We hate to break it to you, but bacne and buttne are real. Unfortunately, acne isn’t just for your face. Places like your back, thighs and chest can also be prone to pimples and blackheads. And while there are plenty of tricks and treatments to battle facial acne, the options are a lot more sparse when it comes to battling body acne and finding the best body acne treatment.
One easy tip: If you exercise regularly, always shower immediately after your sweat session. Otherwise, that gives bacteria a chance to dwell on your skin, triggering breakouts. The same goes for hot days — you probably need to suds up more often. To keep body breakouts under control, try stocking up on one of the best body acne treatments, from body washes to scrubs, to keep your skin smooth all over.
1. Paula’s Choice CLEAR Back and Body Acne Spray
This bacne-buster is ingenious because the spray formula helps you reach those tough spots. Simply spritz on the super strength exfoliator and watch as the salicylic acid gets to work to treat current breakouts and prevent new ones. It also visibly shrinks pores, calms redness and treats blackheads and bumpy skin. Unlike many strong acne products though, it won’t strip or overdry skin.
2. Vie Naturelle Acne Body Spray
This spray combines not one but two acne-fighting ingredients — benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid — along with essential oils that were chosen for their skin-soothing properties. Meant to target breakouts on the back, chest, shoulders, butt and thighs, it also eases redness. What’s more, the included Eucalyptus oil, witch hazel and tea tree oil will shrink pores, clear pimples and blackheads, and smooth bumpy skin.
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3. CeraVe Salicylic Acid Body Wash for Rough & Bumpy Skin
A side effect of battling body acne with strong products is stripped, dry skin. That’s why this body wash is super gentle and packed with three essential ceramides to boost the skin’s natural protective barrier. There’s also salicylic acid to exfoliate and niacinamide to calm skin. To ensure it’s safe for sensitive skin, it’s non-comedogenic, non-irritating and fragrance-free.
4. Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment
When a zit crops up on your chest or back, it’s easy to feel like it’s the only thing people see. Zap it right away with a spot treatment, like this potent one from Clean & Clear. Witch hazel and salicylic acid get to work to visibly reduce the size and redness of pimples, which is why it has been clinically proven to lead to clearer skin in a single day.
5. HUM Nutrition Daily Cleanse Clear Skin and Body Detox Supplement
This probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard that clear skin starts from within. Get that started by popping a pill, specifically this daily supplement that detoxes your skin — along with the liver, bowel, kidney, lungs and lymphatic system — since excess toxins can trigger breakouts. A blend of herbs, spirulina and organic chlorella do the heavy lifting to detox.
6. Misumi Acne Body Wash
Not only does this body wash tend to breakouts — it’s also designed for keratosis pilaris, aka “chicken skin,” the common condition that is often confused with body acne and causes rough, dry patches of skin and tiny bumps that appear on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks or bum. The combo of salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid and lavender flower oil soothes and refreshes skin while diminishing scarring, redness, swelling and excess oil.
7. Solimo Clarifying Body Wash
This no-frills body wash comes from Amazon’s own brand, Solimo, so it costs less than any similar product on the market. It utilizes salicylic acid, which dissolves the outer layer of dead skin responsible for clogging pores and causing breakouts. Plus, it features a nice grapefruit scent that smells good on guys or girls.
8. Phisoderm Anti-Blemish Body Wash
For 40 years, customers have trusted Phisoderm to do away with their breakouts. The Phisoderm Anti-Blemish Body Wash is pH balancing and promises to treat acne all over your body. It contains 2% salicylic acid for clearing and preventing breakouts, as well as vitamin E and chamomile to soothe skin.
9. Bath Body Brush
One common cause of bacne is almost too obvious: your back is hard to clean. It can be tough to reach back there and properly scrub, so we suggest picking up a back brush like this one. It’ll help scrub those hard-to-reach spots, and ensure it’s clean enough to stay blemish-free. Use it once a day during your shower with whatever body wash you already have.
10. Aquis Exfoliating Back Scrubber
If a big body brush doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, another great back-washing tool is this Aquis Exfoliating Back Scrubber. With handles on each end and a scrubber that runs the entire length of the back, you’ll have no problem cleaning your skin back there. One side offers a loofah-like surface to exfoliate, while the other side is soft and smooth for cleaning and invigorating the skin.
11. Acne.org 16 oz. Cleanser
This Acne.org cleanser was specifically designed to combat breakouts using the gentlest ingredients to avoid over-drying the skin. Unlike other acne body washes, this one yields a thick lather, which cleanses the skin thoroughly. This body wash can be used in combination with other treatments or as a standalone cleanser, and the 16-ounce bottle lasts two to four months.
12. TreeActiv Acne Eliminating Body Lotion
When treating body acne, it’s important to switch out old staple products (namely, body wash and lotion) for acne-specific products. Instead of a typical lotion, opt for this TreeActive acne lotion instead. It upgrades your regular body lotion with salicylic acid and tea tree essential oil to clear acne while moisturizing. Massage in a generous amount after showering for best results.
13. Murad Acne Clarifying Body Spray
If you want to fight acne on your back and your backside, you will either need someone to apply the treatment for you or you’ll need to try the Murad Acne Clarifying Body Spray. Designed to treat and prevent existing breakouts, this salicylic acid acne treatment comes in a revolutionary 360-degree spray bottle to help you apply it to harder-to-reach areas.