How to Get Rid of Back Acne
Five Tips That Will Help You Get Rid of Back Acne for Good
How to get rid of back acne is one of the most difficult questions in skin care. The skin on the back is not only hard to reach, it’s thicker than the skin on the rest of the body, making it resistant to treatment. The basic principles of getting rid of back acne, however, are the same as those for getting rid of acne anywhere else on the body. Here are five tips that will help you get rid of back for good.
How to Get Rid of Back Acne, Tip #1
Wash regularly. Acne on the back, like acne anywhere else on the body, occurs when oily sebum gets trapped in pores. Nothing helps get rid of sebum like regular washing-but there is a right way and a wrong way to wash your back.
The right way to wash your back is to start with a lather or foam you apply to your back before you turn the water on in the shower. Give your cleanser at least a minute to loosen oil, dirt, dead skin, and debris before you rinse it off. If you are looking for a cheap cleanser, use Dove soap if you have dry skin or Ivory if you have oily skin.
When you rinse your back, use warm water, not hot or cold. Hot water causes the skin to flake. Flakes of skin can block pores. Cold water constricts pores and traps oil inside. Now for the hard part:
Pat your back dry with a clean towel. Don’t rub your back dry, and never use a dirty towel.
It’s natural to rub a towel over your back from side to side to dry off. The problem is that the abrasion caused by the towel irritates pores and causes the formation of whiteheads. It will probably take some practice, but it’s best to dry your back with a back and forth motion of the towel rather than a side to side motion of the towel. Drying your back with a hair dryer, by the way, also causes flaking skin and aggravates acne.
How to Get Rid of Back Acne, Tip #2
Wear clean, loose fitting clothing. Wearing the same shirt or blouse day after day keeps the skin of your back constantly infected with the bacteria that cause acne. Wearing a tight bra, blouse, or shirt can trap perspiration that feeds not just acne bacteria but also the bacteria that cause staph infections (which you can identify by the yellow cone in the middle of the pimple). When you launder your clothes and bed linens, avoid scented dryer sheets, since the fragrance can get into your clothes and irritate your skin.
How to Get Rid of Back Acne, Tip #3
Moisturize inside and out. The advice used to be to “dry out” acne, but that’s generally a bad idea. Dry skin is tight skin, and tight skin traps bacteria in pores. You don’t want oily skin, but you do want your skin to be moist.
The first step in moisturizing is making sure that you drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, more in hot weather or if your work or exercise makes you sweat. The second step in moisturizing is applying a moisturizer to your back right after you dry off after your shower. If you have dry skin, a little oil (or cholesterol, glycerin, or triglycerides) in your moisturizer is OK. If you have oily skin, look for products with “humectants” that trap moisture in the skin without adding oil.
How to Get Rid of Back Acne, Tip #4
Treat pimples as soon as you become aware of them. Treating back acne in its early stages prevents the formation of disfiguring scars and painful cysts. Treat pimples with benzoyl peroxide for fastest response-but be sure to use a moisturizer after each treatment. You need to let benzoyl peroxide dry before you dress, since it can stain clothing.
An even better treatment for back pimples is tea tree oil, applied in the form of creams. Tea tree oil kills not just acne bacteria but also staph bacteria. Blemishes treated with tea tree oil are less likely to return because tea tree oil is non-drying.
How to Get Rid of Back Acne, Tip #5
Avoid sunburn. If you expose your back to sun, be sure to apply sunscreen first. The swelling and inflammation that go along with sunburn can make back acne even worse. Sun blocks and sunscreen not only protect against skin cancer, they protect back acne from further irritation. Just be sure to take a shower to remove any oily sun protection when you return indoors.
