Skin care expert, Renée Rouleau discusses this very troubling condition and one that rarely gets discussed.
When I was in High School, I suffered from terrible back acne. I did get breakouts on my face and hairline, but most of it appeared on my back. It was primarily cystic acne–those hard, sore underground bumps on the skin that take weeks to go away. I visited a dermatologist who gave me oral antibiotics and topical creams to use on my back. Although the combination did help lessen the acne breakouts, I was left with dry, itchy skin and clothing that got bleached out. (Many topical acne creams contain Benzoyl Peroxide which will lighten clothing if contact is made.)
Shortly after High School, I entered skin care school and my teacher
talked about an ingredient in hair products that can cause acne
blemishes on the back and around the hairline–Panthenol. Come to find
out, I was using a hair care line loaded with this ingredient, since it
is a popular ingredient for strengthening the hair. So I immediately
switched to a Panthenol-free hair care line and never got breakouts
again. I was cured and able to go off of prescription medication!
My skin was so sensitive to this ingredient that if I slept over at a
friend’s house and forgot to bring my Panthenol-free products and had
to use something with Panthenol, I would literally get acne blemishes
the very next day. Years later, I am now able to use hair care
products containing Panthenol and have no problems at all. I guess my
body has changed.
I am a huge believer that sometimes certain foods you eat (particularly
dairy) and certain lifestyle habits (smoking, over-stressed, lack of
sleep) can negatively affect the way your skin responds. Most people
don’t want to be on prescription medication if they don’t have to. And
for me, it was simple change in my hair care products that cured my
acne.
So if you struggle with back acne, try this simple trick and see if you
get improvement! It has worked wonders both for me and many of my
clients.
I recently had a hormonal acne breakout and purchased the Made from Earth Grapefruit Glycolic Scrub to battle the blemishes. I like this product because it is super antioxidant and clears up acne pimple and helps to reduce any scaring. This product has salicylic acid to fight the pimples and works nice, also easy to apply and not goey or messy at all. Reasonably priced for a glycolic scrub, and the smell is so good in the morning.