25 replies to this topic

[ecsrun2]

I'd highly recommend asking your dermatologist to look into something other than acne if it doesn't clear up soon. My grandmother gave my mother's kids all a skin condition that caused bumpy skins. My brother and I were only briefly affected by this on our cheeks, but my sister's upper arms were completely covered in these bumps. They are pretty much gone now because of a product her dermatologist recommended, I do believe. One time a couple years ago, she covered her arms in Clearsil though, and they went away over night.

My apologies in advance if this wasn't much help.

keratosis pilaris?

Genetic condition that supposedly affects 50% of the world's population to some degree or another.

They look like small bumps, usually affect the arms and legs, but they can be on the chest as well as the cheeks. Looks a little like acne, and is caused by a similar problem. The skin doesn't shed cells properly, and they clog up the hair follicle. Acne bacteria breeds inside the follicle leaving a nasty looking little bump with a hair in the middle. If you cut one open and look inside you can often see a little ingrown hair. Solutions are the same as acne, products like SA or AHA lotions work good. Dry skin seems to make the problem worse, so proper moisturization helps.

Carmol 20 is a good lotion with 20% urea in it, which is an acid to help regulate the exfoliation of the skin.

[Mumof4]

I just wanted to share something that I stumbled across the other day. I had bad arm acne after my 4th child for some reason. So I tried oil of oregano. I mixed 4 drops with one tsp of water, 3x's a day and smeared it on the acne. Not a word of a lie, it started disappearing within two days! The only bad thing is is that you smell like oregano but well worth it to get rid of the acne. Hope it works for you.

[cgibbs]

I get upper arm acne, in humid conditions. Mixing baking soda and water into a cream and applying it to the area and then, wrapping with a dry towel and taking a nap, somewhere cool and not as humid (basement), seems to really do the trick. I mainly get it on my left arm and I think it's because of the sun, when I'm driving. So, I keep wetwipes in my purse and I tape wetwipes, to my upper arms, while I'm driving and I keep my window up and my AC cranked. The wetwipes just keep it cool and shaded. The heat and humidity irritate it, I guess. My friend gets this problem, too and she wraps her arm in newspaper and a soccer sock (it works for her, but I haven't tried it). I know it isn't a heat rash, because heat rashes go away, with a cool bath and hydrocortizone cream and don't last a month or more. I'm just saying, heat seems to make the problem worse. Also, yogurt calms the skin and reduces the redness, but it has to be completely smooth (nothing with fruit chunks). Don't use a fruit scrub, like St. Ives Apricot Scrub. Fruit scrubs have ground-up pits and cause microscopic tears in your skin. Mixing sugar with your usual shower gel, should do the trick and it dissolves in water (no mess).

[Rhino]

Okay, sorry to bump this thread but I'm wondering something... I tried putting benzoyl peroxide on my arm, and it was fine at first, but now the next day it's all red and peeling... Is bp safe to use on your arms?? I only tried it because this page said it was okay, but now it just feels like I'm sunburnt. Will it get used to it? Should I try a different percent (I think this one was 10% bp)

HELP!!! I was embarrassed by people talking about the zits on my arms, but now everyone's going to be asking how I got a sunburn when it's been raining all week

[captainsunshine]

I used to have terrible arm acne. Tanning helped but was not a full time solution. These days I look at my arms and smile because they are so clear, as is the rest of my body, however it's been a long old road, and unless you're willing to change your eating habits then you'll be plagued with it.

You need to eat 'real', healthy foods, and exercise a lot. Can't understate the exercise bit, and self massage. It's all to do with your lymphatic system. Look at this page and the drainage points: http://www.deeptissu...s/Lymphmap.html

Referring to the arm area, the toxins in your blood should be expelled through the nodes in your armpit, however, if your lymphatic system isn't working correctly it'll find whichever exit it can, namely the skin on your arm. Get your lymph flowing, you're most of the way to solving it.

[chick45]

DISCLAIMER: This worked for me but might not neccesarily work for everyone, as everyones skin is different! But you’re welcome to try, and if this helps even one other person it will put a smile on my face.
I live in the UK, so the products and prices listed are from the UK. For anyone not lucky enough to be stuck on a rainy island lol, ive tried to make the descriptions of the products clear enough so you can easily find similar ones, wherever you live J. Everything is cheap and readily available at a pharmacy/drugstore, without a prescription.

Hi there, I know it's about 4 years too late but id like to share what i did here to get rid of arm acne, in case anyone else gets here from google, like I did. I'm 20 years old (female) and have PCOS, which has caused me to have skin like an oil slick. I've had acne for years in various places: face, back, chest, standard, varying from mild to bad moderate over the years.In the last few years however its vanished from my back and instead appeared on my shoulders and UPPER ARMS, sometimes all the way down to my elbow. Its still present, but manageable, on my face. Apparently there is some sort of infection called keratosis pilaris which can cause pimples on the arms but having consulted doctors and looked at pictures i can confirm mine is acne. Anyway...

Over the years ive been on 2 types of antibiotics (slow but effective) and also some sort of gel that contains steroids, in combination (sorry but i can't remember the brand name) ive also been prescribed PanOxyl (benzoyl peroxide) cream in 5% strength. All worked for a while but became less effective over time, and i quit the antibiotics for this reason and because im not massively comfortable taking them every day, destroying my friendly bacteria etc etc. anyway.

Basically ive dramatically improved my arms and shoulders by doing the following. There are barely any pimples except for tiny, almost invisibe ones which are themselves on the way out, and ive seen a big improvement in the pigmented scarring ive got since i started doing this just under four weeks ago.

You will need:
A body puff
Some non greasy/non moisturising shower gel, preferably natural ingredients, i recommend imperial leather skin kind body wash, quite cheap and they do a see through aloe vera and cucumber 'refresh' one, which is quite soothing. Choose a body wash and stick with it, changing might throw your skin out and shock it. and any excuse for a spot....
Any bar soap, such as dove.
An abrasive body scrub/exfoliator. At first I borrowed my brothers man face exfoliator as its quite gritty (no7 for men, if you care) but then moved on to superdrug's vitamin e body scrub, which is a couple of quid and much more to my liking.
PanOxyl 10% benzoyl peroxide AQUAGEL, available widely, just ask at the counter in boots or any chemist. It's about £3.80. Don't get the cream, its a bit greasier and doesnt seem to work for me

(nb, before you yell at me that 10% is too strong, its the only one that works for me, 2.5 and 5 don't seem to cut it any more. this worked for me and might not work for everyone, but I want to share it just in case it does. If you're really apprehensive about using BP, or have NEVER USED BP BEFORE, it may be best to use a 2.5% or 5% concentration, at least at first. do what works for you)

and finally.....access to a shower/sink lol. you'll need to shower at least once a day ( i go twice when i can, but understand that not everyone can/has time, so one shower in the morning and one wash in the evening or vice versa is fine) + a GOOD OIL FREE MOISTURISER of your choice

so.....in the shower, get any hair out of the way and lather up your body puff with a generous dose of body wash. wet your shoulders and arms. step out of the stream and lightly buff/wash the whole area, before washing the rest of you as usual! dont scrub too hard but be firm. rinse off thoroughly. be sure to get your upper back as well. If you have any obvious white head pimples at this point, give your hands the once over with some body wash and pop them gently, rinse the stuff away. DON'T touch anything thats red and brewing with no head...ive made this mistake MANY times. Now rub the bar soap on the whole area you want to treat, work up a quick lather with your hands, and rinse, this strips off any oil/dirt remaining, prepping your skin for the SCRUB.

Step out of the stream and turn the water off for a bit. Dry your hands a little so they are damp but not bone dry. wait for your shoulders and arms to dry off a little (dont rub with a towel, just leave) so they are damp. this will make the scrub more effective.

Squeeze out a generous dose of body scrub. Apply to your whole shoulder and arm area down to the elbows, and if required (yes in my case) the chest too. dont miss the back of your shoulders and the bit beside your neck as these can get greasy, especially if you are a boy/girl with long hair.

Give that mother a good scrub. Use small circular motions, obviously dont damage yourself but scrub firmly so you can feel your circulation zipping. find a pressure thats comfortable for you without being too rough. I tend to scrub quite hard, but DON’T GO CRAZY ESPECIALLY DIRECTLY OVER PIMPLES as this CAN CAUSE SCARRING. Cover the whole area, and carry on with a good intense scrub for 1-2 minutes. Afterwards, if you got the superdrug stuff, try scrubbing the rest of your bod (although this may be too hard for the face) in the same way, it softens your skin and wakes your circulation up so youll feel smooth and revitalised when you come out of the shower .(if you have time are are feeling indulgent) anyway....

When youre done, rinse off thoroughly under the shower, making sure there are no exfoliating beads left behind. Do whatever else you do in the shower but DON'T TOUCH THIS AREA with any other product. apart from water .

When you're done, try to avoid wrapping the area in a towel. To dry, either pat the area gently (no rubbing) with a CLEAN towel (dirty ones will counteract all your good work, its impractical to have a fresh one every day i know, but change it as often as possible) alternatively, if you're drying your damp/wet hair with the hairdryer, you may want to give the arms/shoulders a quick blast. sounds mad, but i do. whatever you do, your skin needs to be totally dry for the next stage, so wait a few moments until it is.

With TOTALLY clean hands, squeeze out a generous blob of 10% (or 2.5%, or 5%) BP, and smooth it onto the WHOLE AFFECTED AREA (get more if you need) until the whole lot is covered by a thin layer, rub in until invisible. if it won't rub in you've used too much. Leave until TOTALLY DRY before dressing.

Wear a clean shirt every day, and as often as possible one thats loose fitting around the area. this will allow your skin to breathe. BP CAN BLEACH, ive not found it to be too bad personally on anything except towels, but YOU NEVER KNOW, so try not to wear anything you're too attached too. LADIES- wash your bras often, dirty bra straps can undo your good work!!!

Do this twice a day, and if you're not in the shower, just bring your kit to the sink and splash up your arms to rinse. a little inconvinient, but can be done. if you feel your skin getting too dry or irritated, skip the scrub stage for a day. every few days, give yourself a day/night off the BP and moisturise the area instead with your oil free moisturiser. Some people say you should moisturise every time you use BP, but i dont like layering products and find it makes my skin greasy and gives me more pimples even if oil free. play it by ear and find what works for you, if you don't feel dry, don't moisturise.

A couple of weeks in you might find your skin gets really flaky. if so, keep exfoliating and doing all the other steps, but skip the BP for a couple of full days/nights, moisturise your skin when its clean and wear loose clothing. When its feeling more comfortable, you can start to reintroduce BP, but maybe only at night for a couple of days. Your skin will get used to the BP in a while. HOWEVER if you experience any SEVERE SYMTOMS such as CRACKING, SWELLING or BURNING of the skin, stop using BP straight away as you may have an allergy, and see your doctor.

WHY SCRUB? Exfoliation will clear off all the dead skin cells, oil and dirt that clog your pores and cause spots. It also helps with the flakiness BP can cause, and gives your circulation a boost. Scrubbing also refines the surface of the skin and will make any scars you have (i have lots) appear less obvious. The scrub ive recommended says its for dry skin, so it wont be harsh on your skin, which is good considering the other stages, which can be drying.

BE CAREFUL in the sun...keep your shoulders covered and your arms covered as much as possible when wearing BP, it causes photosensitivity and can give you sunburn more easily, especially the strong 10%. this happened to my pharmacists daughter. If you're on holiday or sunbathing in a strappy top (girls) give the BP a miss and have a dip in the sea or pool (if you're near them) instead, the salt/chlorine will clean the skin and help banish pimples.

IF YOU DO SPORT like me, you'll sweat more in this area, so switch your evening shower routine to as soon as you get home from the gym, or wherever, this will help prevent build-up of clogging dirt and oil.
AVOID touching or rubbing the area during treatment (apart from when required for the routine) as this can introduce bacteria and irritate the skin, worsening acne and scarring. DON’T squeeze pimples or blackheads except when I’ve said, in the shower, this can make them worse and cause more spots or irritation/scarring, and introduce bacteria. Trust me I’ve been there lol.

AND FINALLY....be happy and have a positive attitude, acne won't be forever and stress makes it worse! Don’t worry because no one notices it as much as you do, try not to let arm pimples get you down, let the other great qualities about you dominate and shine through. Watch your diet and make sure you're drinking loads of water and eating fruit and veg+ always what you fancy. Try and get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly (but shower after!!!). I'm really sorry if this method doesn’t work for you, but if it helps one other person that would put a smile on my face . If not, it’s something else you can rule out on your path to finding what works for you!

Peace and Love and Good Luck,

Chick x