Nutritional and Holistic tips for combatting Body acne
CAN BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH DAN'S BP/AHA REGIMEN!

After several instances of repeating myself in other threads, I decided to make a definitive thread of my advice for body acne sufferers - the following tips have helped me considerably with my body acne, and hopefully some of you may find they help, too.
Just to clarify - you don't need to do all the things I recommend at once! You could just try each thing for a few weeks to see if there is any improvement.

Disclaimer: Acne.org does not endorse any of the following products or regimens

Dietary and internal cleansing advice

- Cut out dairy and red meat - this really helped with my body acne. I'd recommend you try avoiding all forms of dairy completely for at least 3 weeks to see if there is an improvement. You can replace dairy milk with rice milk in cereals and drinks.

- Drink warm water with lemon juice added throughout the day. Try using up the juice of one whole lemon each day, in about 10 glasses of water. This will help cleanse your liver of skin-harming toxins, as well as helping to reduce inflammation.

- Cut out all wheat products - this can be more difficult. You could try and avoid all forms of wheat pasta, wheat bread, pizza, biscuits etc, anything containing wheat, for 3 weeks again, to see if there is any improvement. It IS difficult, but there are alternatives, and it would only be for 3 weeks, unless you do find it has an effect, in which case I don't think cutting those things out would be too much of a sacrifice.

-Cut out refined sugar. This isn't too difficult if you avoid chocolate, sweets, soft drinks etc. If you don't want to do this, then taking a supplement of chromium GTF can help, if sensitivity to sugar is the thing that's affecting you.

-Try some of the following supplements. They can be effective in combatting acne and increasing your healing capacities:
-Zinc[ (75mg/day),
- Vitamin C (2000mg/day),
- B complex (100mg/day),
-Beta Carotene (15,000ug/day),
-vitamin E (400IU/day),
-propolis (1000mg/day),
-acidophilus/probiotics (1 capsule containing 5+billion/day)
(I've put the ones in bold that I think would be most helpful)

I recommend searching the catalogues at www.iherb.com, Victoria Health and/or Biocarefor your supplements - they are usually reasonably cheap and excellent quality.

Taking essential fatty acids such as Flax oil or fish oil may have a balancing effect on your hormones, also. Healthyandessential.com do a great range of these.

If none of the above help, at all, you could possibly look into undergoing colonic hydrotherapy at a naturopathy clinic - this is extremely cleansing to your digestive system, which can have dramatic effects on your acne.


Topicals advice

CleanserYou could try washing with a very mild cleansing bar, as soap and supposed 'acne cleansers' can sometimes aggravate the skin further. Puredeming's castille bar is very good.

Antibacterial agent If BP is not working particularly well for you, you might like to look into the Manuka oil and honey antiseptic gel that Living Nature do - manuka oil is a strong antibacterial agent, and can be even more potent against p.acnes bacteria than tea tree oil. I find the gel to be very soothing to the skin.

Moisturiser Nature's Gift do an EXCELLENT essential oil mix, called clarifying synergy, which you can combine with hazelnut oil to make a calming antibacterial moisturiser.

Using a body-beautifying oil such as hazelnut, emu, jojoba or coconut will help moisturise your skin without clogging pores, and will help to reduce redness.

Other treatments

Try bathing every other day in a bath to which you have added a few drops of manuka/tea tree oil, a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of unrefined sea salt. This will help to soothe your acne and will ensure maximum absorption.

You may want to look into weekly lactic acid peels. This can help to remove dead skin cells, dirt, and other factors that may clog pores. It can also help fade red marks and shallow scarring. Good suppliers include: Puredeming and Loganwood skincare


I hope some of this may be helpful. Good luck and just PM me if you need any info or advice on anything I've suggested or anything else!

Best Wishes,
Paul

After having great success with Sea Salt baths (see other thread).......I noticed the following:

Observation:
Remaining occasional blemishes were focused on borders of hair......on face, back of neck, underarm, and inner thigh.....first thing came to mind is longtime assumption that I had some sort of folliculitis.

Next Step:
Researched the subject.....and found a medical paper on eMedicine.com (http://www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic338.htm) that said "Pityrosforum Folliculitis" is regularly misdiagnosed as acne......and is successfully treated with a chemical known as "Ketoconazole", the main ingredient in a dandruff shampoo called "Nizoral". Over-the-Counter is 1% strength and sold at Target, Walgreens, etc....it comes stronger with a prescription.

Bought it and have been using as a shower gel.....letting it sit on my body for 5 minutes before washing off.

As of the date of this post it has only been one week, but I have never seen my quality of my skin improve so much so quickly.....

Does anyone know anything about this beyond what little I have found?

Thanks.

-RBS

http://www.acne.org/backacne.html

Please give it a try and post here how it works.

-Dan

I didn't know if you all saw this yet or not, but Dan is now selling a cool product that allows you to get topicals onto the back and shoulder area easier.
http://www.dankernsregimen.com/cart.php?ta...=bodybuddy_info

INFORMATION ON BODY SCARRING

DISCLAIMER: ACNE.ORG DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS OR BRAND NAMES. THE PRODUCTS CITED ARE SIMPLY THOSE THAT I HAVE PERSONALLY FOUND EFFECTIVE AND WHICH HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED BY OTHER MEMBERS ON THESE MESSAGE BOARDS.


Unfortunately, due to the fact that body acne is often more severe than facial acne, scarring is more likely, and the scarring is likely to be more significant. Sadly, there has been less research carried out into scarring on the body, and therefore many of the recommended treatments for facial scars that are cited on the scar treatments section of the board are not suitable for body scars. Therefore, I am attempting in this thread to provide information and links for treatments that may be effective in helping to reduce or fade body scarring.
Please be aware that it is likely that no treatments will actually rid you of your body scarring, but also keep in mind that the scarring will probably fade considerably over time.

There are three stages in body scarring.

Open wound stage
- this is the stage following the bursting of a cyst. The cyst can be likely to bleed and then leave a very sore and painful wound. Traditional antiseptics such as savlon and sudocrem are not, in my experience, gentle enough for dealing with these types of wounds, and they also contain lanolin, which can worsen the situation by encouraging more active acne.
These are my healing recommendations at the open wound stage.

1)Cleanse lightly with mildest cleanser you can. The one I recommend is the pure olive oil castile bar available from http://www.puredeming.com/products/
2) Apply an antiseptic, but gentle gel – preferably manuka oil and honey antiseptic gel available from https://www.livingnature.com/catalog/main.c...id=102&cid=1932 This will encourage healing whilst preventing infection and reducing active acne. It is very soothing see THIS linkhttp://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...+nature++living
3) Apply 100% pure manuka honey to the inside of a plaster, then apply over the wound, to reduce pain and infection. Manuka honey is available from health stores, or fromwww.comvita.com Try and get honey with a UMF of 10+ (this is the antibacterial rating) This will help with the healing of the wound. See this link:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...l=manuka++honey
Change the plaster regularly and repeat the regimen above.

Try taking 400 IU Vitamin E, 50mg Zinc and 2 grams Vitamin C every day at this stage.
See this thread for more info on vitamins:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/-t31390.html
Propolis capsules may also be beneficial. (see this link: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...862)

Scabbing stage: gradually, a scab will form over the wound. The scab may come off easily, in the shower for instance, but it is best to try and allow the scab to remain on for as long as possible.
Healing recommendations:
Cleanse again with a gentle cleanser, ideally puredeming castile bar.
Apply manuka oil and honey antiseptic gel
Apply emu oil to encourage moist healing. ( and possible reduction in scarring) available here: http://search.ebay.com/emu-oil_W0QQsokeywo...rectZ1QQfromZR8 SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Recommended-Products-R-t14887.html


Red Mark stage: At this stage, the scar will have fully healed, but it may leave indented or raised scar tissue that will initially be red or purple, and inflamed. This redness will fade naturally within a year or so, but the healing may be accelerated by following the following regimen.

Cleanse with puredeming castile bar
Apply manuka oil and honey gel (although less important at this stage)
Apply amino plex spray (available by e-mail from Loganwood skincare) or copper peptides. Both are quite expensive, and some members feel they are not worth the money. However, they can help somewhat. SEE THESE LINKS: amino-plex, Copper peptides

Moisturise with emu oil/ rotate every few weeks with a week of bio oil (see this link: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...topic=19108) to see if this gives any better improvement for you.
Apply some form of silicon pad over scar and wear continuously for at least 12 hours a day– reduces redness significantly. I would HIGHLY recommend these for reducing redness. They are available in Chemists. The elastoplast ones are particularly good. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...topic=25216

Twice weekly lactic acid peels.available here:Loganwood skincare or here (puredeming) SEE THIS LINK: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...19370(however, DO NOT follow Laet's advice and leave the lactic on for 30 minutes! This can be quite dangerous - Laet only did this because she had built up her skin to tolerate lactic acid)

Look into microdermabrasion. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...crodermabrasion


Final scar stage: By this point the redness in the scars should have completely faded, but the scars may remain as white, possibly shiny and hairless areas of skin. These are known as atrophic macules, and are different to the type of scarring on the face. Over time, they will fade considerably, usually ending as a pale-ivory colour that should blend in with your skin. They should not be too noticeable, but for people who feel self-conscious about their scars, there are a number of options. Treatments such as dermabrasion and TCA CROSS are NOT recommended for body scarring.
The following have been used on body scarring with some reported success:

Course of microdermabrasions (see link above) - quite a few may be needed to make any significant difference to body scarring.
Skin needling. A procedure whereby the scar is 'tatooed' without any ink. This damages the scar tissue underneath the dermis, causing it to restructure and possibly rise to the surface. This is good for deep rolling scars. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...354
Subcision. This procedure involves the scar tissue being cut away from the healthy skin in an attempt to rise it to the surface. It can theoretically raise round, 'crater' like scars significantly although it is not always successful and can cause significant bruising. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...32
Scalpel Excision - This involves a crater like atrophic scar being stitched up to form a thin, thread-like linear scar. However, excisions on the back can be problematic - due to the amount of movement the back and shoulders carry out in daily life, the excisions can be easily torn apart, leaving you back at square one. if successful, though, this is probably the best option for atrophic macules on the back and shoulders. The chest area is usually too tight to have successful excisions performed.
Smoothbeam This is a type of non-ablative laser, which can stimulate collagen production. It may also help with active acne. It could be used in conjunction with subcision or needling. You may need several smoothbeams to see any results. SEE THIS LINK: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...0
IsolagenA procedure where skin cells are extracted from a part of your body such as the backs of your ears and then grown in a lab, before being injected into the scar tissue. It is a relatively new procedure but there is reported success with indented scars. SEE THIS LINK: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...506
Micropigmentation - This involves artificial pigments being injected into the macular area to help blend in the colour of the scars with the surrounding skin colour. This can be successful in camouflaging scars, but the scars will become more noticeable again if the surrounding area becomes tanned.

Hope this is helpful. Remember that helpful information on all forms of scarring and treatments can be found over in the 'scar treatments' section of the message boards.
Good luck to everyone treating their body scarring.

Rossignol.

I'm 29 and have struggled with various forms of body acne for about 10 years. It started on my back and gradually spread to the back of my neck and then to my shoulders, upper arms and chest. My back has virtually naturally cleared up but the shoulders and upper arms are a real struggle. Here are a few things I have learned along the way.

1. Exfoliate (gently) at least once a week.
2. Cleanse with a fragrance free and gentle soap. Aveeno baby body wash is perfect.
3. When using a moisturizer use somethign with no oil in. Eucerin is just right.

I've tried all the natural remedies but none have provided permanent relief. Vinegar was fine but just makes you smell awful for a while and is just not that effective for stubborn acne. Tea Tree was decent but again for stubborn acne just didn't do the job. SA and BP body washes were a bit of a waste of time because they don't have enough time to work their magic. Basically they get washed down the drain.

A very important point I never see spoken of enough is about the duration and temperature of showers. Long hot showers are a recipe for breakouts, as are saunas and steam rooms. The small lesions become easily infected. I keep my showers as short as humanly possible. I.e. step under the water to rinse body for 15 secs or so. Step away from water and rub in shampoo, put head only back under and rinse off. Then I later my body with a simple body wash like the aveeno, or my personal favourite...Grandpa's oatmeal soap (naturally and gently exfoliating and soothing. No fragrances. very cheap)......I then step back in and rinse all off in less than 1 minute or so. Done.

Now for the kicker......nearly all my showers are cold. Sometimes ice cold. The improvement I got in my skin from just doing that was absolutely legendary. As soon as i take a couple of hot showers I know I'll get a break out in the next few days. So go cold, cold, cold.

When I get out of the shower, I dry off and apply a thin even layer of BP cream 2.5% over all my shoulders and upper arms. I then apply a thin layer of Eucerin to moisturize. Result......not acne, nice skin tone, no drying.

The key to it all is consistency.

Light BP cream every day and short, simple cold showers is the easiest and most effective body acne method I have ever tried. I highly recommend people try it. Cold showers can be tough to handle at first but they are so good for you. they boost your immune system for a start and force blood to the surface. This improved circulation help remove toxins and oxygenate the area. very good for body acne. Hot water/moisture is just an environemtn perfect for bacterial growth. Any questions, shoot me a PM.

I have no acne on my face....well little no none but I also found there that in the evening I cleanse with Witch hazel...pulls all the impurites out (on a cotton pad)....and then very lightly moisturize with Aloe Gel. In the mornings I tone again with Witch Hazel and then apply a generous layer of a heavy moisturizer every other day. My heavy moisturizer of choice is......SHOCK HORROR!!!...Crisco. It's brilliant stuff. About to turn 30 and noty a wrinkle in site!

Hi guys,

This seems to be a common trait among my ethnicity (indian), and it is having small red pin prick little dots on the sides of the top of your arms.

Now whether or not this is acne I don't know. They are within the skin and not raised whatsoever but you can kind of feel they are there when you brush your fingers over them.

In my case, I have it quite bad on my left arm and a little bit on my right. This is also all over my back which is particularly annoying. My GP said it is acne and prescribed me some Tetralysal 300 but it has done nothing apart from give me nausea. He won't refer to be a dermatologist either as my condition isn't serious, which I guess is understandable.

Is it acne or not? I'm not sure... is there anything to get rid of it? Would be ever so grateful if anyone could help. Diagnosing what this is for a start would be useful. I have attached some pictures. Sorry they are not very clear, but it's hard to capture them in pictures and much more apparent on real-life viewing!

[attachment=23146:07112009748.jpg]
[attachment=23147:07112009752.jpg]
[attachment=23148:07112009753.jpg]
[attachment=23149:07112009756.jpg]

Just wondering if anyone out there has been sucessfully treated for PF? And, is your PF chronic or did it get "cured?"

I have been on the regimen for about 2 months and my face is very clear now. I started getting chest acne and some on the back of my shoulders a few months ago. It was nothing severe but recently I've been getting bad acne on my chest. It isn't a lot of it but it took weeks for 2 spots to go away and now I have a few more. They are decent size and raised, they look sort of like what a burn would look like. They are painful and get irritated easily. My first 2 went away but seem to of scarred and while these two are slowly minimizing they seem to be doing the same. What type of acne is this and what can I do to prevent it? It could be from the material of my shirt that I wear to work but not sure. Should I go to a dermatologist and get something for it? My shoulder acne is fine now it's just my chest

Hi all,

I just purchased dan's products. Due to many gd comments from you guys, i thought it wouldnt harm trying though the shipping costs are high.

Just abit of info of my back acne condition:
I have had quite bad back acne due to previous national service mainly.
The numerous sweating experiences and rubbing with heavy bagpacks for months worsen my back acne condition.

Now, my back acne had mostly subsided due to better taking care and applying of BP but there are numerous black acne scars and some really tiny acne still popping occasionally.

Any advice of better using dan's products to help? Or i should just follow dan's regime of cleanser + BP + AHA ?
Is 2 times a day really neccessary or will 1 time a day do?


Many thanks !

This is a question I'd love to know the answer to!
I have severe back acne on my back, chest and even my butt.
My face has a few spots; it's mild acne.

My question is, if you had to pick one of the two, would you choose severe body acne, or severe facial acne?

It's hard for me to give an opinion considering my face isn't severe (yet..), but I think body acne is pretty damn terrible.
The people I know think body acne is almost unheard of, and so when they find out that I have it they think I'm like a crazy person, I for one also do not have the confidence to remove my top in front of anyone else, and so I reject invitations to go to the beach, the swimming pools, or even invitations to get naked with my girlfriend.

I know facial acne is of course incredibly terrible, I'm no stranger to terrible break outs, but at least people understand your condition (in a sense that what they see is what they get).
Imagine the shock people have when you take off your top to reveal a scar ridden, spot infested chest and back!

All for/against arguments/opinions are welcome, thanks

Hello-
I have never posted on one of these sites before, but I am at my wit's end. I am 19 years old and have been suffering from stubborn CHEST ACNE now for about 4 years.

It is disgusting and makes me feel gross. I can only wear t-shirts. I have tried almost everything under the sun:

BP lotions/creams
salcylic acid body wash
gold bond powder
tea tree oil
apple cider vinegar
differin cream
Retin-A cream
Clindycamin
Minocycline
I am currently on Loestrin birth control and am taking Zin, vitamin c, vitamin E, and fish oil.

I am EXASPERATED. What's weird is that what is listed above completely helped my face and backne, which is gone. I have acne ONLY ON MY CHEST. I do not understand this and I am so frustrated. The dermatologist sucks and just hands me drugs. What is wrong with me! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed and upset and cry because I just want normal, healthy skin and be able to wear nice clothes and live my life!!!

SOS. SERIOUSLY. THIS NEEDS TO END.

I have moderate acne on my face, and about a year ago also had more severe acne on my back and shoulders. When I was around 20 I started getting really bad acne on my face and back. Now I'm 24, and I've noticed that my facial acne is slowly getting less intense, (though I still have to use BP daily to keep it under control) but my bacne has almost entirely disappeared! It was always worse than my face, but now it's clear and my face is still pretty much the same. Over the past year I've made an effort to eat better, but still eat a lot of junk that I'm sure hurts me (though even when I eat shitily, my back stays clear, maybe one or two small pimples.) I'm hoping that my acne will subside as I get into my later 20's, maybe my back clearing up on it's own could be a sign of this slowly happening..

Anybody have any similar experience of body acne clearing up naturally, while facial acne remains?

I wish I could get a grant and do a study on Acupressure and it's benefits on clearing up body acne. I truly believe it can clear up this condition. It would be great if a study could be done to see just how well it works.

I just read this blurb in this month's In Style magazine. I have not used this product and so I can't vouch for it from personal experience, but it sounds interesting:

Kairos Acne Care Solutions Clarifying Complexion-Clearing Shampoo ($24, kairosclear.com)

"A shampoo specially formulated for acne-prone skin. It contains 0.5 percent salicylic acid to prevent breakouts along the hairline and shoulders."

If anyone gives it a try, please report back ?

well ive been lurking trying to get as much info as possible and finally decided to join. My acne like most others started up around 12 or 13. Today, i have many many blackheads on my back and shoulders, and i get frequent large red bumps on my back. I am 23 now. I have many blackheads on my face but not the 'visible' kind, you can only see them close but there are a lot of them (in fact i bet every pore on my face can be sqeezed and have something some out, same with my back) I have went through 2 bottles of BP 5% and i didnt notice much difference, and recently i have been using SA body wash but still no effect. I have tried dandruff shampoos, and many differens soaps. The problem persists. In the summer i have been trying to get decent amount of sun but no change. I notice it gets worse if i scrub or over-wash. Recently i have been not using any soap on my back in the shower and that seems to help. I have been diabetic since 1998 but its well controlled. Any tips on clearing this up, its quite bad and hasn't gotten any better over the years.

thanks

okay. so i wear makeup everyday everywhere. because i have TERRIBLE skin. i was born with salmon patches that never went away (pink birthmarks found on babies that are supposed to go away.) and.. i have some acne and post acne marks. i used to have the worst acne everrr. anyway. i'm sorry you guys have to see my face. but i'm going to show you a picture. uhm. i'm going swimming at my best friends birthday party and everyone is going to see my face and back and some people who will be there hate me. & all this stuff. ugh i dont know. and then theres my bacne. and i just dont know what to do. im pale too. im freaking out. what do i do?


prepare yourself !

my back acne

if you're wondering what the blue in between my eyes its a vein ):me with makeup

): i dont want my skin to be revealed. hahaa. i mean.. look at my skin with makeup

I;m not entirely sure if it is acne
they look like pimples and just appeared on my right leg about a month ago
it happened on my right leg earlier in the year but it cleared up in about a week, and this time they look worse and are everywhere
i've tried searching on the internet but it could be so many different things, i am just not sure
here are some pictures i tried to take of it, i'm not really sure how well you'll be able to tell what it is:

[img]http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk282/alesha_92/P1020924.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk282/alesha_92/P1020926.jpg[/img]

please if anyone can help me it would be a great help, summer is coming soon here (in australia) and i don't want to be walking around with pimples all over my legs all summer long

and its probably not from shaving because i have been using the same razor for over a year and its only happening on the one leg

Ok new to this site so If i dont sound right, my bad

Im aussie, aka australian (for ALL YOU YANKS thats means I AM NOT BRITISH) and its spring here. Spring/summer weather in australia = 90 degree farenhite and over...I think, sorry, metric system over here, aka 28* celcius and over.

I have a cardigan obsession. I wore them every day in winter, no exceptions, but now the heat is just making it ridiculous. I want to go to the beach in a fricken bikini and get guys phone numbers. ( yes i want to get my frist bikini, the penny dropped a few months ago, i am an older teenger, legs to die for, and a pretty face, like my friend say, i need to start showing of my assets...ASSets)

Problem, body ance. I get it on my face, neck, upper back, lower back, buttocks (ok NOW i sound british) legs, upper arms, upper chest, mid chest (breasts!!) and ON MY SCALP, LIKE LITERALLY IN MY HAIR WTF

I have no idea WHERE TO START

Benzol i have tried in the past, my skin is extremely resistant, i tried a 10-15 percent, and like i had no reaction good or bad, yes i was using correctly

I am allergic to aloe, just bringing that up because alot of treatments have it in it


now my face i can live with, i have had face acne since i was...11, which was A LONG TIME ago, and im talking more than 6 years ago

Its always little bumps on my face, but i have accepted that as a part of my life i will never get rid of

BUT WHEN I START SPROUTING ON MY FRICKEN CHEST AND ARMS I HAVE A PROBLEM

( IN REAL LIFE I WOULD BE SWEARING LIKE HECK, BUT I HATE ALL THE CENSORSHIP CRAP, SO IM COOLING IT, YES THIS IS ME IN A GOOD MOOD)


Things i HAVE tried

Toothpaste seemed to only work for my face.
The ones on my chest are like not even pimples, they are red lumps, like after you squeeze a pimple and the area swells, its like that but with no interention, its just like that

If you made it this far into my post your probably for real. Advice would be appreciated. My chest area and arms cleanup is a must.

Also I just started the pill, Yasmin, would that help it or make it worse?

Hi all,

I have just started using the AHA on my shoulder acne. I wonder how frequent should i apply? For the face regimen, we are told to use it every other day, eg. 2-3 times a week to have a better result comparing to those using it everyday. How about body acne? Should i follow the same or it is ok to use everyday since the skin is thicker?

I have had severe bacne for about five years now. The first outbreak came when I was 14 and I had no idea what to do. As I remmeber I used useless over the coutners like clearasil. As a result I have big white keloid scars on my back and shoulders.

Last year I was lookong on this website for a way to beat bacne and came across the head and shoulders regimen. I tried it and it worked great to clear up a particularly bad patch. After I cleared I used it sporadically, when i could be bothered. This was a mistake as now it is back, AND THE WORST IT HAS BEEN EVER.

However, I've done some reading and come up with a regimen that works great. Its been about two weeks and my back is unbelievably improved.

Mornings: Soak cotton ball in a mixture of water, vinegar, tea tree oil and salt (I keep it pre-made in a bottle). Apply liberally all over affected area of body. Allow to air dry and then put on shirt.

Nights: Wash your body with H&S classic clean in the shower. Rinse off. Get out of the shower and put a blob of H&S onto a loofah. Using the loofah spread a thin layer of H&S all over the affected area. It should be a reasonably bubbly lather. Allow to air dry. DO NOT RINSE.

The regimen is quite harsh but if you have a tough back you will be fine. If it is too harsh, reduce the concentration of vinegar and H&S that you are applying until you can tolerate it.

Additional tips:
Spot treat with manuka honey (whenever) to assist healing
Take fish oil and zinc

After all these years I finally gave in and made a appointment to get my skin checked. At first it didn't look good considering they were not taking any new patients until May 2010. Got a appointment with my medical doctor on Tuesday. He called the dermatologist and was able to get me in today. Thank god someone canceled. They checked me out and I have
Folliculitis on my back and keratosis pilaris on the rest of my body. I was prescribed a body wash that I'm supposed to use 2-3 times a week. Also, I have to take 2 pills this week and 2 more the following week. After taking them I was told I have to work up a sweat. Guess I will have to run on my parents treadmill. Otherwise, I'm supposed to start using bars on Unscented Dove or Lever 2000. My derm doesn't like body washes and she also thinks I should use nothing but clean cloths to wash with. No more scrub brushes or anything. Gonna give it a try and report back in a month. Hope it clears! Who else here suffers from both of these issues?

It is my belief that acupressure for body acne really helps clear it up. But you have to be serious. Don't go to a place that is going to give you a happy ending. Go to a serious place that really does practice it. I used to have bad body acne. Now it's all cleared up. I may have outgrown a lot of it. But I did have someone says they could clear it up for me. I really do believe if done on a regular basis it can be cleared up by this practice. It's not cheap! But I think it's worth it. I wish the medical community would look more into this practice for helping body acne.

Yeah.. Embarrassing.. I know.

Well anyways, heres the story... not yesterday, but the day before I was just in the shower right? Never noticed anything down there... But, yesterday, I went to the washroom, and had an itch down there, so I checked it... but what I missed was this big red bump right under my penis.. Well the area is hard to explain, it is like connecting from the top of my testicles to under my penis. But it looks more like on the testicles.

I'm 15 years old, turning 16 december.. What the hell is this? It's big and red, bigger than a face pimple. Please help me, is this an ingrown hair, pimple, cyst?

Please help, getting worried and thoughts in my head.

I have got buttne. I haev had it for years. I dont how to get rid of it. Anyone got suggestions. The Bum has the thickest skin so its hard to cure the acne. Its such a pain espically when i sit down. Can advise me how to get rid of it.

Thanks

i have had horrible chest acne and now its finnally clearing upi now realize what i was doing wrong.
school was all day and sweating wearing tight shirts that wernt a breathable fabric was a bad choice
also you know how geting home doing work and getting so tired and passing out on the couch with no
shower that night didnt help it.Now im showering every night trying not to wear shirts that arent cotton
and applying 5% BP before bed and wow! its made such a difference i feel great like i can wear tank tops
and swimsuits without hesitation.Also girls with this problem before i found my cure i used a great
concealer that did wonders when i had a bad bump and i needed to wear something revealing my chest.

I;m not entirely sure if it is acne
they look like pimples and just appeared on my right leg about a month ago
it happened on my right leg earlier in the year but it cleared up in about a week, and this time they look worse and are everywhere
i've tried searching on the internet but it could be so many different things, i am just not sure
here are some pictures i tried to take of it, i'm not really sure how well you'll be able to tell what it is:

[img]http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk282/alesha_92/P1020924.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk282/alesha_92/P1020926.jpg[/img]

please if anyone can help me it would be a great help, summer is coming soon here (in australia) and i don't want to be walking around with pimples all over my legs all summer long

First post . Found the site, was awesome, had to sign up.


My acne started up when I was 13 or so, and really flared up when I was 14.


It started with my face, then neck, and mild should/neck. Parents divorced, moved blah blah. We stayed in rental house of a friend while my mom looked for a house, was in the highest room in the house, summer was hot. Did a lot of sweating and not a lot of bathing (depressed or w/e?)

Anyway, now I had Major back acne, probably bacterial related i guess. It varied in how bad it was, but It was mostly A LOT of black heads all over my back, neck, face ect, even on the outside of my biceps.

You could not see too much of it, only the white heads, redness, when I got a big ect, so only some trouble with noticeable white heads, the number of black heads was staggering.


I have learned a few things over the years.

1) Sun. If you have pale skin getting some darkness does help in the redness and amount of and severity of acne. Some people do have sensitive skin, but get some sun and it will help some (not totally). Do not get a sunburn though, it would be possible to get acne under healed skin ect.

2) Diet. This really help out (I personally drink raw milk every day (lots of it). (The milk is regulated and safe, from grass fed jersey cows that are allowed to graze, ect.)

3) Exercise, depending on how you bathe, this can help, because sweating allows your skin to clear itself (does not apply if your wearing lots of clothes, sorry football buffs).

4) What worked for me (may not be for others) was the swimming pool.


So besides the sun and diet this was what happened.


I was joining the Navy (now joined, shipping on Dec.9 ). I got a temporary disqualification for redness and acne of my back (Was not THAT bad). Nor did my recruiter think it was bad, but i got screwed by a doc.

Any who, I got a some tannage before I went back to try again, and going to the pool helped to, I saw results the next day from the pool (used sauna). I passed and was able to join the navy.

Thing was I went swimming at YMCA. Before I got into the pool I went into the sauna to get sweating and the hot tub to open my pores further. This allowed the pool water to get in and kill much of the bacteria and reduce redness, getting some exercise at the same time.

It did not all go away (since I usually only go swimming once, then lapse.)

But I do advocate getting those pores open before slipping into the water for max effect.

(Probably some sauna time after you get out of the pool to clear the skin of irritant's from the pool through sweat.)

I also like cold baths.


So

1) Sun on skin. Helps with Vitamin D to.
2) Eat well.
3) Exercise, keep yourself healthy.
4) Open up them pores and swim some in a pool. Then sweat of the irritants.


Might seem like a tall list, but you can tan year round (weather does not change the affect of radiation on your skin ... ). Eating well, no junk food for me. I like to exercise.

I also swear by the swimming in the pool after opening your pores up, then clearing them out.

I have not done it day after another, but I will manage it this week, as I got to the YMCA for some swimming to get in shape for boot camp. (Will update)

This may not work for you, but its a great change from just putting creams and such on your face and such, which I have tried.

(I also never use soap when I shower, irritates too much.)
(You could try cutting your hair, as if it becomes to oily it can cause outbreaks on your neck and forehead.)



Long post, anywho cheers. Anywho woot for saunas (not the steam rooms, totally different)

18 year old Navy Person out.

In 1998 I went to my dermatologist in Fremont, CA I was 13 and had developed what I thought was acne all over my shoulders/back.
Well, I remember the Dr asking if I had tried proactive solution. I had and I told her it did not work for me. Turns out she was one of the Drs behind it, her name was Dr. Katie Rodan.
Well she took a look at my back and said what I had wasn't acne. She said it was something to do with a clogged hair follicle?
She told me to use Hibiclens in the shower and rinse it off.

Does this sound like folliculitis to you? I can't remember exactly what she said but I remember her telling me it wasn't acne.

I can't remember if it hibiclens worked or not but I eventually lost a bit of weight and my skin was clear. Now my skin has been really bad for several years and am looking to start again..

Also, any advice on how to reach the back area?? I find it hard to apply stuff back there.

Going to make this short and informative.

Background:

For the last few months (mostly the last 2 months), my upper back and shoulder areas have been just getting destroyed. So I was doing research and trying to figure out what was going on. I am also a bodybuilder and recently I have been getting lazy with maintaining my skin. The weather is also crappy here and my skin has become dry. So with combined sweat, clogged pores, bad weather, I naturally thought it was acne.

However, I have 0 acne on my face and have had 0 acne for a long time since I developed my Extreme Acne Free Regimen (see other thread) years ago. Originally I thought I just got acne and it was assumed it was a given since I am a bodybuilder and my upper back gets rubbed a lot when doing bench pressing and other lifts.

Recently though, I have been looking up stuff on here and other places and my symptoms match not acne but Pityrosporum Folliculitis. I was pissed. I basically was a host of yeast and other nasty crap growing on my skin. It had now spread to the back of my neck and was making a u-turn to the front of my neck. My upper arms were also getting attacked. Even my Extreme Acne Regimen couldn't fight it much longer.

Problem/Solution:

So with Christmas coming up and this is more or less real-time status, last weekend, I went out and purchased Nizoral shampoo. I also did a diet cleanse and have eliminated all drinks but water and milk and have been going through 3.5 lbs of fish every few days along with Filet Migeon about 1lbs a day. I have also been eating primarly green beans for vegetables and bananas for fruits. Also I started back up with yogurt. Eating the fish has been a nightmare but necessary.

I also have been taking lots of zinc supplements as they aid in both muscle and skin repair. I also have been tanning my back every 3 days for about 2 weeks too.

As for Nizoral, I apply it in the shower with my bare hands (no sponge of any kind) and rub it deep on my scalp, forehead, neck, shoulders, and upper back. I let that stuff stay on my skin for as long as I can take 4-5 minutes. Then I wash it off. My skin has been peeling from this and tanning but the Pityrosporum Folliculitis has been getting destroyed. It has now been 4 days since using Nizoral and I can say that all active Pityrosporum Folliculitis has been terminated.

My neck area which was most important since it is exposed is now about 80% healed. Nizoral is simply unbelievable and necessary for those who even think they might have this nasty skin disorder.

Summary:

-I changed diet by eating lots of fish and green beans.
-I tanned my back 2x a week.
-I purchased Nizoral and leave it sit for 4-5 minutes daily in the shower.
-The Pityrosporum Folliculitis has been nearly destroyed after just 4 days.