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!

I have also seen improvements with short cold showers with body acne. They haven't eliminating things entirely, but it does seem to help things.

I also have a feeling that long or hot showers are partially to blame for acne. I'm going to reduce the duration/heat/frequency of my showers and see if things improve.

I love my long, hot showers! But I'll try the short, cold ones for a while I suppose... What about bathing? I like to bathe even more than I like long, hot showers. Recently I've been taking a bath everyday for about half an hour and I add some sea salt to it. Should I try stopping this for awhile to? Thing is it helps me so much with stress which also contributes to acne..

cold showers have improved my skin more than anything else...the acne still isn't gone but it is an improvement. the cold showers really aren't that bad, actually i'm hooked! thanks so much for this great tip