Body Acne Treatments – Are They Really Necessary?
With so much attention on facial acne, body acne often fails to muster more than a quick mention. However, it cannot be ignored as its can be as annoying and troublesome as facial acne.
Many people think that body acne treatments involve expensive creams and long medication prescriptions but this article will show that it can be achieved through a few simple steps you can do everyday.
You may not realize it, but your back, chest, shoulders and neck have as many if not more sebaceous glands than your face. While they may not necessarily be as active as the facial ones, this would explain how those seemingly harmless areas can suffer acne.
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Due to an active lifestyle and some evidence that body acne is linked to your hereditary history, it is no surprise that some people suffer from body acne more than others. The following are my top body acne treatments tips in no particular order:
a) Maintain proper hygiene through regular washing
It is important to have regular showers to clean your body of dirt and dead skin cells that accumulate over time. Having said that, some people have the tendency to wash too often. Daily showers should be more than sufficient. You may also find an anti-bacterial shower works best to clear your acne quickly. Some body acne treatments come available in the form of shower gels as well. A warm shower is also advisable as an excessively hot shower can dry your skin and cause redness to your skin.
If you are particularly active and tend to sweat a lot, the golden rule is to shower as soon as possible when you do! Also, try to avoid those hard scrubs or loofah as they can be a bit harsh on the skin and may be too abrasive on the skin. When finished with your shower, pat dry instead of scrubbing too hard and allow slightly damp areas to simple air-dry.
b) Use the right topical body acne treatments (creams or solutions)
Use these treatments only 10 – 15 minutes after you shower as any sooner may irritate your skin. There are several over the counter (OTC) treatments available but I will just highlight the different commonly available types here:
- Benzoyl peroxide solution:- Acts as an anti-bacterial agent that gets rid of acne causing bacteria. These are commonly available in concentrations between 2.5% to 10%. The concentration to use depends on your acne severity, and should be discontinued if it causes skin irritation or rashes. Be aware that it has some bleaching properties and may damage clothing it comes into contact with. For many, this is one of the best forms of body acne treatments.
- Salicylic or alpha hydroxy acid solutions:- These work roughly the same way in that they unclog pores quickly by causing topmost layers of skin to peel off quicker. There might be a slight sting upon application, but definitely discontinue if the pain persists.
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- Tea Tree Oil products:- These are popular and work because they have anti-bacterial properties and help to dry excess sebum due to their astringent properties. Some find these to be ineffective for more severe forms of acne.
Whatever the method you choose for yourself, be sure to follow the directions carefully as per the manufacturer’s prescriptions.
c) Wearing clean, looser fitting clothing
While I am personally a big fan of fashion, it is equally as important to allow your skin to breathe. Cotton clothing is generally very good for this while some synthetic materials are atrocious. Especially if you’re playing sports, it is important that perspiration on your skin can dry off quickly. One other thing, make sure you wear only clean clothes, as you do NOT want grime, sweat, dirt and skin cells accumulated on your apparel to find their way back to your skin. While not exactly like one of the body acne treatments mentioned above, this piece of advice is as good as any.
d) Setting the foundation for permanent acne free skin
Ultimately your objective should always be to maintain good clear skin and prevent body acne from recurring. All the body acne treatments listed above work and they are great, but they are temporary measures that do nothing to prevent acne from being a long term problem. That can only be done with a guided approach to establishing some good lifestyle measures which include improvements on what you eat and drink, managing your emotional health as well as having the a cleaning routine suited to your needs.
The resource link below points to a complete guide on how you can achieve acne free skin. Mike Walden’s takes you through a well-researched scientific approach that is guaranteed to drastically improve your skin and keep it permanently that way. You could do much worse than to check it out.