Blackheads and pimples don't only appear on the face. There are plenty of other places those breakouts can pop up. The chest, neck, shoulders and upper arms, and even the butt are all common places to get pimples. Back acne is so common it even has its own name: bacne.
If you're dealing with back and body acne, know that it's completely normal and you've got plenty of company. Body acne can happen to anyone, both teens and adults (but it's a shade more common in males than females).
Body acne is caused by the same factors that trigger facial acne, namely overactive oil glands, excess dead skin cells, and a proliferation of acne-causing bacteria.
Body acne is generally confined to the back and upper half of the body, as opposed to your legs.
Like the face, the upper half of the body has more sebaceous glands per square inch than other areas of the body, so the follicles are more likely to become plugged with excess sebum and dead skin cells.
Certain articles of clothing, sports equipment, and other gear may be triggering your body breakouts. Rubbing or pressure on the skin, combined with heat and/or sweat, can irritate and inflame follicles and cause a specific type of acne called acne mechanica.
When it comes to preventing body acne, if at all possible, try to avoid sources of friction while you're trying to heal body acne. These include tight-fitting clothing, too-snug collars, backpacks, purse straps, and athletic pads or gear. Students may want to carry their books in a handheld bag instead of wearing a heavy backpack. Sweat can also irritate body acne. To minimize irritation, shower as soon as possible after exercising. Don't aggressively scrub the skin, though. Remember, you want to avoid friction. A thorough, but gentle cleansing—preferably with a salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide wash—is better than a vigorous scrubbing
1. Swap Out Your Current Body Wash:Choose a body wash such with ingredients as salicylic acid (a BHA that exfoliates the skin's surface layer and unblocks pores of sebum and dead skin), glycolic acid (an AHA that dissolves the upper layer of dead skin cells to prevent spots and to blur red marks left behind by acne), and lactic acid (also an AHA with the same skin-smoothing, spot-preventing credentials as glycolic acid, just a little gentler on skin)
2. Use A Scrub Pre-Shower: If you get lots of under the skin spots or blackheads, using a scrub a couple of times a week in the shower may be effective
3. Choose The Right Body Moisturiser:
Applying a moisturiser will soothe and repair your skin barrier, but make sure that any products you leave on your skin are labelled 'non-comedogenic'
Ayele currently doesn't have body products (yet) however we'll be coming out soon with goodies for you! In the meantime, look into incorporating Ayele's sunflower sweets serum into your body moisturizer to treat and control your body acne and using our Intense Exfoliating wash on your body once or twice a week to exfoliate.