Back acne or bacne, is predominantly caused by a combination of clogged pores, because sebaceous glands are located in high density on the chest and back, and friction.
Studies show that about 10% of the population suffer from bacne (1) and men are more prone to it than women due to higher androgen production.
There’s a difference between facial skin and back skin in terms of pH, thickness, and distribution of sebaceous glands. The microbiota that lives on the back is also slightly different to the face (2). Studies suggest that back skin is more vulnerable to acne than facial skin due to various contributing factors such as sweat, oil, friction, and pressure and bacne is often more stubborn to treat than facial acne.
Back sweat that is the left on the skin and not aired or dried is the main trigger for bacne, which is why winter can often become a hot bed for spotty backs as sweating under heavier and non breathable winter clothing is common as is exercising under more layers of clothing or exercising indoors. In addition, sweating at night due to central heating can also add to the problem.
Dermatologist Dr Eva Melegh gives six tips on how to wage a war on winter bacne;
1.Use a back loafer
Daily exfoliation in order to remove dead skin cells from the back is crucial for managing bacne. Loafers are an excellent tool for carrying out manual exfoliation of the back and ones with longer handles mean you can exfoliate your own back without someone else’s help.
2. Change bed sheets weekly
Sweaty sheets which harbour external bacteria on them are a major contributing factor to bacne. Either sleep in light cotton bedclothes to protect the back from the sheets (although this doesn’t allow the back to air as well overnight) or preferably wash bed sheets at least once a week.
3. Keep Back Sebum Pure
Back sweat glands produce a lot of sebum but constantly trying to scrub away sebum or using products to try and dry it up causes the body to produce even more sebum so it’s a loosing battle.
Sebum is only a problem once it becomes rancid when it oxidises with external bacteria when it reaches the surface of the skin. If sebum can pass out through the skin pores without becoming contaminated and clogging the pore and causing infection, then largely the formation of bacne is avoided. After manual back exfoliation, preferably in the evenings to clear away any old and accumulated sweat and bacteria, try Clarol Sebopure, a light skin serum that contains a sebum purifying ingredient made from wild mustard leaf that helps preserve the sebum as it passes out through the skin pore overnight.
4. Avoid back packs
Back packs either for daily use or use during sport are a significantly contributing factor to a build up of back sweat. The more the back sweats, the more likely that bacne will start to form as it’s the bacteria lurking in the old back sweat that mixes with the back sebum that causes bacne. Add to this the friction from the back pack and you have the perfect storm for a bout of bacne.
5. Less back friction
Gym works outs and gym clothing that loads more friction on the back is more likely to result in bacne. So, weights that are placed on the top of the shoulders or sport clothes that are tight on the central shoulder blades can cause excess friction.
When working out on gym machines with back rests it’s helpful to place a towel on the back rest to soak up excess swear and to offer a little more glide from back friction when wight bearing.
6. Increase good back bacteria
The back often attracts a lot of bad bacteria due both to the area of the back itself, accumulated sweat, bacteria from chair rests, public transport, gym equipment and people’s hands as well as unwashed clothing and bedsheets. To help prevent the back becoming overrun with bad skin bacteria it’s crucial to make sure good back bacteria, which is weaker than bad skin bacteria, is kept at optimum levels as this helps keep the level of bad back bacteria in check.
You can do this by applying topical products that feed and bolster good skin bacteria such as Clarol Silver Serum, which contains a patented silver ingredient that feeds good skin bacteria while also being repellent to bad skin bacteria and stay active on the skin for up to eight hours. This is an ideal product to use in the mornings before heading out for the day to work, or before gym workouts of exercise to help keep the back teaming with good skin bacteria.
Ref’s
2. Dagnelie MA, Montassier E, Khammari A, Mounier C, Corvec S, Dréno B. Inflammatory skin is associated with changes in the skin microbiota composition on the back of severe acne patients. Exp Dermatol. 2019;28(8):961-967. doi:10.1111/exd.13988
