Although acne is most often associated with the face, body acne can also affect the neck, back and remainder of the body. Body acne can have mild, moderate and severe forms like other forms of acne. Like facial acne, body acne develops when the ducts that lead from the oil glands to the surface of the skin are clogged providing a fertile environment for bacteria.
Body acne is common on the back, chest, shoulders, thighs and even buttocks of many people. This type of acne will also cause the sufferer emotional and psychological stress. Teens are often too embarrassed to go swimming or shower at school or the gym. Other teens make social decisions based on the exposure of their bodies to their friends. (1)
The sheer number of acne products that are on the market today can make shopping for the right one difficult and time consuming. Consumers have the options of purchasing body acne treatments from the drug store, department store and mail order companies. There are a number of different medications that are specific for body acne but most of those are available by prescription from a dermatologist.
Thankfully, body acne will often respond to medications that are available to treat facial acne. Remember though, no two sufferers are the same and your reaction to the medication may well be different from that of your cousin who told you about the treatment. You may have to do a bit of experimentation with products to find a medication that works best for your body acne and your skin type.
Trying different medications will often help you to find the right one only if you follow a couple of rules. First, you should give the medication at least 30 days test to see if there will be any improvement in your skin. If you see improvement you’ll want to wait another 30 days to see the total possible improvement.
Secondly, you should always know the ingredients in the products you are using. Switching from Product A to Product B only helps if the ingredients and dosages are different. If the ingredients and combinations of the products are the same, or very similar, you are wasting both time and money.
Treatment of body acne requires time and patience. Once you have found a product that does work well keep some in stock to decrease the time the outbreaks are active. You should begin treatment as quickly as possible but you should also include preventative skin care.
Preventative skin care for body acne is similar to keeping your face or back free from acne. You should keep the skin clean and dry. If you workout do it in clean airy cotton clothing and take a shower immediately afterwards. If you have access to a gym using the steam room right after a workout and immediately before your shower will help you to adequately clean the skin of the toxins and wastes that are excreted through your sweat.
Your back is often the most neglected area of the body to both keep clean and dry. In the shower you can use a body brush that has some mild cleanser. However, do this gently. Just like treating your face roughly, too much pressure or scrubbing can increase the damage to your skin. Once you are out of the shower be sure to towel dry before putting on your clothing. Allowing your back to be wet with clothing plastered against it just sets your skin up for acne breakouts. (2)
Find a product that works for your body acne and use preventative skin care to keep the outbreaks down. You’ll be wearing those bathing suits, shorts and backless gowns in no time!
(1) Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: link Found Between Teens’ Stress Levels and Acne Severity
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070305141029.htm
(2) Go Ask Alice Columbia University: BackAcne
http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/backne-acne-my-back
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