It’s spring, which means more skin exposure! For those with back or body acne, it can be uncomfortable to expose more of your skin if you experience body or back breakouts. Here are a few products we recommend for treating body acne and some tips for preventing it.

Prevention

It’s always easier to prevent than treat acne. There are so many potential causes and triggers, but here are a few we see.

When washing your hair, shampoo, condition and rinse your hair. Then, put your hair *up* and wash your body. Often conditioners contain ingredients that can be too heavy or pore clogging for the body so it’s best to keep your hair off of your skin after washing and conditioning. You may also want to consider switching to a formula that is non-pore cloggings. Some common ingredients that can cause issues are vitamin B5 ( panthenol), silicones, sodium lauryl sulfate and heavy oils like shea butter or coconut oil.

Wear breathable, natural fibers to sleep and change your sheets weekly. Dirty sheets won’t equal clean, breakout free skin.

Wear cotton and/or loose fit clothing when working out. Cotton or natural fibers are more breathable and won’t harbor acne causing bacteria. Also, polyester contains PFAS which are forever chemicals that make clothes water-resistant, stain-resistant, or sweat-wicking, but we’re seeing more and more research come out that they aren’t healthy for us.

Shower asap after a workout to reduce bacteria breeding and causing more breakouts.

Eat real, whole foods. Cook healthy meals using real fat/oils like butter, avocado oil or olive oil and do your best to avoid all processed, packaged foods. If you need help with hormone balancing or healthier eating we recommend seeing a functional medicine doctor. I (Kayla) love Melissa Manilla of The Wellness Space.

Treating

For acne on the back or body, our Clarifying Cleanser is a go-to to use as a body wash. It contains effective salicylic acid and sulphur to break through acne bacteria breeding oil and kill acne bacteria. Leave on the skin 30-60 seconds if you can before rinsing.

If you have someone that can help you apply it, our Poly Glyco Lotion is excellent at not only treating breakouts but lightening any pigmentation or leftover dark marks on the skin. This lotion contains 10% glycolic acid that goes down into the pores, swirls debris around and brings it to the surface. It’s also *so good* for keratosis pilaris which can look like rough, even acne like bumps on the arms or legs.

If you get sore, painful breakouts our Anti-Bump Solution can be a lifesaver. Apply to clean skin starting when you feel a bump forming under the skin and use it twice a day until the blemish is gone.