We’re willing to bet that when you break out on your face, you spring into action with pimple patches and acne-targeting skin care galore. You can take a similarly proactive approach to addressing stubborn bacne (a.k.
a. back acne). Instead of waiting—and praying—for the blemishes on your back and shoulders to disappear, it's time to build a body care routine that keeps bacne at bay.
Back acne is what it sounds like: breakouts on your back that can show up as blackheads , whiteheads, pustules, cysts, or nodules, Lauren Penzi, MD , a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in Long Island, New York, tells SELF. You might also experience redness, scaliness, itching, irritation , or tenderness in the area. Bacne is something you can get at any age, and it can seemingly appear out of nowhere.
“People who have back acne may not have acne anywhere else on the body,” Isha Tiernan, MD, FAAD , a board-certified dermatologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, tells SELF. You may get bacne for a number of reasons, but a common culprit is a combo of sweat, bacteria, oil, dirt, and dead skin that builds up and clogs your pores, Amy Huang, MD , board-certified dermatologist at Medical Office of Manhattan in New York, tells SELF. “It’s usually worse with hot weather, excessive sweating, and frequent exercise,” she adds.
Other contributors include not hitting the shower right after a workout, wearing tight clothes that don’t let your skin breathe, or failing to pro.