Natural Back Acne Treatments
You can cure back acne naturally with several different natural remedies for back acne. You don’t have to use expensive prescription medications that may have side effects. The best back acne treatments may very well be in your kitchen cupboard.
What Causes Acne
Most acne is considered mild, or Grade 1 acne. It is exemplified by blackheads and whiteheads. When these occur on your back, it can be a problem because the skin on the back is thicker. The pores are bigger, too, so your back tends to be more oily. A back acne cure has to be easily applied, unless you have someone to help.
When your skin does not exfoliate, the dead skin cells stay on the surface trapping sebum, dirt, and bacteria that clog the pores of the healthy skin trying to grow beneath. This causes pustules to develop which spread the infection. You may try a natural remedy for back acne before you try more expensive prescription back acne treatments.
Jojoba Oil
People have, for years, used jojoba oil for general skin care. Jojoba oil for back acne is the same as the oil people use on their face, and is usually found in health food stores or online. It’s a plant wax, and jojoba oil benefits for skin care cleansing and toning your skin, and natural moisturization. Toning of your skin basically means that the pores are at rest. They’re not enlarged and secreting an unnecessary amount of sebum, and they are not tightly constricted, trapping impurities in the pores. The jojoba oil performs very much as the natural sebum in your skin, keeping your skin moist and supple without leaving an oily film that attracts dirt or clogs pores. Used in combination with tea tree oil and lavender essential oil, it will provide the most benefit to your back acne.
Using jojoba oil for back acne will require help from someone else. You’ll use the jojoba oil as a cleanser, mixed with a few drops of lavender essential oil. Clean the affected area and add a small amount of the jojoba oil to the area. Remove the extra with cotton balls. Then, place a hot towel over the affected area and let it set for around a minute. Using a hot towel on the area will open the pores in your skin. While this can often cause more secretion of natural oils, doing it this way will allow the clean, health jojoba oil to displace the natural oils that may be contaminated with bacteria. The jojoba oil will then equalize the moisture in your skin, floating impurities to the top to be removed. Remove the towel and splash your back with cool water. Then, you’ll moisten cotton balls with witch hazel and gently wipe of the area that has the jojoba oil on it. You just keep doing this until the cotton balls stay clean. Once all of the impurities are drawn from your skin, moisturize it again with jojoba oil, wiping off the excess again with a cotton ball.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Does vinegar help acne? Many people have had great success with using vinegar for back acne. That’s because apple cider vinegar has alpha-hydroxy acids, which are used to balance the pH of your skin. It also reduces the fat deposits in your skin. Alpha-hydroxy acids are the main ingredients in many OTC and prescription acne medications, and it’s available to you in an inexpensive bottle of apple cider vinegar. The end result is soft, smooth skin.
To use vinegar for back acne, you’ll need to mix it with water. Mix one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water. You can even grind up an aspirin or two and stir it in, because aspirin has salicylic acid in it which will dry out acne. The aspirin will also serve as an anti-inflammatory, taking the swelling down in the affected areas, and reducing redness. You can also use the apple cider vinegar mixture to treat spots that appear. Apply it with a Q-tip or cotton ball, and let it set on the spot. This will help dry out the spot more quickly. You can also use the mixture in place of a skin toner. Just be careful. If you have sensitive skin, pure strength apple cider vinegar will be too harsh. If it dries your skin out too much, add a little more water to it. Be sure, also, not to scrub your skin with the apple cider vinegar. Even though the skin on your back is thicker than that on your face, you can still damage it by scrubbing too hard. Just wipe the apple cider vinegar onto the affected areas. Don’t think of it as scrubbing it in, but rubbing it onto your skin.
Tea Tree Oil
Is tea tree oil good for acne? The truth is, yes. Tea tree oil is a good natural remedy for several conditions that plague people, such as athlete’s foot, body odor, cold sores, bad breath, and yes, even acne. Tea tree oil is actually a mild antibiotic that serves to kill the bacteria that so often cause acne. It is a very strong oil, though, so be sure to use it correctly. If you want to try tea tree oil for back acne, you simply mix it with water, 1 part tea tree oil with 9 parts water or aloe vera gel. If you don’t have any problem with redness or dry, itchy skin, you can increase the amount of tea tree oil. Apply the mixture to clean, dry skin using a cotton ball. That’s it. Once it’s dry, you can apply a light moisturizer.
Green Tea for Skin
The health benefits of green tea are lauded in the natural remedies market. Its powers for everything from healing abrasions to halting cancer have developed quite a supportive crowd. Now it’s being used to treat skin problems. In fact, green tea cream is said to have the same benefits for skin as creams containing benzoyl peroxide. There are, so far, no studies that prove the efficiency of using green tea for skin, but many acne sufferers have developed their own treatments using green tea as it is intended—as a drink. By increasing their intake of green tea, many people have discovered that their skin condition improves, including acne. This makes the intake of green tea for back acne an increasingly popular treatment. You can also make a mask of green tea for back acne by boiling the leaves with egg white. Apply the mixture to the affected area and let it dry before you remove it. You can also take a warm, wet green tea bag and place it onto a particularly inflamed spot of acne. It will reduce inflammation and help keep the pimple from coming back.
Baking Soda for Back Acne
You can use a baking soda exfoliant on acne with great results. One of the best and most common treatments for any kind of acne is to exfoliate the affected area. Exfoliation removes skin cells that are no longer receiving nourishment from your circulatory system. These dead skin cells just stay attached to the surface of your healthy, new skin, and trap body oils, bacteria, and dirt, causing acne. A baking soda face scrub is great for exfoliating your face without damaging the healthy skin underneath. In fact using baking soda for acne is often recommended by doctors, because the product is so cheap and easy to use.
To make a baking soda paste for acne, you can just put about a tablespoon of baking soda in your hand, and add enough water to make a toothpaste-textured mixture. Then, work the baking soda face scrub onto your face in small, circular motions. The more you rub, the better job of exfoliation the baking soda exfoliant will do. You just rinse it off with warm water, then, and enjoy your fresh healthy skin!
To use baking soda for back acne, you can use the same recipe above and apply the paste to a back brush and rub it onto your back. If you want, to make a baking soda exfoliant for your back, you can use a skin cleanser instead of water. Mix the skin cleanser with the baking soda and just a couple of tablespoons of water. Get your back wet, and use the paste on your back brush. Try to apply it in circular motions to keep from brushing it off the affected areas. Rinse it off in lukewarm water. This is important, because if you use hot water, it will trigger the production of oils, making the problem worse. If you rinse in cold water, it will close the pores, trapping any impurities remaining.
Any time you dry your skin after using baking soda for back acne, be gentile. A rough scrubbing with a nappy towel will just irritate your skin, making the acne problem worse.
Aloe Vera For Back Acne
Aloe vera has healing qualities in the sap that it releases when you break it. It’s been used for years for treatment of sunburns, with its anti-inflammatory qualities help reduce the swelling and pain. Aloe vera gel is also very useful in treating other skin conditions such as acne. Skin gel is often a good solution for treating acne because it covers the area smoothly and doesn’t evaporate. The aloe vera gel is great for applying to affected areas and reducing the swelling and redness in the area. For the best benefits of any acne treatment, you should have a regular skin care routine that involves proper use of the acne treatment you’re using.
When you use aloe vera for back acne, you’ll need to leave it on the affected areas and let it soak into the skin. It will soothe the skin, reducing redness and swelling. Daily use of aloe vera gel for back acne will help the healthy skin to heal and the dead skin cells slough off. When inflammation is reduced, the pores of your skin won’t be as likely to get clogged and infected.
Aloe vera soap is also very helpful if you have oily skin. The healing properties of the soap and of aloe vera gel will help keep your skin from secreting as much oil, and the moisturizing qualities will equalize the oil, halting further breakouts.
You can also use aloe vera for back acne in the form of a mask, especially if you can sleep on your stomach! Apply the aloe vera mask to the affected areas of your back, and let it stay all night while you sleep. You can use it for spot treatment, too. This will remove the redness and swelling.
The natural back acne treatments available to you offer a wide variety of treatments, from exfoliation to moisturization and anti-inflammatories. You should always remember that, while your back has thicker skin than your face, it can still be stressed by too much scrubbing and treatment. Choose just one of the treatments mentioned above and stay with it for at least a month before you give up on it. Any of these treatments will probably cause flaking and peeling, because most of them are for exfoliating dead, infected skin. If you have a lot of discomfort from a particular treatment, use less of the main ingredient. Some of the ingredients such as the tea tree oil, and the apple cider vinegar can be a little harsh. Be sure, too, to pat your skin dry rather than vigorously rubbing it, as that will just irritate already damaged skin.
The best back acne treatments often involve basic, natural ingredients such as baking soda and apple cider vinegar, and many people keep plants just so they have ready access to fresh aloe vera gel. Whether you use your treatment over entire areas of your back acne, or as spot treatments, you’re sure to reap the benefits of an extended treatment of the natural back acne treatments.
