How to get rid of back acne (bacne) and prevent it from coming back… literally

“Dear acne, the saying ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’ does not apply to you.”

In my past blogs I’ve mentioned that I suffered from acne in my teens. Curiously, they were not confined only on my face but on my body too, particularly on my back. They were huge and red; it was painful… enough to warrant a visit to the dermatologist. After consistent application of medication and following the doctor’s advice, it cleared up after 6 months or so.

While the face is a common site for acne, it can affect any body part that has oil-secreting glands or hair follicles, including your chest, shoulders, and your back. In fact, back acne, also referred to as bacne, affects more than half of people with acne. Bacne is the result of an accumulation of dead skin cells and oil [sebum] within the pores in the skin, combined with an overgrowth of a common skin bacteria, Cutibacterium acnes, which triggers an inflammatory response.

Bacne can be particularly stubborn to eliminate, hard to prevent, and can leave deep scars. As with acne on the face, bacne is most common in teens and young adults, in the years when the sebaceous glands are most active because of hormonal fluctuations. But it can also appear at different times according to a person’s health and lifestyle.