Hi all, I too suffer from severe back acne (since teenage years, and now I am in my 30s). It must be genetics because my parents have moderate back acne. When I say it's severe, I mean I would have, on average, > 10 large cystic acnes on the back. I suffer mild to moderate facial acne. I have tried everything, including Accutane, birth control pill, etc etc. Accutane helped and I was clear for about 1.5 years. After I discontinued Accutane it came right back. Birth control is also extremely effective, but I didn't want to take that forever so I discontinued it. So without further ado, here is my regimen (and it worked for me after 4 weeks of consistent use). This regimen was finalized after years of experimentation.
Supplements: Sundown Naturals vitamin supplement called "Hair, Skin, & Nails." I got it from CVS and there was a buy 1 get 1 free sale for this brand of supplements. Sundown Natural s also make tea tree oil. So I got both for the price of one (yes the vitamin aisle at CVS has tea tree oil; I was shocked to see it there too).
Hygiene regimen: clean shirt/PJ when you go to bed everynight. Shower everyday or after gym workout. Use Head and Shoulder shampoo/conditioner. I use Neutrogena body acne wash, but I don't scrub my back. I leave the lather on my back for ~ 1 or 2min then wash it off.
Topical regimen: Get the Neutrogena back acne body spray, but keep the spray bottle (because it is a good spray bottle and allows you to spray upsidedown; the formulation that comes with it was useless on my bacne though). I fill the empty spray bottle with pure tea tree oil (1/2 glass bottle that the oil comes in with). Fill up the spray bottle with Neutrogena clear pore oil-eliminating toner (the blue one). Shake every time prior to spraying. I apply it to my back after shower and dried my back with a clean towel. 10 spray to each side of the back (left and right), and 5 spray to the lower middle back. Let it dry for ~ 1 min, but it doesn't have to be completely dry. I notice that the medication stays on your skin regardless if you put your shirt on when your back is still slightly damp after the 1 minute waiting period.
I did this consistently for 1 month and I am now completely clear! Yes tea tree oil smell can linger but I like the smell so it doesn't bother me. The skin on my back is mildly dry but I prefer dryness over acne! I hope this will help you. Please let me know if you respond to this regimen as well as I do.
This regimen does not help with the red scar... That is my next treatment goal. I am just so glad that I am able to get rid of back acne for good after 15 years of struggle.
Hi Emily, good question. This regimen was a product of multiple trials and errors.
I added the supplement and tea tree oil last to my regimen because I did not believe, at the time, that these natural products would be adequate to treat my severe bacne. I mean, if accutane couldn't cure it, I didn't think a little vitamin pill or a smelly tea tree oil would. But it just so happened that I got a 5 dollar coupon from CVS for any vitamins > $10 and there was a buy 1 get 1 free offer for this brand. I decided to try my luck since it was such a little investment. And baam! it worked like a charm.
So I was on dairy-free diet for a while, but it never completely cured me of acne. It definitely decreased the amount of inflammation, so I adhered to this diet regimen. If you like cheese, I suggest you switch to goat cheese because I noticed that for me, they don't cause acne lesions. Then I was using Murad bacne spray. That worked very well, and I was ~ 70% clear. But it was too expensive to be on, so I was looking for cheaper alternative. I discovered neutrogena clear pore toner by accident and it worked wonderful for my bacne, but I was only 60-70% clear.
I was on the above regimen for ~ 1 year until I came across the vitamin coupons from CVS, and the rest is history. I am happy to say that my back is still acne free. Just a lot of post inflammatory red scars. This regimen is not for the face! The skin on my back is moderately dry, and I dare not use any lotion/moisturizer because I wouldn't dare to provoke my finicky back skin. I am just so glad that there are no more pimples on my back and I just wish the red marks would disappear before the summer time.
Hi all, I too suffer from severe back acne (since teenage years, and now I am in my 30s). It must be genetics because my parents have moderate back acne. When I say it's severe, I mean I would have, on average, > 10 large cystic acnes on the back. I suffer mild to moderate facial acne. I have tried everything, including Accutane, birth control pill, etc etc. Accutane helped and I was clear for about 1.5 years. After I discontinued Accutane it came right back. Birth control is also extremely effective, but I didn't want to take that forever so I discontinued it. So without further ado, here is my regimen (and it worked for me after 4 weeks of consistent use). This regimen was finalized after years of experimentation.
Supplements: Sundown Naturals vitamin supplement called "Hair, Skin, & Nails." I got it from CVS and there was a buy 1 get 1 free sale for this brand of supplements. Sundown Natural s also make tea tree oil. So I got both for the price of one (yes the vitamin aisle at CVS has tea tree oil; I was shocked to see it there too).
Hygiene regimen: clean shirt/PJ when you go to bed everynight. Shower everyday or after gym workout. Use Head and Shoulder shampoo/conditioner. I use Neutrogena body acne wash, but I don't scrub my back. I leave the lather on my back for ~ 1 or 2min then wash it off.
Topical regimen: Get the Neutrogena back acne body spray, but keep the spray bottle (because it is a good spray bottle and allows you to spray upsidedown; the formulation that comes with it was useless on my bacne though). I fill the empty spray bottle with pure tea tree oil (1/2 glass bottle that the oil comes in with). Fill up the spray bottle with Neutrogena clear pore oil-eliminating toner (the blue one). Shake every time prior to spraying. I apply it to my back after shower and dried my back with a clean towel. 10 spray to each side of the back (left and right), and 5 spray to the lower middle back. Let it dry for ~ 1 min, but it doesn't have to be completely dry. I notice that the medication stays on your skin regardless if you put your shirt on when your back is still slightly damp after the 1 minute waiting period.
I did this consistently for 1 month and I am now completely clear! Yes tea tree oil smell can linger but I like the smell so it doesn't bother me. The skin on my back is mildly dry but I prefer dryness over acne! I hope this will help you. Please let me know if you respond to this regimen as well as I do.
This regimen does not help with the red scar... That is my next treatment goal. I am just so glad that I am able to get rid of back acne for good after 15 years of struggle.
Hey,
I was just scanning through posts about clearing back acne and came across your method. My son has moderate acne on his upper back and though he's used BP, it bleaches his shirts and i want to find something better for him to try. I bought tea tree oil and the Neutrogena toner to mix together. I didnt buy the body acne spray because i will be using a small spray bottle that I already have. My question is: what is the size of that spray bottle you use (oz.) ? I want to get the proper ratio of toner to tea tree oil in my bottle so knowing the size would be helpful. Thanks.
Hey there, the size of my neturogena spray bottle is 4 oz. So it is 1/2 oz of tea tree oil and 3.5 oz of the toner.
By the way I recently changed my diet and eliminated all food with high glycemic index (anything above 55) and my face is very clear, without needing benzoyl peroxide. My bacne continues to be clear, but I noticed that the dryness has improved with this simple dietary change.
I think a lot of time my acne is hormone induced. Anything that will spike insulin will increase androgen production, and I am one of those unfortunate people who are particularly sensitive to that. I changed my diet recently because I wanted to gain a healthier lifestyle (and wasn't going for an acne cure), but my clear skin and my overall improved energy really motivated me to stick to this diet. It is not hard. If you try to go a week without any bread (and that includes whole wheat), pasta, and rice. And stick to natural foods with vegetable, lean protein (I'm a vegetarian so I eat tofu and GMO free soy products and free-range eggs; no hormone treated animals!), and I cut out all dairy products (because I don't trust any organic milk, they still break me out). By the way, cut out all junk food and diet drinks (did you know that even thouse sweet substitutes like splenda will increase your blood sugar and has higher glycemic index than regular sugar?) I can guarantee that you will feel more energetic, less hungry, more mental clarity, and less craving for cookies/junk food. I was shocked by the transformation. It is really true that our food industry is poisoning our bodies with sugar addiction. I have replaced my cooking oil to coconut oil, and only use expensive, pure olive oil for salads.
Though I am not able to completely wean myself off of bread, I have found an acceptable placement, it is called Ezekiel bread (in the frozen section). I get the cinnamon raisin and regular (orange package). I spread this thing called Artisana coconut butter on top for breakfast and it was enough to keep me going for the ENTIRE morning. And this is soooooo delicious, better than regular jam and peanut butter. Oh yeah, stay away from peanut butter and any nut butter -> they are proinflammatory.
Even for those who are "lucky" enough to not react to refined processed sugar/carb, they are not spared from the side effects. I actually am grateful that my skin is breaking out to these food because it is a warning system, at least for my body, to cut out all these bad food from my diet. Those who continue to consume them are at high risk of developing coronary artery disease, inflammatory dieseaes, and diabetes later in life. I am in my 30s and I don't want to have bad illnesses.
So in summary, low glycemic, anti-inflammatory foods. No packaged foods. Just fresh vegetables (no potatoes), black beans with salsa, steel cut oats, and tons of good quality protein and fat from coconut butter and extra virgin olive oil. Absolutely no wheat/flour products and no diet drinks. Let your son try a week and please let me know if you see a difference.
Thanks for responding so quickly! He's going to start your routine for the back tonight. His face has cleared up really well using BP (doing regimen once a day), and taking a zinc supplement. But his back acne has recently gotten a bit worse (go figure) and using the BP on his back is a nuisance. Takes forever to dry and ruins shirts. So we'll give the toner a go.
His diet is pretty good for a 16 year old. We eat well as a family so i umake sure he gets a lot of fruits and vegetables, lean protein like chicken and fish, very limited pasta and high carbs, no soda, candy, etc. and no dairy. I totally agree with you about the glycemic spikes... I've seen pimples develop on his face a day or two after going out with friends and eating and drinking a lot of crappy food. He knows it too so he tries to be good about it. As good as a teenage boy can be!
So I'm hopeful this will be an easy spray for him to use on his back and help to clear him up all around. Thanks