I am a 19 year old female (about to be 20 in a month) and not only do i suffer from acne on my face and back.. but i have it all over my chest. i've had a few zits on my chest now and then, but they aren't bad, and go away.
but this past october, my skin went NUTS. this is including my face and back too.
anyway, is this hormonal? i'm pretty sure it is. i have NEVER seen a girl with chest acne. its awful. its painful. its embarrassing. i have about 3 shirts i can wear that cover it up. all long sleeved.
it seemed to be going away after i stopped putting topical shit on it. when i say "going away" i mean it was a lot less inflamed. it was still there, just looked better, and didn't hurt.
then, i started using the carly's clear and smooth whatever its called. and i have like 6-7 huge cysts and my whole chest is inflamed. i want to cry. it hurts so bad.
i don't know what to do. is the saying "it gets worse before it gets better" true? or should i just quit the carlys treatment (had bp in it).
please help!!! its been too long and i just cant deal with it anymore. having acne on face and back is hard enough.. but on chest.. esp a GIRL is awful. the chest is considered to be a delicate, sexy, part of a woman's body. but mine looks destroyed.
I'm 15 and I think I started getting all this horrible body acne at about 13 too.
I have it on my back and shoulders, face, and.. chest. Ugh. It IS horrible and embarrassing.
Honestly I don't really know a lot of popular things that could help but I've started using Neutrogena body wash, Equate acne cleanser and acne pads. I usually just go ahead and use the acne cleanser and pads on my chest and back too and that seems to be helping so far (:
I know you shouldn't really over do it but with how bad mine was I really want to make it better by the time summer starts!
I don't know if this will help you at all but whatever you decide to try I hope it works for you! You're most certainly not alone with this.
Trust me, you're not the only lady with chest acne. It may be hormonal, but have you tried considering some other things that might be making it more inflamed recently? First of all, how clean are your bras? Do you wash them on a regular basis? Could this have something to do with it?
Second, what kind of laundry detergent do you use? I know of many people who have bad reactions to Tide, myself included, and whenever my clothes are washed in it, I notice breakouts starting to appear on my back, chest, and even upper arms. Also, sometimes residue from dryer sheets can cause body breakouts, so if you use any kind of dryer sheet, I'd stop and see if it helps at all.
Do you wear any necklaces? Sometimes I notice certain necklaces can cause breakouts for me right around where they lay on my chest. Some people have allergies to certain cheap metals which can cause skin reactions when worn. Maybe it's something, maybe not?
Anyway, don't know if any of this helped or not, but as for getting rid of it, I'd suggest washing with a mild tea tree oil soap in the shower. Hopefully that'll help take care of it. Best of luck to you, and you're not alone 
I have had past problems with this as well! (i'm the same age as you) but when i was younger i had a really bad problem with this, i went to my estistinist and she did something and it made it a lot better but didnt take it away completely, i did everything i could too, topicals, washes etc. and then i just stopped trying.. the past month though i have noticed that i have almost no acne on my chest or back anymore! maybe one or two small pimples, and honeslty i am convinced it is just because i use dove soap on thoes areas, nothing serious just keep it clean. try this, for me with this area less is more... maybe this will help with you! i hope it does! just remember you can make acne worse by using a bunch of topicals/products with harsh chemicals. this is just my experience i'm not guarenteeing it will be the same with you!
I have the same problem. It was worse before, but it completely went away when I started taking Accutane. But... ack, it started coming back about a month ago.
I talked to my dermatologist about it before. He said that a lot of the topical stuff that he has prescribed me in the past were too harsh for that particular area. I should not be using them on my chest. So... I'm going to start trying baking soda in a couple of days. I heard it's good for your hair too, and I seem to have dry scalp as well. I have an inkling that it's related. So I'm gonna treat my hair and chest with baking soda and see how that works. Do you have dry scalp too?
I'll let you know how it goes.
thanks everyone for your replys!
i really do believe it is hormonal. and topicals just make it 1000x worse. i started using carly's bp thing cuz of the reviews, but it just made everything worse. i've always made sure my bras and clothes are always clean and i never wear something more than once without washing it. about a month or two ago, i switched to a "clear" detergent. and i don't use dryer sheets cuz i got hives from them once. i have extremely sensitive skin i guess.
anyway i switched back to my cleanser--caudale foaming wash. its all natural i believe. it doesnt aggriavte my skin, and so far nothing has gotten worse.
i really want to try spiro.
are you on the pill? it can help regulate your hormones, i dont reccomend dianette as you can only stay on it for 6 months so I feel its really a short term solution.
I have it on my chest and back and face, I have found washing with salycilic acid has helped my skin all over. I couldnt find a salycilic acid wash designed for acne which wasnt really expensive in the shops so I use Vosene (its shampoo for dandruff but its got the wonder ingrediant as the active ingredient).
My face, back and chest regimen:
I apply it when I am in the shower after I have done my hair. I rub Vosene in everywhere I have acne then leave the foam on for a few mins with the shower off then I wash it away and get out of the shower. I use the shampoo with exfoliating gloves every 3 days to get rid of any dead skin build up. It has made my skin a bit flakey at first but I have been using it for a little while and its never gotten anywhere near as bad as Benzoyl peroxide flakeyness, A moisturiser sorts it right out (I use one with willowbark from boots as it also have salycilic acid in it.
I towel dry with a fresh towel each day (I shower twice a day, morning and before bed cause my job makes me sweat and cause my acne is all over my back so shower is the simplest way to wash it twice).
I also noticed a great improvement when I used jojoba oil all over, especially at night. When you go to bed wear a fresh top. Do not wear clothes twice where you have acne. You can add tea tree for antibacterial power!
I also noticed clearer skin when I changed my sheets so I change them once a week at least but preferably twice a week to see more improvement. flip your pillow every night!
I have been using Salycilic acid for a few weeks not and definately have seen an improvement. Just remember dont leave it on too long and watch out for your nipples (salycilic acid gets rid of skin so mayeb apply a layer of petrolium jelly to your nipples before showering..)
also you are stil in puberty so there is much hope for you yet, hormones are always a problem and there is alot of research being done into the genetic causes (FOX01 gene is being looked into).
Maybe keep a note in your diary of when your flare-ups occur in your cycle so you can prepare yourself?
Have a think about any dietry triggers, dairy and high sugar have both been linked to acne as well as allergies. Do you think breakouts could be linked to your diet? could you keep a food diary in the future to look at any potential triggers?
You know what, I just visited my GP today and she told me that my back and chest acne is definitely hormonal. No, you‚„re not the only female with chest acne. Now that spring is here, I wear low tops and cover my chest acne with a mousse foundation. If I can get away with looking as if I have no chest acne with a bit of foundation, so can other ten million girls!
Recently, I made a mixture of lemon juice with rosewater and I just squirt it on my back and chest acne every morning and night. My chest is looking visibly clearer and so is my back. Don't give up faith, love yourself, and love your skin, no matter what happens to it.
I tried baking soda for my chest acne. It's only been 2 days, but already I notice a difference. I say it's worth a try. I bought the baking soda at the dollar store, so it's cheaper than anything else out there.
If you're interested in trying it, this is what I did:
Mix baking soda with a little bit of warm water. It should be a little pasty/watery. Apply on affected area with swab stick. When it dries, it'll feel gritty which is the only sucky part.
Hi I'm 14 and I've been dealing with this problem for only a few weeks, but its already super frustrating. I'm gonna start trying baking soda.... how long should i leave the baking soda on?Thank You!
I leave it on overnight. It can be quite chalky depending on how much baking soda you put in the mixture. Try it out. If you feel it's too harsh (if you develop redness or anything like that), maybe you should only put it on for 5 minutes. My skin is super-sensitive though, and overnight seems to be working.
I tried baking soda for my chest acne. It's only been 2 days, but already I notice a difference. I say it's worth a try. I bought the baking soda at the dollar store, so it's cheaper than anything else out there.
If you're interested in trying it, this is what I did:
Mix baking soda with a little bit of warm water. It should be a little pasty/watery. Apply on affected area with swab stick. When it dries, it'll feel gritty which is the only sucky part.
The baking soda method has gone completely over my head I totally forgot about it. I'll try it on a chest acne tonight, eurgh body acne is awful. I can't remember the last time I worn a V neck shirt. I'm so close to trying spiro it's my last resort, tried accutane and didn't like the side effects plus my acne is mild (persistent) right now.