What causes back acne?
Back acne or ‘backne’ can be frustrating to clear. But why do we get acne here and what is the top treatment for back acne? Like the face, the back has a high density of sebaceous glands. These glands produce sebum, a waxy substance that keeps the skin healthy.
Sebaceous glands are attached to hair follicles and pores. In the presence of androgen hormones, sebum production goes into overdrive, and where too much sebum is produced, it can cause blockages. This can then cause inflammation and trap bacteria in the pore, resulting in acne spots.
So what causes back acne? Put simply. Hormones.
Why is backne different from facial acne?
The process that makes new spots on your back is very similar to acne on your face, but the key difference is in the thickness of the skin.
With thicker skin, backne is more likely to result in ‘blind’ pustules where the sebum is trapped underneath the skin without showing a blackhead or whitehead. Back acne can be frustrating and can take longer to clear, due to the thicker skin on the back. People with back acne are also much less likely to speak to their doctor or dermatologist about stopping spots and often do not seek treatment as they are less visible than facial acne, but acne on the back is just as important to stop.
"Leave the gym gear in the gym"
The other difference between back acne and facial acne is that it can be worsened by our clothing. This brings us to our first top tip. Dermatologist, Dr Anjali Mahto highlights that backne can be worsened by frequent gym sessions, or wearing ‘gym clothing’ (athleisure) outside of the gym, where increased heat, sweat and synthetic clothing result in occlusion of the skin. So our first treatment for back acne is actually a simple lifestyle hack; to help clear your acne, leave the gym gear in the gym, don't reuse that kit and get out of it as soon as you can.
Top treatment for back acne?
For a long time treatment for back acne focused on the surface of the skin. Medicated body washes for acne promised to help clear backne but as anybody who has suffered knows, this cannot stop it.
No treatment or body wash alone that only touches the surface of the skin can remove all acne, or treat the root cause, and this is especially true for acne on the back where the skin is tougher. Don’t get us wrong, body washes can help. The PORE FAVOR bodywash helps remove dead skin cells which clog pores, reduces redness, and helps to close pores and brighten your skin. Cleansing the surface of the skin can help clear current outbreaks. But the real secret to clear skin is to treat acne causes from the inside.
How to get rid of back acne?
So we know the root cause of acne is hormones and overproduction of sebum, cleansing through topical treatments can help but does not tackle the root cause, and that athleisure is not our best best friend when it comes to acne. But is treatment for back acne that works? The only real way to really stop new spot breakouts is stopping the overproduction of sebum. It’s really that simple!
"stop the sebum, stop the spots"
But... how do I do that? This is why we created PORE FAVOR. We were fed up with only clearing the surface of the skin and after numerous failed attempts to clear our own acne for good, we decided to look at the acne causes rather than the symptom. PORE FAVOR'S acne supplement balances hormone production to stop your body from producing too much sebum. Stop the sebum, stop the spots. The best and only way to stop back acne from coming back is to stop the overproduction of sebum in your body. You can learn more at our acne school for a full run-down of how sebum is made and how PORE FAVOR can stop this from happening again.
So what are the 3 best treatments for back acne?
- Leave the gym gear at the gym
- Cleanse blocked pores
- Balance those hormones
Learn more about how sebum works in more detail at our acne school or visit our store to buy our body wash or get rid of spots for good with our PORE FAVOR capsules.