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!

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[attachment=23149:07112009756.jpg]

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!

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

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 ?

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

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

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.

I have this hypertrophic scar on my shoulder caused by acne. Recently, it seems a new zit has formed UNDERNEATH the scar. It's causing the red scar to be a brighter red, and about twice as high off the surface of the skin.

Any ideas on how to treat this? I was thinking of calling my derm tomorrow, and thought posting it here might be a good idea until then. For the past few days, I've been using the usual product I use to treat acne--Tazorac-- and it doesn't seem to be doing anything. Mayyyybe today the scar was a little softer. Basically I don't know if the cream is penetrating to the buried zit. Thoughts?

Hello everyone, first time posting here in hopes of finding solutions and common interest. For quite sometime my body has been broke out. Can't say for sure how long but I do know it's been a long time. I'm just not sure what it is. Could it be scabies? Acne? Perhaps it's Pityrosporum Folliculitis? Whatever it is, it covers my arms, chest and legs. I can feel bumps all over and they are usually red. They tend to form whiteheads that I can squeeze white stuff out of them. I used to use body wash like Axe but quit using it due to dry itchy skin. I started using Aveeno Body wash and have been using Nizoral this last week, along with my ZNP soap bar the last few days. Well, it's still there but it doesn't look horrible. I'll let you decide or make an assumption. Here's a few pictures of what my skin looks like. What do you think? Any suggestions. Thanks...

Hi, I've been lurking this site for a while now and have tried some of the things you've suggested.

I am 15 and have pretty bad acne on my back (mostly shoulders), chest, and ARMS. It's all over them, so much that i have to wear longsleeves because it goes below the elbow. I'm thinking it could be because i used to shave my arms last year, but i haven't in months, and it's still there.
I am using clidets wipes, and i'm on minocycline 100mg. I also take sea salt baths and the baths seem to be working best. The minocycline only cleared up my face pretty well (It was never that bad on my face).
I have a problem with picking too, just when it seems to be getting better i will start picking and they will be red and scabby for 3-4 days (gross, i know).

Anybody know why i could be having this problem on my arms (even forearms)? I have never heard of this before.

I'm going on a cruise in 2 weeks, which means i'm obligated to wear a bathing suit for pretty much the whole time and i don't want to have to wear a tshirt over it.
I'm thinking about going tanning a couple times to make it less visible. I don't really care if it gets worse afterwards, i want it gone for the trip.

I used to have terrible cystic acne on my butt!! (disgusting, horrible, embarrasing, the worst!) Thankfully I grew out of it, but every once in a blue moon one would pop up. I still have some scars from that whole ordeal.

Am I the only one?

Gold Bond, Gold Bond, Gold Bond! (edited, I thought Baby Powder and Gold Bond were the same thing =/ stupid me)

My back had been breaking out for the past few months out of nowhere. I never had body acne in my life, only facial acne so it was quite surprising!

As you can see its pretty much cleared up minus a few moderate sized ones. And alot of those bumps on my back are actually moles, so be sure to decipher between the two! Hehe.

I use the normal Gold Bond Body Powder. the zinc in it heals the skin as well as keep it dry, thus preventing the acne from forming and healing your current marks at the same time.

Hope you guys like it! It works. And excuse my body in the pics, I kinda let myself go lately and gained some weight. =/ But I'm losing it as we speak.

The order of the pics is from left to right, worst to best.

The first pic is from 2 weeks ago. The second pic is from a week ago. The third pic is today.

I started off with acne on my shouldars and some under the skin pimples on my forearms, so i bought some Neutrogena body wash and a body puff (i think) and ever since i've bee using it my acne has been spreading....I'm pretty sure i'm using the product correctly, i massage over the area and let it sit for a min or two....Thoughts ?

After having acne for 8 years, I found the only thing that ever worked on my body breakout was Panoxyl cleansing bar (10%) It has benzoyl peroxide (I have found that benzoyl works for me instead of salicyclic acid). No topical creams, this just seemed to make the oil production worse. Get a facial scrubber (like those found at walmart or drug emporium and work the solution into the skin until you get a good later. I later for at least a minute or minute and a half and I found thats the only way it seems to work. I like the bar better than the gel or cream cleanser. The bar doesnt seem to have any added oil in it. I have very oily skin that is also VERY sensitive. And this is what I am using now and it seems to work!! Panoxyl can be found over the counter at most pharmacies and grocery stores.

Also, shower immediately after workouts and try not to touch your skin. If you do, if ur like me and you have a habit of 'checking' ur skin for acne, go and wash the area immediately with something with a bacteria killer (like benzoyl peroxide)

So i have had mild acne on my back and chest area maybe about 2 on the chest and a few more on the back. Recently i have been getting more now, say 5 on the chest some also on my arrms and such. Then most recently it seems as though millions of little bumps on my left back side about half a mill on the right side. They havent seem to have gotten bigger and appear to be just enlarged pores but i am not sure.

That is literally and outbreak. Oh yes i use the treatment. For the back i use the aha.