How Can You Prevent Body Acne?

Acne is a skin condition we commonly associate with the face, but whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, and cysts actually can occur almost anywhere on the body. When acne occurs away from the face, it tends to be either very mild or very severe.

The Milder Form of Body Acne: Acne Mechanica

One of the mildest forms of acne anywhere on the body is a condition called acne mechanica. As its name suggests, this form of acne results from mechanical irritation, usually rubbing, of the skin.

The outermost layer of healthy skin consists of dead skin cells waiting to flake off. These dead skin cells provide an extra layer of protection for the living cells beneath them. They give the skin its matte, or texture.

Rubbing the skin too hard, however, loosens dead skin cells that were not quite ready for exfoliation. Sometimes these flakes of dead skin land in front of pores and block them. The blocked pores accumulate sebum (skin oil) and bacteria and become whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples.

The remedy for acne mechanica could not be simpler. Pat yourself dry. Don't rub yourself dry. And don't wear clothing that constricts the body so much that it leaves lines on the skin. Acne mechanica often appears on lines left by bras on women and overly tight underwear on men.

The More Severe Form of Body Acne: Acne Fulminans

At the other end of the spectrum of body acne is perhaps the most severe of all the forms of acne, acne maligna. In this form of the skin condition pimples, nodules, and cysts are not actually cancerous, but they do tend to infiltrate surrounding healthy skin and join together. These acne lesions become so large that opening pores cannot drain them. Benzoyl peroxide foams and washes simply have no effect. Just about the only way they can be removed is by debriding, or stripping away, the skin that contains them.

Acne maligna is more common on African-American skin than on any other skin type. In men, the acne lesions often destroy the hair shafts for whiskers. In women, debriding the skin is especially likely to leave scars. That is why the best treatment of acne fulminans involves a minimum of mechanical manipulation and cutting the skin and the greatest possible amount of skin nourishment, both from food and supplements and by gentle application of moist heat and other forms of energy.

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How Can You Prevent Body Acne?