Body Acne

Body acne, although less common than facial acne, can present itself in many different forms including blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, or even cysts. It can affect people from adolescence to adulthood and manifests itself most commonly as neck, chest, buttocks and back acne.

Body acne is similar to facial acne in that the cause is usually associated with overproduction of sebum.  The sebaceous (oil) glands located just below the surface of the skin continuously produce and secrete oil through the openings (pores) in the skin. When excess sebum is produced it combines with "scale" and hair follicles can become clogged.  This clogging obstructs the "scale" or dead skin cells on the inside of the follicle from escaping through the pores. The resulting mass of sebum and scale plugs the hair follicle.  Bacteria multiply, the surrounding tissues becomes inflamed and acne forms.

The most common form of body acne is back acne.  Because the skin on the back is thicker than any other area of the body, one possible treatment option is 10 % benzoyle peroxide which is typically not be suitable for areas of the body with thinner skin.  Click for other acne treatment options.