Did you know that the only place that you can’t get acne is on your hands and feet? It’s because they are the only body parts without sebaceous glands, which produce the oil that can sometimes get trapped in and clog pores and follicles.
The same isn’t true of you back however, and if you’ve ever had a ‘bacne’ outbreak you’ll know that you may have noticed that the spots can be larger, more sensitive and, erm, pussier. These larger than life spots are because the pores on our back are actually much larger than our facial pores so when they get clogged the acne we get as a result is bigger.
But how do you banish a bacne breakout before it can take hold? It’s all about choosing the right products and here’s our guide to beating bacne for good…
Use the right kind of body wash…
A generic body wash isn’t designed to treat something like acne on the body, and while they may smell delicious those perfumes might actually aggravate any spots that might be lingering. Instead find a wash that’ll calm a reactive skin, treat a breakout and soothe the irritation that goes hand-in-hand with spots. Mario Badescu AHA Botanical Body Soap, £8, uses fruit extracts to gently slough away dead skin cells and oatmeal to soothe angry skin. The key is to cleanse without stripping, something that Sans[Ceuticals] pH Perfect Body Wash, £21.37, does very easily thanks to a ceramide-rich formula containing lychee extracts. Or a suits-all option, that’ll give a refreshing cleanse to anyone, but works especially well on bacne too, thanks to 2% tea tree oil, is the Australian Bodycare Bodywash, £25.99.
Sleep on it…
Unlike an acne breakout on the face one can, at least, conceal a vivid, bumpy back breakout and if your bacne needs a treatment there are creams you can leave on overnight to really get to the bottom of your flare-up. dermalogica clear start breakout clearing overnight treatment, £15.75, contains 2% salicylic acid so that while you sleep this gentle, but effective, exfoliant can breakdown the build-up of dead skin and unclog the congestion of a breakout. Likewise, Dermalogica mediBac clearing™ Overnight Clearing Gel, £45, clears skin, but also calms the inflammation, redness and sensitivity that often comes hand-in-hand with a cluster of acne spots.
Regular top-ups…
Overnight treatments and in-shower washes can’t but help your issue, but if you feel like your bacne needs a little extra treatment, keep the Murad Blemish control Clarifying Body Spray, £29.50, on hand. The 360 nozzle means you don’t have to be a contortionist to reach your spots and it delivers antibacterial ingredients to to help clear skin. Plus, there’s acne’s worst enemy in the mix – salicylic acid – which breaks down the build-up and helps reduce the look and feel of your back-breakout.
Gently exfoliate…
A decent body scrub is an in-shower essential whether you suffer from back acne or not. But if you do, not only will it help unblock your pores – in turn hopefully reducing the appearance of blemishes – but it’ll also resurface and refresh the skin, which will help reduce the appearance of any scarring. Jo Malone London Geranium & Walnut Exfoliating Shower Gel, £30, will cleanse and polish your skin in one easy step. The finely crushed walnut shells and soft Jojoba beads work in unison to gently your skin to summer smoothness, while also ridding it of any impurities.
