You don’t have to live with back acne!
Dr Justin Boey reviews the available back acne removal treatments in Singapore.
Contents
- 1 What is Back Acne or “Bacne”?
- 2 What Causes Back Acne?
- 3 Prevention and Home Acne Treatments
- 4 What are Treatments for Back Acne in Singapore?
- 5 What are the Complications of Back Acne?
- 6 Back Acne vs Face Acne Treatments: What’s the Difference?
- 7 How many treatments are needed to treat back acne?
- 8 Is the Treatment safe?
- 9 When can I expect to see the treatments result?
What is Back Acne or “Bacne”?
Back Acne is an acne skin condition that affects your back, shoulders and chest.
You might have back acne even if you do not have facial acne. However, back acne is more common in individuals who have face acne and acne scars. In fact, 40% of individuals who suffer from facial acne often suffer from bacne as well.
Singapore’s humid weather is particular unforgiving.
The humid and hot weather will cause clogged pores and hair follicles on the back. This traps sweat and bacteria, causing breakouts.
Accumulation of dead skin cells and use of excessively oily body lotion can also cause severe acne with superficial acne scarring. This is especially common with cystic acne.
What Causes Back Acne?
Acne is a multifactorial problem. This means that there are many factors that trigger acne.
All of these factors contribute to making the problem worse. Hence, we need a multi-pronged approach to solve the entire problem.
Accumulation of dead skin cells and use of excessively oily body lotion can also cause severe acne with superficial acne scarring. This is especially common with cystic acne.
Factors that cause Back / Body Acne:
Perspiration
Bacne is commonly caused by perspiration during our daily activities.
Perspiration and tight fitting clothing are common reasons why people who are more physically active may experience back and chest acne.
This is because a moist environment encourages bacterial growth.
Your back also has larger and more oil glands. This is why your back is susceptible to back acne.
Hormonal Imbalances
Hormonal imbalances worsen acne because overstimulation of oil glands makes back acne worse.
This is commonly seen in young males as well as females with a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Dairy and Sugary Diet
In reality, the main culprits are a diet that is rich in dairy and simple processed carbohydrates.
These will worsen acne on the face, body and back.
It is a myth that high fat diet, deep fried foods and seafood may cause acne.
Clogged & Damaged Pores
Over the years of recurrent back acne, some of the pores get damaged and clog up more easily.
This leads to recurrent back acne that affects the same areas of your back.
Stress
Excessive stress causes our body to produce a stress hormone known as cortisol, which is a “fight or flight” hormone.
Cortisol stimulates collagen production.
This leads to clogging of pores and causes acne breakout on the back.
Prevention and Home Acne Treatments
In most cases, you can get rid of acne and acne scars by making some lifestyle changes and using at-home remedies. Here are some things you can do to get rid of back acne:
1. Shower after a workout
You should shower as soon as you can after a workout.
This prevents your pores from getting clogged.
2. Exfoliate
Use a gentle exfoliating scrub with ingredients such as salicylic acid to remove extra dirt and oils from your skin. This can help remove dead skin cells that could clog pores.
3. Wear loose-fitting clothing
Your workout habits can irritate back acne.
Go for loose-fitting clothing that lets your skin breathe and helps wick away sweat.
This minimises clogged pores and back pimples.
4. Choose sunscreen carefully
Protecting your skin from sun damage is important.
However, please choose a suitable sunscreen.
Greasy sunscreens contribute to clogging pores. Make sure to choose products that are oil-free and light on the skin.
5. Eat healthy
It’s a good policy to practice eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of:
vegetables
fruits
lean protein
whole grains
6. Don’t pick at your pimples!
As with regular acne, avoid picking any bacne or body acne. Just like with your face, picking acne on your body can spread bacteria and cause more pimples, as well as lead to acne scars.
If these home-care treatments do not work, you might want to treat in-clinic treatments for back acne and acne scars.
What are Treatments for Back Acne in Singapore?
Don’t worry! Back acne (Bacne) and acne scars can be solved.
At Sozo Aesthetic Clinic, we have a holistic range of back acne and body acne treatments.
First, Dr Boey will assess the cause of your bacne and back acne scars through a thorough medical consult.
The treatment of your back and body acne will depend on several factors: severity of the acne, medical history, skin type, degree of physical activity and sensitivity.
We will evaluate and discuss a treatment protocol which will suit your lifestyle.
These may include in-office laser treatments and oral medications.
Here are some of the treatment options that may be used:
Chemical Peels
Chemical peels clear the plugged follicles on your back which will reduce acne breakouts.
Chemical peels also help to reduce the appearance of scars on your back, especially post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (brown marks).
We have a wide selection of chemical peels that are customised according to your skin type and acne severity.
Our chemical peels are powerful yet safe – it is buffered to ensure minimal downtime and to prevent complications like burns.
Board certified dermatologist will usually suggest in office treatments as compared to home remedies such as tea tree oil, aloe vera for superior efficacy in terms of cell turnover, wound healing of bacne scars.
This also prevent future breakouts and calm irritation.
Price of chemical peels for back acne: from $150/ session.
Topical Treatment
We use specialised anti-acne back sprays to prevent bacteria from flourishing and clear the pores on your back at an optimal level.
Topical treatments can include lactic acid, salicylic acid, alpha hydroxy acids, glycolic acid, benzoyl peroxide. In particular, lactic acid and glycolic acid are popular acne treatment methods that improve skin texture, reduce activity of sebaceous glands. These acids are chemical exfoliant that gently exfoliate.
They can be in the form of body wash too. Sprays are easier to apply on your back as compared to creams. This gives you better results.
Oral Medication
For severe back and body acne, we use oral antibiotics and isotretinoin to effectively reduce the bacteria overgrowth that causes back acne.
When combined with laser and other treatments, you will achieve flawless back skin much faster.
Our oral medication protocols are designed to minimise skin side effects while maintaining high efficacy.
Price of oral medication for back acne: from $60/ month.
Laser Treatment for Back Acne Scars
We customise your back acne scar treatment plan according to the type of back acne scars.
We have one of the most comprehensive range of acne scar removal laser and procedural treatments in Singapore to help you achieve clearer skin.
These treatments will reduce the amount of skin scarring and improve skin healing.
Lasers used include fractional CO2 laser and Pico Laser.
Price of pico laser for back acne: from $150/ session.
What are the Complications of Back Acne?
Unsightly
Back acne is unsightly, especially when you are wearing off shoulder clothes or swimwear.
Painful
Bacne can be very painful, or even itchy.
It tends to leave embarrassing scars and marks that take a very long time to fade.
This is because the skin on the back of the body heals much slower than the face.
Can Form Scars
Back acne tends to scar easily because skin at your back takes longer to heal – about 2x as long.
There are many types of back and shoulder scars.
Common types of back acne scars include hyperpigmented scarring, atrophic (depressed) scarring or keloid and hypertrophic scarring.
Hyperpigmented
Hyperpigmented back acne scars are brown scars that have a tendency to become darker due to sun exposure and inflammation.
These brown blemishes need pico laser treatment and chemical peels to lighten.
Atrophic
Scars become depressed and sunken. This requires fractional CO2 laser, Infini and subcision for treatment.
Keloids and Hypertrophic Scars
Keloids and hypertrophic back Scars tend to form at your back, shoulders and chest.
This is due to intense inflammation and excessive scar tissue production.
Injections are needed to shrink and flatten your keloids and hypertrophic scars.
Back Acne vs Face Acne Treatments: What’s the Difference?
1. Back Acne requires more intensive treatments
Your back has more oil glands. Hence, back acne tends to be more stubborn.
As a result, more treatment sessions are required. In general, we expect back acne to require double the number of treatment sessions as compared to treating acne at other parts of the body.
A combination of synergistic treatments also works better for back acne as compared to using 1 type of treatment. This is because combination therapy address the multi-factorial causes of back acne.
2. Back acne has a greater tendency to scar
The skin at your back, chest and shoulders have poorer healing compared to your face. As a result, back acne tends to scar.
Hence, back acne and skin scar tissue needs to be treated as soon as possible to minimise further scarring.
How many treatments are needed to treat back acne?
All back acne scars treatment are customised according to your skin, severity of acne and budget.
We will advise you on how many sessions you need to achieve your desired outcome.
In general, at least 5-10 sessions of treatment including oral medications will be required. For severe acne and acne scars, the treatment process might take years.
Is the Treatment safe?
All our treatments clinically proven for the reduction of acne.
The procedures are safe and effective and have minimal side-effects.
We treat your back and shoulder acne first, followed by treating the scars that are left behind.
When can I expect to see the treatments result?
You can see results of reduced oil production and less acne after one to three months of treatment.
Some patients can see results within 2-3 weeks of acne treatment.
