Most of us have heard of acne before, but not many people are aware of what body acne is and how it is different from the regular types of acne. Acne is classified as being body acne if it appears on the back, chest, shoulders, and even the buttocks of many people, whereas with the more regular forms of acne it only tends to appear on the face.

The Severity of Body Acne

Body acne can be anywhere from mild to severe, with severe acne usually involving lesions which are large and painful. As with all types of acne, the actual cause of this acne is unknown, however it is known that irritation can make it much worse and so you want to make sure that you never pick or scratch at your acne.

For those people who suffer from light to moderate acne on their body, they can generally stick to less serious forms of treatment, whereas if you have a more serious form of acne on the body you are obviously going to have to also find more serious forms of treatment.

Beating Body Acne

Perspiration and tight-fitting clothing are considered as being the two most common culprits to this type of acne, and this explains why many people who are especially active tend to be particularly plagued by acne on their bodies.

The treatments for acne on the body are rather similar to those for facial acne, however because acne that lives on the body tends to be much more resistant to treatment, there are differences. As well, body skin is also thicker than facial skin, and the blemishes are constantly exposed to friction from clothing.

The best way to keep body acne under control is to wash daily with a salicyclic-acid-based cleanser, and you especially want to bathe or shower after you have been perspiring, like after exercising, so that the perspiration does not remain on your skin for any longer than it needs to.

Keeping your skin as clean as possible will be a huge factor in helping to prevent acne, as will making sure that you eat a proper diet and get a decent amount of physical activity on a regular basis. Try to avoid eating foods that are going to aggravate your acne, such as fatty, deep-fried or sugary foods.

Although there is really no surefire way to avoid acne, there are plenty of things that you can do in order to prevent it as much as possible, such as what has been discussed here.