I've had mild backne since high school but they would come and go and wouldn't bother me too much. However, around 5 years ago I suddenly developed horrible backne, followed by weird leg bumps. My legs cleared up after I switched to an aloe-based shaving gel so I guess it was a completely unrelated issue (?).
Anyways, my backne persists even today, and since 2 years ago I've developed arm and chest acne (yay!). Then this year my face also started breaking out worse than usual, just on my cheeks.
What I've tried so far:
I've tried cutting out gluten and dairy and noticed a slight improvement but they were still there, I would just break out a bit less.
Used sebamed body wash and face toner for a year (dermatologist's advice) - nothing.
Switched my clothes detergent, cut out softener. - nothing noticeable.
Tried being careful about the fabric of my clothes (no synthetics, no scratchy materials)
I don't remember all the products I've used over the years honestly.
Now I'm using la roche posay lipikar lavant shower gel because it seemed to help a bit last year.
I apply some ESI aloe gel after shower and my chest seems to be almost breakout free at the moment.
Nothing seems to help my arms though.
I live in a very small town and there's only one dermatologist who just doesn't bother or doesn't know how to do his job. Honestly speaking, I never went back after he prescribed sebamed without even listening to me or bothering to ask any questions about my diet or routine.
These are my arms and chest (on a good day). I couldn't take good photos of my back by myself, sorry.
Hopefully if someone had the same issue you could tell me what helped you.
(P.S. Sorry if my English is a bit off, it's not my first language)
Hello, I believe it could be the diet still. You said you cut out dairy and gluten, this is good ofc. But there could be other foods that could trigger acne.
Examples are peanuts, seafood (Iodine), high GI foods (Mangos, sugar, maple syrup etc.).
Think about one thing during the day, which could be your cryptonite, this could be the coffee, or maybe because of too much oil in the food you are eating.
there is something called razor bumps (the razor can cause spots / bumps / inflammation) - some people recommend electric foil razors.
regarding your back/ chest & shoulders... im not a doctor so could be wrong but there is something calledfolliculitiswhere thehair follicles become inflamed. i would recommend that you read up about it - but could be something else?
On 5/9/2018 at 10:22 AM, spid3rmonk3y said:I've had mild backne since high school but they would come and go and wouldn't bother me too much. However, around 5 years ago I suddenly developed horrible backne, followed by weird leg bumps. My legs cleared up after I switched to an aloe-based shaving gel so I guess it was a completely unrelated issue (?).
Anyways, my backne persists even today, and since 2 years ago I've developed arm and chest acne (yay!). Then this year my face also started breaking out worse than usual, just on my cheeks.
On 5/10/2018 at 10:54 AM, AcneVM said:Hello, I believe it could be the diet still. You said you cut out dairy and gluten, this is good ofc. But there could be other foods that could trigger acne.
Examples are peanuts, seafood (Iodine), high GI foods (Mangos, sugar, maple syrup etc.).
Think about one thing during the day, which could be your cryptonite, this could be the coffee, or maybe because of too much oil in the food you are eating.
Thanks for the advice. I'll try tracking what I eat when the breakouts get worse and pinpoint what it might be.
On 5/10/2018 at 12:38 PM, MrBakery said:there is something called razor bumps (the razor can cause spots / bumps / inflammation) - some people recommend electric foil razors.
regarding your back/ chest & shoulders... im not a doctor so could be wrong but there is something calledfolliculitiswhere thehair follicles become inflamed. i would recommend that you read up about it - but could be something else?
Yes, I think that those were razor bumps in case of my legs, and thankfully I found a way to eliminate them.
I've also suspected folliculitis before but the photos I came across online seemed much more severe and inflamed than what I have. However after checking again today I noticed some milder cases look exactly like my arms. I will look into it. Thanks!
On 5/9/2018 at 2:22 AM, spid3rmonk3y said:I've tried cutting out gluten and dairy and noticed a slight improvement but they were still there, I would just break out a bit less.
Used sebamed body wash and face toner for a year (dermatologist's advice) - nothing.
Switched my clothes detergent, cut out softener. - nothing noticeable.
Tried being careful about the fabric of my clothes (no synthetics, no scratchy materials)
I don't remember all the products I've used over the years honestly.
First, let's not rule out Folliculitis, which is a hair follicle inflammation caused by a bacterial or a fungal infection. Diagnosis and treatment is pretty simple, so go see a dermatologist.
Second, have you ever though from the inside, rather than from the outside? Because acne is on the skin, people are soooooo prone to think the problem must be from what they applied on the face or worn on the body, blah blah. I think the major reason is in the inside of the body. You simply have a crappy immune system. Had the immune system been strong, all those zits would have never seen the light of day. They would have literally been gobbled up by macrophages in our body.
There's a high correlation between your gut and your skin. Poor gut health can lead to a host of problems, among which skin is one of the biggest victim. When the gut flora is outta whack (eg. overabundance of bad bacteria and yeast) , the immune system will get hit pretty hard. Hence, you need to bring the balanceback toequilibrium. To do this, start taking probiotics. However, stay away from fermented food like cheese and starchy sweets that can only help yeast flourish.