to ingrown hairs or folliculitis. 

7. Stress--Stress can trigger the release of cortisol as a stress coping mechanism. This cortisol directly binds to the receptor site at sebaceous glands near the skin around the mouth and triggers the overproduction of sebum. This consequently leads to the clogging of the pores and acne.

8. Lifestyle habits--Lack of sleep, a disrupted routine and  inconsistent skincare can also add to the delayed barrier repair and dull tired looking skin.

9. Environmental stressors--Pollution, everchanging weather, prolonged UV exposure in the sun and other environmental triggers put oxidative stress on the skin. This disrupts the normal protective skin barrier.

In short, the above factors contribute to skin irritation as well as clogging of the pores with the residual build up of dirt, oil, dead skin cells and sweat. This adds to the barrier damage and proliferation of the acne causing microorganisms that generally feed on these clogged pores and stimulate the cascade of inflammatory mediators. The chain of events discussed above with various overlapping factors often end up as acne around the skin of the mouth.

Common Daily Use Products That Trigger Perioral Acne

Which ingredients do you need to incorporate for a healthy skin ?

You need non-comedogenic and effective active ingredients which not only fight acne but also work to repair the barrier damage of the skin. Some of them are

1. Silanediol salicylate--This compound has combined benefits of silanol as well as salicylic acid. It penetrates deep inside the pores to exfoliate out the sebum, dirt and dead skin cells. It also works to alleviate the redness of the inflamed skin.

2. Neem--It is a potent anti microbial agent which fights acne causing microbes on the skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties help soothe the irritation and redness on the skin.

3. Tranexamic acid--This acid is an inhibitor of melanin synthesis. It goes deep in the skin layers to reduce the pigmentation of the dark spots and post acne marks.

4. Alpha arbutin--It is a tyrosinase enzyme inhibitor. As this molecule binds to the receptor site of melanocytes (melanin producing cells), it signals to inhibit the melanin production which is mainly responsible for hyperpigmentation and discoloration on the skin due to acne.

5. Niacinamide--This barrier repair and skin soothing agent works to calm the irritated skin and boosts the production of collagen and elastin in the skin to promote good skin health and faster recovery of the damaged skin barrier.

6. Tea tree oil--This oil derived from the Melaleuca alternifolia plant is rich in terpinen-4-ol. This phytoconstituent of tea tree oil fights the acne causing microorganisms being an effective yet mild anti microbial agent. 

7. Contacticel--This red macroalgae derived marine active ingredient works to purify the pores of the skin without causing any harmful effects to the skin barrier. It acts as a biological shield against urban pollutants and also prevents alteration in the sebum quality due to oxidation of the squalene in response to oxidative stress. 

8. Aloe Vera--This is a very hydrating and skin soothing agent rich in acemannan and multiple catalytic proteins that reduce the inflammation of the skin. It is also rich in several anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals to nourish the skin barrier. It also has certain phenolic compounds that help in depigmentation with antimicrobial defense.

9. Charcoal--It is a strong active ingredient for dirt removal from the skin. This gently takes away the dirt, dead skin cells, excess oil, sweat and residual build up from the skin clearing the pores for a clear skin finish. 

10. Ceramides--These barrier repair agents reduce the trans epidermal water loss (TEWL) from the skin. It works to hydrate and moisturize the skin. This not only calms the irritated skin but also blocks out the environmental pollutants. 

Tips To Modify Your Routine To Prevent And Manage Perioral Acne 

Step By Step Guide

Step 1 Cleansing

Use a gentle and effective cleanser for the removal of buildup of the pore cloggers in the skin. It will clean the skin surface making you feel refreshed. You should use Alite Anti-Acne Face Wash twice a day in your routine. It deeply cleanses your skin with the charcoal and boosts skin barrier repair with the ceramides leaving a clean and refreshed feel of the skin.

Step 2 Gel

Apply a light weight anti-acne gel to refine the pores, repair the skin barrier and prevent acne formation. You can directly put a small amount of  Alite Anti-Acne Gel on the affected area and rub gently.

Step 3 Moisturizer

Use a non-comedogenic moisturizer such as Alite Spots Reduction Cream to hydrate the skin and support the barrier repair. It works to reduce the appearance of acne marks by targeting the melanin (pigment responsible for dark spots and discoloration) and help in fading the post acne marks. It also helps to improve the skin barrier.