Over 500 articles and videos spanning over 10 years – full of my best tips to help you get back in control of your skin.
Feel beautiful again. No exceptions.
Do you have acne on your back and body as well as your face? Should you treat it differently than face acne?
Watch the video to find out my tips on getting rid of back acne naturally.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqrS4sRKUAw
Do you have a problem with back or body acne?
Blog author Tracy Raftl used to have severe acne — now she teaches thousands of women how to take back control of their skin through natural, holistic, and mind-body methods.
The following is a repost of an interview with me by Beautiful with Brains (click here for original). Read on – I share all
This is a guest post from Jessica Gremley of the Natural Acne Clinic Are you well over your teen years and still struggling with stubborn
Hi, my name is Krista and I am a recovered acne sufferer after a 5 year battle. I have tried for months to bring myself
Join over 70,000 women and download my free roadmap. You’ll learn seven things you can start doing right now to clear your skin.
Peruse more blogs by category…. or get crazy and go for the full archive! You do you!
7 things you can start doing right now to permanently put acne to bed.
20 Responses
[..YouTube..] I find that stuff that doesn’t really work on my face like ACV works really well on my body. Not really sure why that is, but it’s probably that the skin on your back/chest/shoulders is less likely to be irritated by products, natural or otherwise.
[..YouTube..] @chunkylard Oh also forgot. after I started taking Omega 3 fish oil for the first time, my back and chest acne virtually disappeared except maybe one or two spots on my shoulder so maybe I wasn’t getting enough Omega 3s or maybe I was getting too much Omega 6. Another possible treatment but even if people don’t have body acne they should probably be taking Omega 3 oils anyway.
Thanks for the tips! Yes, Omega 3s are great for acne no matter where it is on your body, everyone needs to be getting enough of them
what is Omega 3?
Omega 3 fatty acids – an extremely healthy fat found primarily in cold water fish, some nuts and seeds, and a few other things
Hi! I’ve suffered with bacne since I hit puberty. I remember in grade 6 a few pimples started popping up on my back and I was so embarrased I stopped doing ballet coz other girls were commenting and laughing about it. So that sucks and I’ve struggled with it since and I’m now 25.
Over the years I’ve been on antibiotics (which I stopped taking after 9 months and acne on my face and back came back with a vengence) and birth control. I’ve been on birth control for about 15 years on and off (coz i would get lazy with taking them) and my skin was perfect sometimes and still terrible other times. 4 months ago I had had enough of birth control as my skin was at a bad phase and I figured what was the point of taking them when they werent helping so I stopped. My face has been mostly clear since being off birth control (just chin area gets pimples) but my back has gotten the worst I’ve ever seen it but it’s in a different area and very densly pimply (used to get pimples all over my back but now mostly in the top half and chest area). My mum really wants me to go on Accutane but I’m refusing and holding that as an absolutely last resort coz of all the side effects.
Anyway over the last month I have been desperate to get my acne sorted out and doing tonnes of research resulting in a massive overhaul in my life. I love reading your articles and have begun exercising 3 times a week, dropped a subject at uni to lighten the stress load, getting enough sleep, doing more things i love and completely changed my diet (which i thought was healthy but after researching I realised it so was not!). At the moment I’ve cut out sugar, processed food, wheat and dairy and am so surprised how easy it has been and how good i feel! (I thought it would be tasteless, limiting and horrible) I’m loving the good eating habits I’m developing. My skin was improving after 2 weeks and then I had a bad week with lots of sugar due to parties and my skin went terrible!! I also crave sugar lots and loooove chocolate and biscuits. So I’m thinking the sugar is a major contributor for me and effecting my hormones. So I’m looking forward with hope as I’m now a bigger believer in ‘you are what you eat’ and that many health issues are the result of bad diet and lifestyle! The only hard part is everyone eats bad and they actually dont realise it! I think society needs to be educated better in healthy eating – the food pyramid shows that we need to be eating lots of ‘bread and cereals’ but it doesnt explain that wholegrains are the best not white bread… Anyway, good luck to others out there suffering with this. I’m with you on the journey but am feeling very confident as the pieces seem to be all falling together and making sense to what might be causing my acne!
Gabby
Hi Gabby! Thanks for the comment…. we’re all on a continuous journey to figure out what works for us, what doesnt, learning about ourselves, and growing as people…. I’m happy things are falling into place for you!! Much love oxoxo
Wow, that was put really beautifully! And just became my motto for ridding my thoughts of negativity which is something I’ve been consciously working on. You are wonderful, keep on inspiring!
I tried all of the anti-acne body washes and never made it through a whole bottle. They either smelled horrible or made my skin feel dry. I found Made from Earth’s Vitamin E Citris Body Gel is perfect and I hope they never stop making it.
It smells lovely (I get compliments all the time and I never wear perfume!) but the scent is light and not too feminine (my boyfriend also uses this). It leaves my skin feeling SO soft and clean! I rarely get breakouts on my body, though they come back if I run out and use something else. My only real complaint is that I have to buy it online because it is not available in stores near me.
Also, a bottle lasts a long time (about 6-8 months when used daily) because a little goes a long way. Love it!
I felt a reduction of pimpels on my back after I stopped using commercial shower gel/body shampoo! It worked a lot! I barely have acne!
What is it that you use now instead?
I have body acne – back, shoulders, and chest – and two natural remedies seem to be helping my skin clear up. The first is tea tree oil; every night before going to bed I put a couple of drops onto a cotton ball and swab the acne on my body (sometimes if I have a bad spot on my face I’ll use it there, too). I started using tea tree oil because I heard it was good for getting rid of acne scars, which I have a lot of on my chest, but am also noticing that it works very well at getting rid of raised spots. The only downside to tea tree oil is that it has a strong smell (which is why I only apply it at night).
The other remedy that’s been helpful for me is taking a bath with epsom salts once or twice a week (but no more than that because my skin will dry out). I just put a cup or two in a warm bath (not hot!) and soak for about 15 minutes. This also seems to really help with my scars and acne spots.
I tried not using any products on my body for about a month, but found that my acne was getting worse, not better. (Which I found odd because I started doing the caveman regime on my face at the same time and now my face is 99% clear.) I guess I’m still trying to figure out the root causes of my body acne, but I’m definitely seeing improvements with tea tree oil and epsom salts (in addition to improving my diet and all the other holistic things you’ve talked about on your site!).
Yay! Thank you for sharing your tips and experience Hannah! I’m glad to hear things are starting to get better 🙂
Hi,
Thanks for this video and comments on this topic. My body acne is horrible! I am about to start the Candida Cleanse tomorrow (thanks, Tracy), but was wondering what you would suggest for cleansing in the shower?
If anyone can help, that would be great.
Thanks!
I use Dr Bronner’s soap in the shower… but honestly, if you have body acne, I probably would advise not even using any soap at all on it and do a caveman regimen sort of thing: https://thelovevitamin.com/3135/caveman-regimen/
Okay. I have used Dr. Bronner’s, but stopped because my skin seemed to get worse…lots of little bumps all over shoulders, back, and chest. It’s really the worse I’ve ever had. I will look into the caveman regimen. I am intimidated by that, but know that you have had success. Thanks, Tracy.
I workout a lot, and get sweaty often. I feel like it’s not really possible to not wash my body. Is there another cleanser out there, perhaps very mild that you would recommend for back/body pimples?
Thanks!
Chris
Hi Chris,
Tracy is away without internet access for a few days, so she asked me to reply to her comments in the meantime.
You could try to wash your back with baking soda. It‘s inexpensive and worth a try. Just make a thick paste and wash your back with it. It kills bacteria, removes dead skin cells and cleanses your pores. It‘s slightly abrasive without being too harsh.
Raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar might work pretty well, too. Just wipe a washcloth soaked with apple cider vinegar and water (1:1) across your back. Let the vinegar sink in for 10 minutes. It‘s a bit stinky, but after having taken your shower you won‘t be able to smell it any more. 😉
Others swear by tea tree oil. Add a few drops on a washcloth soaked with water and apply to your back AFTER your shower.
Just choose one of those 3 methods and stick with it for at least 4 weeks. This way you‘ll see if it works for you or not.
Have a look at your diet as well. Back acne is often linked to trans-fats or dairy. I also think that vitamin D ( 800-2000 UI / day ) might be pretty helpful. Fermented cod liver oil is a great source, but you can also try a vitamin D3 supplement. Make sure to get enough magnesium at the same time. Here‘s why:
http://www.naturalnews.com/029195_magnesium_vitamin_D.html
And here‘s an article about sweat an acne:
https://thelovevitamin.com/10382/does-sweat-cause-or-irritate-acne/
Great Information. Thank you, I will try these options.
Hey! Here’s what has really helped me, and I’ve suffered from backne since puberty (I’m now 24). I used to think that the only way to control it was to wash and moisturize daily, but when I started getting into more natural skincare about six months ago I started experimenting with washing less, and hence moisturizing less. These days, I do a weekly scrub with scrubbing gloves and natural soap and then moisturize with coconut oil, but the rest of the week I keep away from both soap and oils/lotions. I may on occasion put some coconut oil on dry areas of my body, say if I’ve been swimming or something, but I only use soap once a week. This has made a major difference. I’m sure I could go longer without soap too, but I think the exfoliating helps. When summer comes I might try dry brushing now and then instead, since I hear that helps a lot and that moisturizing is usually not required afterwards.