Summer Body Issue: Bacne & Chest Acne

Photo from Stylelist.com

It never fails....every summer I'm usually hit with bacne & chest acne. It's the area on my body that's the most prone to break out when it's hot. The heat and me frequently co-washing my hair always take their toll on my back especially. It's happened in the past when I was teenager and I never knew what to do about it...I just tried not to pick with them too much. Didn't want the scars that come with busting pimples, lol. As an adult, I've developed a plan to keep the back & chest acne in check. When I put on a shirt with my back out or a cute sleeveless dress, the last thing I want to see is a pimple. I usually start this routine right before it starts getting warm consistently...usually in April or May.

Here's what I do:

1. Exfoliate my whole body 2-4 times a week with St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub Blemish & Blackhead Control. I concentrate the most on my back & chest. By mistake, I bought the Blemish Fighting Apricot Cleanser so I've been using this as well. Yes, it's a essentially a face cleanser, but I find it to be very effective on the body too. Some find this scrub too harsh, but it's just right for my skin. One thing my skin needs is constant exfoliation. Some people can get away with never exfoliating.





2. I use my daily face wash which is Black Opal Skin Perfecting Acne & Blemish Wash. I try to apply it to just my chest & back every other day. I've been using this face wash since high school. I buy it from the beauty supply store. Sometimes I can find it in CVS too... When I run out of face wash, the next best thing for me is baking soda & water. ;-) You don't have to use this one, whatever you use on your face should be just fine. Just make sure the wash a 2% Salicylic Acid. SA is the ingredient that help stop pimples. The Black Opal only has .5%.


3. When I really want to "treat" my back & chest I use my Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque. :-) I love how cool it makes my skin feel. I put this on for about 15-20 minutes and then I get into the shower to rinse it off. Queen Helene carries a lot of different masques so I'm thinking of experimenting with some of the other ones this summer. I already have the Grape Seed one and I used to give myself the Mud Masque treatments.



4. I can't use overly moisturizing body washes. I bought one from the Dollar Tree a few weeks back and my back did NOT like it. I immediately started breaking out. Not too bad, but a little. The rest of my body loved the added moisture to my skin. lol, I checked out the ingredients and the second listed was petroleum jelly. Can't have that on my back and chest. Break out city. : \


That's it! And the best thing about all of these products is that they're all under $6. The only thing that costs me $6 is my Black Opal. You don't need to pay a fortune for good products. ;-) I've been using all of these products since high school & they work very well for me. Do you get bacne? Or even chest-acne? How do you treat it?? I hear Head & Shoulders is another way to treat bacne! -K.D.