The Acne.org Back Regimen - moderate to severe

How I discovered the back regimen

My acne started on my face. In high school and especially in college the acne spread to my body, particularly my back area. I tried everything I could for my back acne including salicylic acid washes and leave-on treatments, medicated body scrubs, antibacterial washes, retin-a, antibiotics, and finally Accutane. The Accutane cleared up my back acne, but only temporarily. Upon completion of Accutane, my back acne came back, albeit to a lesser degree. Unfortunately, I was also left with lifelong side effects from the Accutane. Long story short, through years of trial and error, I finally developed a back acne regimen that helped keep my body acne under control without side effects. And now I'm happy to share it with you guys so you can avoid the long term side effects I live with.

How the moderate to severe back regimen works

(click here for the light to moderate regimen)

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  Gentle body wash: A gentle cleanser will help prep your back for topical treatment by removing surface oils that will allow the topical products to penetrate into the skin. Washing very gently is important as it helps reduce irritation. In back acne, just like in facial acne, avoiding irritation is extremely important.

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  Lots of 2.5% benzoyl peroxide: Benzoyl peroxide is one of those wonder ingredients that came along in the 20th century. It is unique in its ability to penetrate into the skin where it kills bacteria and also drys and peels inside the pore. What nobody ever told me, however, is that you simply need to use a lot of it. It is simple but it works. I highly recommend 2.5% benzoyl peroxide which packs all of the effectiveness of 5% or 10% varieties without the irritation.

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  I also recommend a generous amount of 10% alpha hydroxy acid in addition to benzoyl peroxide. Alpha hydroxy acid rapidly exfoliates the surface of the skin, which helps bring new cells to the surface. The combo of benzoyl peroxide and alpha hydroxy acid is was what worked to finally clear up my back acne when it was at its worst. I particularly like AHA with licochalcone (a licorice root extract which calms and soothes the skin). The addition of licochalcone has been brilliant for me.