Crystal asks (via Facebook)…I have been using foam antibac soap to wash my face and I have noticed my breakouts have become fewer and easier to get rid of. I grew up with really bad acne and this has pretty much helped me the best. It’s easy to use and gets all my makeup off. Do you think it’s really killing the bacteria on my face?
The Right Brain responds:
The main ingredient in most anti-bacterial soaps, Triclosan, is not currently approved for use in acne products in the US. But we found several studies in the scientific literature regarding that show it may actually work!
Triclosan is terrific
The first study, “The effectiveness of topical antibacterials in acne: a double-blind clinical study1″ tested Triclosan and Triclosan with propylene pheoxetol against a placebo. Results showed “added efficacy of the antibacterials when incorporated into the control” for “total-face lesion counts, evaluation of the overall degree of inflammation of the lesions, and patient self-assessment…”
A second evacuation, “Hydrogel patches containing triclosan for acne treatment,” evaluated polyacrylate patches infused with Triclosan for reduction in p. acnes bacteria and found “the antibacterial activity was apparent when the content was 0.05 wt.%.”
And finally, “Preparation and characterization of triclosan nanoparticles intended to be used for the treatment of acne” reveals that as recently as 2011, at least one research looking at optimizing Triclosan in nano particle form for use in an anti-acne product. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2011 Sep;79(1):102-7. Epub 2011 Feb 2.
Triclosan is tricky
So why, you might ask, are there no Triclosan based products on the market? That’s because acne products are considered drugs (at least here in the US) and active ingredients must either be included in the FDA’s Over the Counter (OTC) monograph or they must have a New Drug Application (NDA). Both routes to market take a long time and are very expensive. Apparently none of the companies with these kind of resources have wanted to do the work to seek Triclosan approval. (By the way, you may find it included as a preservative in some acne products but it can’t be represented as an active agent.)
Don’t give up hope, though. The FDA has an open “call-for-data” request for safety and effectiveness information on Triclosan as “0.2 to 0.5 percent and 0.3 to 1.0 percent, as a topical acne active ingredient in leave-on and rinse-off dosage forms, respectively.” They will review all the data submitted and if they rule in its favor, one day you’ll see Triclosan-baseed acne products on the shelves of a drug store near you!
Triclosan is terrible
In closing, we should point out that there is a controversy raging around the use of Triclosan because it purportedly has a negative impact on algae when it enters the water table. Stay tuned for more updates as we receive them.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
At the moment, Triclosan is approved for use in anti-bacterial soaps but is not an approved anti-acne drug. There are are studies that suggest it could be effective, so it’ s entirely possible that it could be added to future anti-acne products. In the meantime, you can continue to use anti-bacterial soaps containing Triclosan if you feel that’s helpful for your acne.
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As an alternative, you might want to try your luck with a topical probiotic product. Probiotics (or good bacteria) kill off the bad bacteria on your skin, restore the skin’s acid mantle (also protecting it from bad bacteria and acne). I’ve heard really positive things from people struggling with acne. Plus probiotics have no human use safety issues (these bacteria are found inside the human body in numbers greater than our own cells) and only positive environmental impact.
Will Boots Antibacterial Original Hand Wash work to clean my face with to prevent acne