All About Breakouts Of The Back, Chest, Arms, Legs and Behind, Including Keratosis Pilaris
Back and Chest
Breakouts on the back or chest are most often caused by excess oil with warmth from perspiration plus friction, especially in cases where working out is not followed by a shower (or some cases, also preceded by one). It can also be caused by residue from dryer sheets. Here are a few tips and suggestions on clearing up body breakouts and keeping them away :
✦ Exfoliation – use exfoliating body gloves or cloth every time you shower. Make sure you are gentle and use circular, then up and down motions, alternately.
✦ Use an AHA Body Wash.
✦ Treat with 5% BPO lotion (watch out for bleaching of clothes or sheets) if you have many blackheads together with blemishes, or an AHA serum for body if there are blemishes with irritation. Professional advice before purchase is recommended.
✦ Wear breathable materials that are not too scratchy, nor too tight, preferably cotton. Make sure you leave enough time after working out to shower, and change your clothes! Sweat is irritating to pore linings when left on for too long. This is a significant source of body breakouts.
✦ Switch to laundry detergents that are fragrance-free.
✦ Stop using fabric softeners and drier sheets - they both leave deposits on the skin that can clog pores, even the fragrance-free ones ! Use the new rubber “dryer balls” instead, or you can use 3 tennis balls. Try each and see what works best for you.
✦ Avoid body moisturizers, because there are very few that don't contain pore clogging or pore blocking ingredients. If you must use a moisturizer on small areas, use a body moisturizer created specially for body breakouts that contains Alpha Hydroxy Acid and powerful hydrators to soften skin and loosen up dead cells and impactions.
✦ For breakouts on the back, a back facial should be done only after you have followed all of the above recommendations for at least one month! Make your appointment for one month from the time you're ready to start your new body care regimen.
But what's with the bumpiness on my arms, and why do I break out on my butt all the time?!
It's a condition called Keratosis Pilaris. Skin cells in their dying stage over-accumulate protein granules before they are supposed to gather together to stack up to form the normal, protective top layer of the skin, and start to build up too much while mixing with normal oils and waxes. What results is a prickly mess building up in many pores, resulting in that “goose-bumpy” feeling, and occasionally prevention of hairs from coming through the follicle properly, leading to a few pimples. On the buttocks and thighs, pressure and friction from sitting and from rough clothing like jeans, pushes more dead skin cells and oils into the pores, causing more clogging and irritation.
The answer to all of this is exfoliation of dead cells from inside and outside pores, oil absorption while adding hydration, and protection from friction (on thighs and butt). In terms of exfoliation, this is achieved inside the pores using Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's) and Benzoyl Peroxide (BPO), and outside on skin's surface using exfoliating gloves in the shower. For butt and thighs, moisture absorption and prevention of friction is achieved with a revolutionary treatment called FerroRosa FrictionFix® applied daily before getting dressed and again at lunchtime or before working out. The overall treatment for arms and legs or butt and thighs would be as follows :
Step 1) Use exfoliating gloves or cloth every shower with an AHA Acne Body Wash.
Step 2) After your shower use an AHA hydrating lotion over the area, rub in thoroughly, let dry.
Step 3) Apply sunscreen to the area religiously unless you are certain the area will have absolutely no sun or office light exposure.
Step 4) For breakouts on butt and thighs, apply medium coat of FerroRosa FrictionFix® to entire affected area, before getting dressed, at lunchtime and again before working out.
It is also a good idea to avoid body washes with artificial fragrance. If you do not moisturize with an AHA lotion, body lotions should not contain any avocado, palm or coconut oils, or shea, cocoa or any other butters, as these are pore-clogging. You should also avoid products that contain mineral oil, petrolatum or petroleum jelly, so your skin can begin to shed its dead skin cells and allow the free flow of its own oil. Most moisturizers out there are clogging, so really you should only use a lotion recommended by your skincare professional.
If you break out between the thighs and suffer from chafing, there are web sites and stores that sell slips that are like pants, that come in short, medium and long leg lengths.