Help!! I have bacne!!

codemonkey

I have loads of massive spots on my upper back and shoulders, which make me feel really self-conscious about wearing tops that show my back off.

I've tried everything I can think of to get rid of it - washing and conditioning my hair upside down, washing my back with anti-bacterial spot treatment washes, using a moisturiser for oily skin, regular exfoliation of the area, tea tree, increasing my vitamin intake and so on.

I have really fair skin that blisters within minutes of sun exposure so sunbeds are out and I live in Scotland, so sun is kind of a rare occurance.

Oh, and I have a hormonal condition so any kind of hormonal birth control is out of the question.

Any ideas to help me improve it?

LolitaLove

It sounds as though you've covered all bases....I'm not really sure what to suggest.
It might be worth trying a microdermabrasion kit for the body...L'oreal refinish is good but has been discontinued, you can still find it on ebay and online though. It's basically a really rough exfoliant, followed by a peel, that clears pores and sloughs off dead skin. I've never used it on my body but have tried it on my face and it worked really well for making pores smaller/less visible.
Have you tried salicyclic acid/benzoyl peroxide? The strenghts sold in facewashes etc might not be enough. You could ask your doctor for a salicyclic acid/benzoyl peroxide solution, or an antibiotic solution such as tetracycline to clear the spots.
Dermalogica products are fantastic in my opinion, have you tried any of their range?
Hope this helps!

h007

oh i get bacne but thankfully the yasmin pill sorts it out for me.
are you sure you cant have this? i also have a hormone inbalance which is causing the spots but the pill apparently balances it all out?!?!?

also have you been to the doctors to make sure it isnt a skin infection? i recently caught a nasty skin infection from a spa and it does look like bacne and i was put on antibiotics

Eric_Pisch

it may be a gluten intolerance

http://www.zimbio.com/Symptoms+of+Wheat+Allergy/articles/97/Acne+and+Gluten

Skyllo

I'd also recommend benzyl peroxide cream as it sorted mine out. You can get different strengths so start at a low one (either 5% or 2.5%) and see how it goes. I had Quinoderm as it's one of the better value ones (you get more in it than Oxy for a similar price). It's behind the counter in pharmacies and it's under £5. Clearsil washes etc. did nothing for me but this worked wonders.

You could probably get it on prescription so it'd be free for you.

One word of warning - it will bleach your clothing. I ruined a few favourite tops before I figured out what was wrong. I'd suggest applying it at night and wearing old pyjamas, then showering it off in the morning, just to be sure.