Can saliva cure acne?

~ stashy

A couple of weeks ago I posted a snippet from the book, “Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?” As mentioned in that post, the authors are behind the blog The Beauty Brains.
CanYouGetHookedonLipBalm
Today I’ll share another gem from the book for discussion here.  The question:

My grandmother always told me that putting saliva on my pimples before going to sleep was the best way to get rid of them.  Although a lot of people said it was an old wives’ tale, it always worked for me.  Is there any science to back this up or was I experiencing a placebo effect?

Can saliva cure acne?

The answer is: Yes, possibly.

Imagine my shock and slight disgust at the thought, but here’s the explanation:

…research from the department of oral biochemistry at the University of Amsterdam has shown that human saliva contains different chemical agents, known as histatins.  Using an in vitro model for wound closure, the researchers demonstrated that histatins speed healing.

Not dog saliva though! (Jenna Marbles with Kermit.)

The authors further write:

This study is focused on wound healing, not pimples.  But since acne is caused by a type of bacteria, it is plausible that histatins could be attacking zits at their source.  So there is at least a potential scientific explanation for the anti-acne properties of spit.

Your thoughts? Are you going to be dabbing your pimples with your saliva?

21 thoughts on “Can saliva cure acne?”

              1. Girl, have you been conversing with my MIL and mom? Lol I actually started saying that I think I’m done cause Ava was a real handful in the beginning, I think it scared them a little. 😀

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                  1. None? But Ava loves new friends! Not the sibling kind. Lol! Honestly if M wasn’t so into another one, I could be done. But then I see my friend’s tiny babies and I’m drawn in again! Why do they have to be so cute?

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                    1. They’re cute to lure adults into caring for them and forgetting about how they threw up on their favourite blouse, that’s why!
                      Nah, I’m just not the maternal type. I enjoy short encounters with my friends’ babies (and Lord knows they ALL have kids!) but I’m happy to pass them back to mommy!

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  2. My mom always told me about doing that for a scrape or cut if you weren’t able to wash it right away. I guess it probably comes from dogs and cats licking their wounds. But no, I’m not licking a zit! Hahaha! Seriously, though, I imagine there are other things, like some bacteria, in that saliva that perhaps might not be so good for a zit (or a wound).

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  6. Never heard of this before, but if I’d get really desperate, well why not? 🙂
    Your blog is really lovely so I nominated you for the liebster award if you want to do it there’s more information on latest blog post :)x

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