Acne on My Face

Dear Skin Care Expert,

I currently am dealing with acne on my face, but I’m treating that and it’s starting to clear up. However, I’ve heard that people can get acne on other parts of their body, such as their back too. Is there anything that I can do to make sure that I don’t get body acne? It sounds painful and embarrassing, so I’d like to know how to prevent it so I never have to deal with it. - Looking for Prevention in Louisville

Dear Looking for Prevention,

Great question! You’re definitely right, acne can occur on other parts of your body other than your face. It’s no fun to deal with either. So prevention is important. There are actually quite a few different things that you can do to make sure that you prevent acne from developing on your body and here are a few prevention tips you’ll want to start using right away.

One thing that you can do to prevent body acne is to make sure that you shower on a regular basis. You should of course shower every day, but if you exercise or get really sweaty, another shower may be in order to get rid of the sweat and oil on your skin that can lead to acne problems.

Wearing loose clothing that is made from natural fibers can also help you to prevent body acne. You don’t want tight clothing that will keep any sweat close to the skin and wearing natural fibers will help to make sure that the moisture is kept away from your skin. This is going to be extremely important, especially if you are exercising and sweating a lot.

Exfoliating your skin on a regular basis can also help with the prevention of body acne as well. Often dead skin cells can build up on your skin and when they get in pores along with oil and bacteria, this can cause that body acne that you’ve heard about. Exfoliation helps to slough off these dead skin cells so this doesn’t happen. You should exfoliate about once each week and sugar scrubs are a great choice.

You should also avoid wearing anything that rubs against your skin. This can include bra straps that are too tight, purse straps, and even backpacks. All of these things can rub against the skin and irritate it, leading to breakouts. Be very careful to avoid this problem that can lead to back acne.

These are just a few preventive tips that you can use. Follow them and you’ll definitely reduce the risk of dealing with body acne.