Body acne is as frustrating as facial acne breakouts. Acne breakouts can occur on the body parts like shoulder, back, chest, legs or arms mainly. Body acne is not considered as important as facial acne and not dealt with properly which can lead to more breakouts. It requires more care as the skin on the body is more thick than facial skin. It has large sebaceous glands which can clog the pores easily.
Using a routine cleanser for your body acne won’t help at all. Instead you need to switch to an anti acne soap. This kind of soap usually contains ingredients like salicylic acid which are the standard for acne clearance. It is a powerful ingredient which helps in clearing the acne and preventing further breakouts because of its pore penetrating ability. This body soap helps a lot in maintaining a clear skin and exfoliates the impurities from the skin.
The root cause behind body acne
Acne occurs when the pores of the skin get clogged. It happens when there is excess sebum production in the skin which gets mixed up with dirt, sweat, dead skin cells and other impurities. These form a hard plug and clog the pores of the skin which leads to breakouts. Frequent congested pores and dark spots can affect the appearance of the skin. It is called strawberry skin which resembles seeded strawberry.
The reasons for acne
- High sebum secretion: Sebum production is more prominent on the body than the face as the oil glands are larger and they produce higher amounts of sebum. This leads to clogged pores.
- Sweat and heat: Hot and humid environments cause more sweat production. This leads to sweat accumulation on the body If this sweat sits for a long time it gets mixed with dirt and clogs the pores.
- Uncomfortable clothing: Wearing tight or unbreathable outfits like tights, sports bra, fitted clothes or gym wear can lead to more sweat production and trapped sweat in the body. These clothes stick to the body giving less space for air and rub against the skin which causes irritation and leads to bacterial growth which can cause acne.
- Workout and hygiene: People generally wear tight clothes for gym and that traps bacteria. Heavy workout leads to more sweat production in these clothes. Staying in these sweaty clothes usually and not cleansing yourself after workout often leads to acne.
- Heavy products usage: Using products like body lotions, oils that contain heavy oils and butters can build up on the body often. These products can be comedogenic and can build up on the skin and clog the pores.
Understanding salicylic acid’s role
Salicylic acid is a famous beta hydroxy acid which is used for the purpose of acne clearance prominently. This comes under the class of chemical exfoliants but it differs from the rest because of its oil-soluble profile. Salicylic acid works wonderfully as it has the ability to cross the oil-barriers and reach the skin pores.
It performs as an exfoliator but not the kind that scrubs away dead cells from the skin surface instead it dissolves the bonds holding dead cells together which helps in loosing up all dead skin cells, sebum and dust and clears the skin. This helps in preventing breakouts and clearing active breakouts.
Using a salicylic acid soap helps to:
- Deep pore cleanse: It can dive deep into the pores and loosen the bonds of impurities which form a hard plug in the pores. It clears it out and decongest the pores.
- Excess sebum control: It can also help a lot in the clearance of excess sebum from the pores, it wipes off the excess. It also clears out the excess sebum from the surface.
- Anti-inflammatory action: Salicylic acid is a derivative of aspirin which makes it an anti inflammatory agent as well. It helps in soothing and calming the skin which gets inflamed and irritated due to breakouts.
- Smoothening skin texture: Salicylic acid works to dissolve the build up of dead skin cells and break their cellular bonds. When it sheds an even and smooth skin texture can be achieved.
- Prevents strawberry skin: The skin might get rough textured due to clogged pores and darkened pits. Salicylic acid helps in clearing the pores and spots when used regularly which helps in reducing the appearance of strawberry skin.
Suitable concentration of salicylic acid in a soap
For using salicylic acid in a soap it is better to stick to a mild concentration. It can be in the range of 0.5% to 3%. For a beginner it can be used in the range of 0.5% to 1% concentration. It is better to adapt to lower concentration first to ensure skin suitability and then move to a bit concentrated soap bar.
Effective method to use body acne soap
- Firstly wash your body with water
- Take the soap in your hand
- Rub it in hands or loofah to produce lather
- Apply it using loofah on the body
- Rinse off with water
- Follow by using a lightweight body lotion after drying the skin
- During day apply sunscreen
Final thoughts
Body acne is a very common skin problem which needs to be addressed using a targeted body cleansing soap. The skin on the body is thicker and contains more sebaceous glands which leads to more acne due to more sebum production. Using a salicylic acid soap for the purpose of clearing oil and acne from the skin is the most effective way. But you need to be consistent in using it and wait for some time to achieve results.
