Chest Acne: How to Get Rid of Body Acne

Chest acne can show up in many forms, such as blackheads, pimples, pustules, or even the most severe form of acne, cysts. Chest acne can affect people from age 10 to age 40 and even after that.

Chest acne is often referred as zits. To improve the condition of chest acne, it is vital to understand what the root cause of this skin disease is, and also some information about what does not cause chest acne.

Like other forms of acne, there is no one particular factor causing chest acne. As far as medical understanding goes, chest acne also happens when sebaceous glands start functioning more aggressively around puberty. These sebaceous glands are situated just below the surface of the skin. Sebaceous glands continuously produce and secrete oil through the opening (pores) in the skin. When extra amounts of sebum are produced pores and hair follicles become clogged.

This clogging obstructs the way dead cells escape the skin. The resulting mess of sebum and dead cells plugs the hair follicle and attracts bacterial attack. The bacteria cause the surrounding tissues to become inflamed and acne is formed.
Chest acne may be found on the torso and chest and even on the stomach area of some people. It can be a severe form when the lesions are large and painful. As with much acne, the exact cause of chest acne is also not exactly known.
It may be just a coincidence or may be caused by external irritants such as tight synthetic clothing or an irritating bra strap. It is not possible to keep the area of chest untouched because women must wear bras and t-shirts. For this reason, it is better to concentrate on the treatment of chest acne.

As the skin on the body is thicker than anywhere else on the body, one good treatment option is 10 percent benzoyl peroxide which is not suitable for the thinner skin on the face.

There are some differences between chest acne and other forms of acne. Other acne may be caused by heredity and genetic disposition but in the chest acne, except for the severe cases, people don't have the problem just as their parents did. In anyway, some degree of chest acne afflicts people all over the world so it can be expected that more than one person of any family might have shown signs of back acne.
Unlike other acne forms, food does not seem to play any role in the formation or flare up of chest acne. Excessive oil production or dirt does not seem to affect condition of chest acne. Even excessive perspiration after exercise, whether washed off promptly or not, does not seem to trigger chest acne.

Most probably, the simpler forms of chest acne might disappear with daily hygienic routine but as cystic chest acne goes deep into the skin and causes permanent scarring, it should be given more medical attention than simple pustules or blackheads on the chest area.