Back Acne

Why Back Acne occurs and treatment for back acne

Back acne is a common problem among teens as well as adults. The basic reason for occurrence of back acne is the same as the acne that appears on face or any other part of the body. The body pores get clogged up, collect dirt and bacteria and there you have it – Acne pimple! On back the condition gets worsened for two reasons. Firstly, the tight fitting clothes cause sweating on the back; the sweat remains on the body for long periods. Oily build ups on the back make for more clogging. Carrying backpacks causes further problems because of the straps pressing tight against the body and not allowing even the sweat to run down. Moreover accumulated perspiration promotes infections quite quickly. The same general conditions apply for other parts of the body such as shoulders and buttocks and it is quite common to find people silently suffering due to shyness. Comments made here regarding back acne are equally applicable to acnes on shoulders and buttocks as well. The second reason is not having a regular shower bath.

To prevent back acne, avoid using tight fitting clothes, if you can. If you cannot, make sure to have a regular shower especially after an exercise or workout; it will help. Change clothes more often. Exfoliation, to take out dead and dry skin and stubborn dirt, and cleaning the back with a loofah sponge followed by application of Benzoyl Peroxide regularly should generally be adequate if back acne is in the initial stages. At night, apply salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide dabs on individual pimples. Benzoyl Peroxide may not suit some persons; they will find Tea Tree oil more suitable as it tries to maintain balanced moisture on the skin. Gels and soaps with Tea Tree oil ingredients are also available and are in more convenient form for use. Aloe Vera, recognized as a wonder drug, is also more skin friendly natural product; it is also available in various convenient forms as gel, soap, lotions, etc. It will help kill any bacteria that may accumulate on your back as you sweat.
For more stubborn occurrence of bacne, as back acne is sometimes called, try using 10 percent benzoyl peroxide wash. If this also does not help then a visit to a dermatologist is the answer.

A home made preparation that does wonders for acne prone skin is: add tea tree oil to home made lye (sodium Hydroxide) soap.  Use this soap on oily skin and skin with acne. It will soften the skin and improve acne condition.

Back acne is more likely to be ignored because it is generally out of sight; and it is for this very reason it is essential that it should be attended to in time. If ignored it is likely to cause severe infections due to bacteria being continually trapped against the skin.

Generally the following guidelines are used in case of facial acne - drink plenty of fluids, cut down on sweets, increase fibrous food; cut down on fatty and oily foods. There is one difference between facial acne and back acne. Skin tissue on face is softer and tenderer as compared to the skin tissue on back (or shoulder or buttock) and occurrence of acne on the face is more influenced by type of food you eat, drink you consume. It is generally believed that these factors do not play much part in case of back acne because the skin is thicker and tougher. However, you may experiment and decide what factors seem to be applicable to you.