Clear Skin Series: Busting Back and Body Acne

I was recently asked by someone what I would recommend them to treat back-acne.

Well, I have a confession to make. I suffer from the condition too – not severe, but enough to make me think twice whenever I need to consider wearing strapless or backless clothing.

Suffering from acne anywhere on your body can be debilitating, whether it be on your face, back or chest that can be hidden by clothing, it ultimately can have the same effect and lower your self esteem and affect confidence levels. Acne on the body is generally caused by hormonal imbalance, where to body is producing too much sebum and the best thing is to try and keep the oil and grease off the skin so it does not clog the pores and hair follicles on the body.

Here are my tried and true products that I use to keep my body blemishes at bay.

Back-Acne Busters

1. Wash skin with an anti-bacterial cleanser on a daily basis. I recommend anything with benzoyl peroxide as an active ingredient as it will help to kill off the bacteria on skin and remove excess oil. Benzac AC 5% Face and Body Wash is a good place to start and it's not too drying on skin.

2. Incorporate into your cleansing  routine a body wash with AHA to help with removing dead skin cell build-up and unclogging pores. The ASAP Revitalising Body Scrub is great for this as it contains glycolic acid (a type of AHA)and micro polishing beads to manually exfoliate skin leaving it baby smooth without all those layers of dead skin that blocks pores. I recommend using the product 2-3 times a week in place of the anti-bacterial body was.

3. As a further step of exfoliating the skin, try a dry body brush to brush off oil and grease from the body and is especially handy for those hard-to reach areas like the back. The Manicare Cellulite Bristle Brush will do the job perfectly and help with removing skin cells and help with blood circulation. I haven't really used it as a cellulite reduction brush and cannot say how effective it is for that but for exfoliating, it is amazing.

4. Sometimes, all the over-counters products will not be enough to treat your problem if it is persistent and severe. Don't be afraid to call in the help of the GP (you don't have to be dying of the flu to see them!). I recently did just that and was prescribed something topical to help with treating the pimples. If you suffer severe cases, your doctor may be prescribe you oral medication. I use Epiduo Gel which contains 2.5% benzoyl peroxide to kill off the bacteria and 0.1% adapalene, a retinoid to help unclog pores as well as reduce inflammation and swelling of bumps and cysts.

5. The other thing to keep in mind is to wear natural fibre clothing so that excess moisture and oil can be absorbed by the fabric and still let the body breath comfortably. To that end, I recommend wearing cotton, bamboo or woollen materials over the synthetic and polyester clothing.

I hope that these tips will help you keep you skin clear and blemish free (or at least reduce the number of nasty bumps on you skin). Let me know if you have other methods that works for achieving clear skin on your body.

Stocklist Information:
Benzac AC 5% Face and Body Wash 200ml - RRP A$16.99 is available at pharmacies.
ASAP Revitalising Body Scrub 200ml - RRP A$39 is available at selected salons and online at the SkinCareStore.
Manicare Cellulite Bristle Brush - RRP A$14.95 is available at Priceline, Kmart, Target, Big W and selected pharmacies
Epiduo gel is a prescription-only drug and available from your GP upon request.

In the next skincare series, I'll review some great scar treatment products.