If someone is quite self-conscious about their body acne then they're probably not going about in a bikini at the beach. They're probably covered up. I know that's what I do anyway. I don't have bad body acne but I do break out occasionally on my back and when that happens I make sure that I'm wearing a top that isn't strappy so that my back is covered. It's bad enough having facial acne that you can't hide.

So it's probably not that they're not at the beach - they're probably just keeping covered up a bit.

Yep, body acne is simply easier to hide

The same reason that some people cover their skin flaws with makeup. If people feel a reason to hide it and can do so with ease, they will.

I see body acne in ballet all the time, can't hide it in a leotard and tights.

green gables how bad do you see it though? I dont consider blackheads, cloggged pores and mild inflammation as really acne though.

Today i went to a class in my university, and i saw one person (finally) with moderate shoulder acne. About 10-12 pimples on each shoulder. They were wearing a tanktop, and didn't seem embrassed

Also, i wonder what the statistics are for those with face acne, and if they have body acne (i.e. how much percent of people with acne have body acne)?

green gables how bad do you see it though? I dont consider blackheads, cloggged pores and mild inflammation as really acne though.

Today i went to a class in my university, and i saw one person (finally) with moderate shoulder acne. About 10-12 pimples on each shoulder. They were wearing a tanktop, and didn't seem embrassed

Also, i wonder what the statistics are for those with face acne, and if they have body acne (i.e. how much percent of people with acne have body acne)?

 

In the class I noticed it in, I saw 4 women with inflamed pimples on the back area. 3 had less than 10, 1 had about 20.

It is less common than facial acne for sure, just because your sebaceous glands aren't as strong on the back area. I personally have never had body acne except one or two near my bra strap area occasionally.

I have been involved in dance and sports all my life, and notice that acne is more visible in sports, and also seems more common. When you exercise that much it seems to aggravate DHT. Tons of dancers and athletes have acne. In most of my dance companies, I would say 1 in 3 people had noticeable facial acne.

interesting. Were these pimples pretty large, if you can recall?

interesting. Were these pimples pretty large, if you can recall?

 

Medium-sized..? I didn't spend TOO long staring at other women's backs

interesting. Were these pimples pretty large, if you can recall?

 

Medium-sized..? I didn't spend TOO long staring at other women's backs

 

I've seen a couple of guys over the past week that had red spotty skin on the back of their neck (and I'm gonna assume it was on their back too). Other than that everyone's covered up too much to see anything (luckily, i guess).

I think body acne is more common than one may think. I think it depends on where in the world you live i.e colder climate, less skin exposure and warmer climate, more skin exposure. Whenever it's "warm" in the UK I always see people with body acne, that and other skin disorders like psoriasis. Also, when I travel to a hot climate again, I see people wearing skimpy clothing with body acne. I have persistant body acne and I always where shirts that cover my back/chest regardless of the weather.

Because people with troublesome body acne are covering themselves up.

I've had acne on my chest and back since I was 12 (I'm 21 now) and I'm sure no one knows I have it because I NEVER wear shirts that would show it. Don't even remember the last time I wore a swimsuit! Sometimes I wonder if people wonder why I never wear lower cut shirts...but no one has ever said anything.

The thing is, i dont consider red dots and redness as body acne. When i say body acne, i mean large lumps with pus

The thing is, i dont consider red dots and redness as body acne. When i say body acne, i mean large lumps with pus

Do you have large, cystic type body acne? I'm asking because my son does... and he's only 13. He gets large, deep and painful (red) cysts on the back of his neck, shoulders, and sometimes chest. He has lots of smaller ones all over his chest (I'm assuming it's because of chest hair trying to come in?) He also has smaller ones lower down on his back too. When he wears a shirt with a collar (like a polo), you can't really see it... but when he wears a collarless shirt, such as a t-shirt, you can see scarring and/or a cyst or two on the back of his neck... depending on how bad his breakout is, sometimes more. I feel really bad for him, when all the other boys his age are wearing t-shirts with flawless necks. There is one other boy in his class who seems to have the same problem, but other than that, no one. It breaks my heart... especially when other boys make rude comments about his neck, like "Nice acne on your neck..."

Have you tried The Regimen for the neck/back?

how many cysts does he get on his back and shoulders? DId he only start getting them after antibiotics

how many cysts does he get on his back and shoulders? DId he only start getting them after antibiotics

At its worst, he was getting 5-7 big cysts at a time, on the back of his neck (between the edge of his hair and his shoulder blades). Lately it seems a little better, but he still gets them. Usually one or two that are visible above the t-shirt line. Sometimes, like maybe for a few days, he doesn't get any big, active ones... but he still has blackheads/clogged pores back there that you can tell are going to become cystic eventually. Plus he has scarring/red marks from old cysts, which look like active cysts unless you get up close. If he gets others down lower on his back, I'm not as concerned because of shirts.... but with summer coming up, and swimming season, it will be more worrisome. Hope I'm making sense! He did take doxycycline last year, but only for 6 weeks. Before that, he already had the cysts. It runs in my family (my dad suffered from the cystic neck/back acne) . Ugh it's really, really frustrating isn't it? How many do you get? And at what age did you start getting them?

Does he get any cystic acne on his shoulders and back?

I get a lot of pimples (have about 9-10 on each shoulder blade), and a lot of dark marks/pigmentation.

Maybe you should look into accutane?

It is weird though that none of my parents suffered from body acne (and neither did my grandparents, or atleast i do not think so).

When I was in a ballet company a good number of the girls and guys had body acne (can't hide it in a leotard)

But for whatever reason it is less common than facial

It is less common than facial. Which IMO validates the point that "dirtiness" is evidently not the cause of acne

On a side note, I am trying my best to avoid irritating my body acne, but it is so hard to do. Random times people just touch your shoulders... you bump into things... you roll around when you sleep (rolling on top of acne), etc.

Does he get any cystic acne on his shoulders and back?

I get a lot of pimples (have about 9-10 on each shoulder blade), and a lot of dark marks/pigmentation.

Maybe you should look into accutane?

It is weird though that none of my parents suffered from body acne (and neither did my grandparents, or atleast i do not think so).

yes he gets the cystic acne on shoulders and back. We are trying to avoid Accutane at all costs, although not completely ruling it out. I took it as a teenager, so I'm very familiar with it. It helped a lot with my skin, and fortunately I have not suffered any serious health effects from it.

txn, how bad was your acne and what age did you take it

txn, how bad was your acne and what age did you take it

It was pretty bad... I suffered for years as a child, then as a young teen I tried the Tetracycline/Retin-A routine, and it seemed to help for a little while, then stopped working...then it was worse. I had cystic acne on my cheeks (plus back/shoulders), and resorted to Accutane around the age of 16.