Spotty Back

nostrilnose

Hi all,

any tips for somebody with a spotty back and shoulders?
Back acne...marvellous...I don't get it anywhere else - just my back.

I don't want to take any medications as I have bad kidneys and I'm generally advised to do my best to avoid things like that.

I'd be pretty self-conscious about the spots - means I can't wear certain tops and stuff...and I'd like to be able to get away with wearing them sometimes...:o
any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Nostrilnose.

Pythia

You could try this Clinique spray, it's made for areas such as the back.

http://www.clinique.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY4913&PRODUCT_ID=PROD11815

I used to have problems with bacne (back acne! ) but the pill sorted me out. I don't know if you're allowed take that?

ravima

Drink water, cut back on sugars and try back cleanser regime in beautician

Quaver

ravima wrote: »

Drink water, cut back on sugars and try back cleanser regime in beautician

+1 on this, realistically the only thing that will make a difference, unless of course it's serious acne. How bad is it?

Pythia

Quaver wrote: »

+1 on this, realistically the only thing that will make a difference, unless of course it's serious acne. How bad is it?

Doesn't make much difference imo. That will only help pimples and the like. Acne on the back needs harder stuff. Acne isn't caused by too little water. If only!

Quaver

Pythia wrote: »

Doesn't make much difference imo. That will only help pimples and the like. Acne on the back needs harder stuff. Acne isn't caused by too little water. If only!

That's why I asked how bad it was, imo people are all to quick to say they have acne, which is a serious skin condition, when in reality they just have bad skin, usually caused by something external.

OP, I know you might be concious about this, but letting the air at your skin may also help. Does anyone else ever notice that their skin is always better during the summer? I usually put this down to the fact that my skin is more exposed to the fresh air, and I'm usually drinking more water and eating better.

edit: OP, have you tried taking any vitamins? You can get vitamins balanced specifically for your skin, and Omega-3 is also really good for your skin.

lorem ipsum

Hi NH,

I had really back bacne too, its such a pain coz you have to be constantly careful about what you wear. What worked for me was using Panoxyl acne cream (you can get it any chemist) every night. Its a strong medicated cream (it comes in different strengths, I used a low strength formula) which I literally piled onto the spots on my back. As the cream is strong you have to wear an old t-shirt to bed as it will bleech the fabric.

Before I applied it each night, I cleansed my back with a regular facial cleansing wash, I used clean and clear. After a while your skin may become quite dry so in the mornings you can apply body moisturizer to your back, E45 cream would prob be fine.

It takes a while to work, and things may get worse before they get better. It was about 6 weeks before it really paid off for me, but it was def worth it because not i can wear what I want, when I want!

Hope that helps!

mood

There are alot of laser treatment to treat acne. I have spots on my back as well and will invest in laser treatments when I can afford it. My skin has cleared up after seeing a nutritionist however so I'm hoping if I stick to her guidelines 100% I won't need laser at all. This would also help with your Kidney problems and general health.

travel_bug

carrot juice works wonders for clearing the skin. i had a friend with the same problem and he drank gallons of it and it really helped. a good body scrub a few times a week will help to clear the pores, and you might want to consider using a white-clay based mask on it too. and check your local salons that do facial treatments using ozone, it's amazing for it, and they should do it on your back for you.

Semele

I had this for years but then it suddenly cleared up when I hit 21. The joy of being able to wear whatever I like without worrying about covering up has still not diminished at all!

What worked for me (although I imagine hormone levels played a big part) was:

1. Exfoliate twice a week to get rid of dead skin. Nothing too harsh or you might aggravate it more. St Ives are great, or you could try dry body brushing which improves circulation and skin tone.

2. When showering use a facial wash for sensitive skin rather than soap or shower gel on the area- treat the skin there as you would that on your face.

3. That Clinique back spray that Pythia recommended is great. Spray lightly on the area after washing, night and morning. It creates a sort of protective layer that stops grease and sweat building up on your skin and clogging the pores.

4. Try to let air circulate as much as possible- obviously this is impractical during the day if you're paranoid about what to wear but make an effort to keep cool at night by wearing a little vest top or something in bed.

5. Drink a lot of water!

Leprachaun

Lay off the creatine. :pac:

Seriously,everything everyone else has said should do the job. Drink loads of water,don't turn up the temperature too much in the shower as the hot water can dry out your skin causing the pores on your pack to make extra oil causing back acne or 'back-ne'.

mac123

Quaver wrote: »

+1 on this, realistically the only thing that will make a difference, unless of course it's serious acne. How bad is it?

i drink more water than anyone i know, im pretty healthy and dont eat much sugar...yet i have some bacne! water helps but it certainly isnt a cure.

acne.org has a regime for it, havnt tried it yet as im broke but its got some good reviews!

Nickibaby*

I used to have spots on my back more than acne but I used neutrogena back wash and it really improved them and slapped on sudocrem. The thing that really solved it though was going on the pill. Unbalanced? hormone levels were causing mine, best try to get to the route of the problem, maybe it's washing powder or something your eating or lacking (vitamins)? I suppose trial and error is the only way of finding out...

princess-sprkle

make sure you wash your back after you rinse out hair conditioner, as it can block up the pores in your back. or flip your hair forward when you rinse it.

QuiteInterestin

I was about to start a new thread on this but I came across this one. Same as OP, I was looking for recommendations for products to help get rid of all the spots on my back and chest. I was on the pill (dianette) for few years which helped a fair bit but never really got rid of them altogether, but since coming of it the spots are back in full force and would I prefer not to have to go back on it if at all possible. I've had them for the last 10 years (I'm mid 20s) and not looking forward to another summer of trying to find clothes that cover my back and front (nearly impossible ).

A previous post recommends neutrogena back wash, I've seen this recommended on the net but couldn't get any info on Irish stockists. Does anyone know where I could buy this or something similar? Would prefer not to have to buy of the internet if possible as I'd like to try it first before paying large postage on something i might only use once.

Thanks in advance!