Acne friendly skin care essential

To get the results you expect from treatment, you’ll also need acne friendly skin care. Without it, your acne can flare, even when you’re treating it.

To help their patients with back acne get the best results, dermatologists recommend the following:

1. Develop these habits when working out or getting sweaty:

• Wear loose-fitting workout clothes made of cotton or sweat-wicking fabric.
• Wash workout clothes after each use.
• Shower and change clothes ASAP after working out (or doing anything that causes you to sweat).

If you cannot shower immediately, use an oil-free cleansing wipe to gently wipe off your sweaty skin. You’ll also want to change out of sweaty clothes.

2. Cleanse your skin gently. Scrubbing skin with acne may seem best, but this actually worsens acne. When washing your back and applying acne treatment, you want to be gentle.

3. Stop irritating your skin with harsh skin care products. Antibacterial soaps, astringents, and abrasive scrubs can worsen acne. Ditto for loofahs, back brushes, and buff puffs. For best results, you’ll want to use gentle, fragrance-free skin care products.

4. Use oil-free skin care products and cosmetics. The packaging may read “non-comedogenic,” “non-acnegenic,” “won’t clog pores,” or “oil-free.

5. Avoid using anything that rubs against your back, such as a backpack. Anything that rubs against your back can irritate your skin, causing back acne to flare. Swap a backpack for a handheld bag. If you carry a purse on your shoulder, place the strap on your arm.

6. Resist the temptation to pick and pop acne, even on your back. This will only worsen acne.

7. Protect your skin from the sun. People often believe that the sun’s rays will help clear acne, but the sun can actually worsen acne. The sun’s rays tend to darken acne and cause it to last longer. You can help clear acne by always wearing oil-free sunscreen when outdoors. You’ll want to apply sunscreen to all skin that clothes won’t cover.

8. Change your sheets and pillowcases weekly. Clean sheets and pillowcases are essential for clearing back acne. You may want to change pillowcases twice a week. By the end of a week, sheets and pillowcases are swarming with dead skin cells and bacteria.

When washing sheets and pillowcases, be sure to use fragrance-free detergent. If you like fabric softener, it, too, should be fragrance-free.

It can take time to see results from treatment. If treatment works, you may start to see results in 6 to 8 weeks. Complete clearing can take 3 or 4 months.

If you don’t see any difference in 6 to 8 weeks, you may need a dermatologist’s help. With a dermatologist’s help, virtually every type of acne can be successfully treated.