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neck acne regimen

Neck acne

Neck acne can be painful, embarrassing and can be harder to treat. The skin on the back of the neck is thicker than facial skin and needs to be treated differently.

  • Get neck acne clear

    Neck acne is challenging, but the good news is that we now have a regimen which can clear up even severe cases of neck acne. It took me 20 years of trial and error and research to nail it down, but when followed precisely it works remarkably well. The Neck Regimen is a process that can be used with products found at your local drugstore.

  • What's up with neck acne?

    • Neck acne explained
    • What causes neck acne?
    • Treating neck acne

  • Neck acne message board

    Read the discussions about neck acne of join in the conversation.

  • Finding supplies

    You can use many different brands of drugstore products with the Neck Regimen.

  • Before & After

    Photo gallery of Acne.org members on The Acne.org Regimen.

 

Introduction to neck acne

orange bean The skin of the neck is located between the face and the body, and while it is more similar to body acne than facial acne, it tends to present unique challenges. Neck acne lesions can be more painful than those on the face or the body, and can have an abrupt onset and long life as well. However, despite these differences, neck acne dvelops in a similar way to acne on the face or the body, and can be effectively treated.

What is neck acne?

Acne on the back of the neck is very similar to acne on the back itself. Much like the back, the skin on the back of the neck is much thicker than that on the face and can produce lots of oil. Because of this, the skin on the back of the neck can often produce more severe lesions such as cysts and nodules, or large whiteheads. Neck acne tends to be more prevalent in boys and men, but girls and women can experience it as well.

Causes of neck acne

Neck acne is caused by the same mechanisms that cause facial and body acne. Pores become clogged due to a build-up of cells inside pores which stick together and cause a plug. Then bacteria and skin oil, which would normally drain to the surface get caught inside and grows. These pores can burst, causing redness and pus to develop.

Irritation can also aggravate neck acne. Collared shirts that rub on the skin of the neck can make acne worse in the area. This often creates a vicious circle. Acne develops, so people will wear collared shirts to cover it. The collared shirts then cause irritation and aggravate acne, and so on. Anything else that irritates the skin on the back of the neck can also lead to more acne. Try some of the following ways of avoiding irritation.

  • Try wearing crew neck shirts or shirts without collars.
  • If you must wear collared shirts, as most of us must from time to time, try wearing soft cotton shirts which will be less harsh when rubbing against the skin.
  • Do not pick the area.
  • Try to stay aware of anything that might irritate the back of your neck and take action to stop the irritation if possible.

Treatments

Back when I was experiencing neck acne, there were precious few treatments that did much of anything, but times have changed. Now we have an effective way of handling both light to moderate and moderate to severe cases of neck acne.

Light to moderate cases:

  • Gentle cleansing plus 10% alpha hydroxy acid (glycolic acid) may keep you completely clear. The light to moderate regimen is an easy way to keep everything under control.

Moderate to severe cases:

  • A more aggressive regimen which combines 2.5% benzoyl peroxide and 10% alpha hydroxy acid (glycolic acid) works to take care of more severe cases.
  • The other thing that worked for me was Accutane. However, since Accutane has such intense and sometimes lifelong side effects, it is a very serious decision to make. Plus, it may not work long term. Proper topical treatment as outlined in the light to moderate and moderate to severe Neck Regimen may help you avoid the potentially severe side effects of Accutane.