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.
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