Most people have the misconception that acne only affects the face. This is isn’t true, and it’s about time people learned that acne can also affect other body parts such as the chest, back, neck, and other parts of the body. If you are currently suffering from body acne, it is important to know that although some facial acne treatments can act as back, chest, and neck acne treatments, they are not the best. In most cases, body acne involves an exclusive skin germ known as pittosporum, which should be effectively treated with pyrithione zinc. Moreover, facial acne treatments may not work on other parts of the body because the body skin is thicker than facial skin. For this reason, you need to learn how to go about body acne treatment.
1. What Causes Body Acne
Body acne arises from the combination of clogged hair follicles, dead skin cells, and naturally occurring skin oils. Sebaceous glands connect to hair follicles and excrete oil to the skin’s surface to lubricate the skin and hair. Following the overproduction of sebum by the skin, hair follicles become clogged leading to whiteheads, cysts, blackheads, and pimples.
Body areas with higher sebaceous glands concentration such as the chest, buttocks, neck, and back are more susceptible to body acne. Cosmetics, bacteria trapped on the skin’s surface, and environmental pollutants can also lead to body acne. Touching and friction from clothes can irritate the affected areas and worsen the symptoms.
Body acne can affect anyone. However, it is much common in people who workout, exercise, play sports regularly and athletes. Body acne happens when sweat overstays on the skin. It mixes with bacteria, and this increases the chance of dead skin, oil, and dirt becoming trapped and clogged in skin pores.
Wearing tight clothes can also lead to body acne. Failure to allow your skin to breathe from time to time leads to trapping of elements inside your pores causing body acne. Moreover, friction against the body from items such as hats, tight collars, and backpacks can aggravate the skin increasing the chances of acne.
2. How To Prevent Body Acne
Before considering back acne treatment, you need to learn how to prevent body acne first. Since body acne occurs on the skin’s surface, practicing good hygiene can help prevent it. Gently exfoliating your skin to eliminate oils and dead skin as well as taking a shower immediately after heavy perspiration can help minimize the chances of clogged pores development. However, be warned that using harsh cleansers or scrubbing too hard can irritate your body acne and worsen it. Instead, consider using gentle, water-based cleansers that will not clog pores.
Bacteria and dirt stored in sheets and soiled towels can lead to clogged skin pores. Continued use of these materials will only increase the chances of body acne. Remember that tight-fighting clothes cause friction and might trap bacteria on your skin’s surface causing breakouts and irritation. Therefore, consider wearing loose-fitting, breathable clothes when you go out to exercise to prevent body acne. More importantly, avoid picking at blemishes since it can result in inflammation and body acne scars.
3. How To Treat Body Acne
Body acne causes people to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious in their skin. Since many individuals are suffering from body acne out there, there are numerous body acne treatments. According to dermatologists, washing your face every day with water and mild soap to remove dead skin and oils and using benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid treatments can help with mild chest acne treatment. Note that most of the available prescription medications, be it oral or topical might take a couple of weeks to show positive results. However, consider persisting with your treatment of choice to avoid long-lasting body acne scars.
4. Prescription Medications
Most people turn to stronger solutions when over the counter neck acne treatment fail to produce the desired results. Dermatologists might prescribe products with vitamin A also known as retinoids, or other topical antibiotics for chest acne treatment. However, the prescription of such products depends on the severity of the body acne.
In most cases, Retin-A is prescribed for severe body acne. It works by inducing a superficial skin peeling to reveal the underlying healthy skin. Usually, patients begin seeing results after two or more weeks. Full results are likely to be achieved after the seventh week.
For harsh body acne cases, dermatologists might prescribe oral antibiotics. These antibiotics help to remove the growth of bacteria on the surface of the skin. Also, isotretinoin, widely known as Accutane acts as a powerful oral medication for treating all body acne types. It reduces oil glands size to minimize the amount of sebum production. Additionally, it helps diminish the growth of bacteria.
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5. Body Acne Scars Treatment
Usually, body acne scars are as a result of the inflammatory reaction of the body to lesions. Body acne scars are in two types including those that arise from tissue loss like ice-pick scars and those that arise from increased tissue formation like hypertrophic or keloids scars. Seek treatment early enough to avoid body acne scars. Luckily, there are various cosmetic dermatology options to treat acne scars effectively. Some include dermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing, punch techniques, collagen injections, acne chemical peels, body microdermabrasion and fat transfer.
Conclusion
To keep body acne at bay, you need to keep your body clean all the time. Ensure that your body is free from sweat at all times. Sweat clogs skin pores, trapping dead skin cells and oil inside. Eventually, this leads to painful cystic acne and zits in the back, neck, legs, arms, and face. However, don’t quit intense workouts in fear of body acne. Instead, make sure you shower smart, change your sheets and treat acne on time to prevent scars. Some proven to work body acne products to try include deep cleansing wash, body clear zone pads, and cleansing body bar. These products contain acne fighting ingredients that will help clear your pores and prevent body and face blemishes.
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