Chest Acne Treatment

Acne is a skin condition that can occur anywhere on the body that has sebaceous glands. These glands create sebum, an oil that moisturizers the body. An overproduction of sebum leads to oily skin and increases the chance of acne. Acne is a combination of excess oil, dirt, dead skin cells and bacteria clogging the pores. While acne blemishes usually occur on the face, they can also appear on the chest, neck, back and buttocks. To treat chest acne depends on its severity. Home remedies, over-the-counter drugs and medical options are all available to acne sufferers.

Using Home Remedies

One of the best ways to treat chest acne is to keep the area clean. You can wash the area with buttermilk or milk once or twice a day. These dairy products have lactic acid that exfoliates and cleans the area. Leave on for 10 minutes, then rinse off with a washcloth. Another option is to use aloe vera gel or juice. Aloe vera is a plant whose leaves contain gel that can soothe irritated skin and also disinfect. Let the aloe vera dry on the chest, but do not wash off. Apply once or twice each day

Using Over-the-Counter Drugs

The drugstore has many products to treat acne. Cleansers, toners, scrubs and masks are all available to work on the chest. There are also products specifically designed to treat body acne. Neutrogena has several acne products that get good reviews on consumer forums. With so many acne products to choose from it is really trial and error to find the right products that will treat your chest acne. It is best to try one product at a time, use it for a few weeks and see if it works before trying another product.

Seeing a Doctor

For chest acne that does not respond to home remedies or OTC products, a visit to a dermatologist may be helpful. The doctor can prescribe a variety of prescription drugs that have proven effective such as Retin-A, a derivative of vitamin A. The drugs can be topical ointments or antibiotic pills. According to the Mayo Clinic, a person may not see any improvement in the acne for four to eight weeks. In fact the acne could get worse before it improves. The doctor can also give a chemical peel that burns away the top layer of skin so that new skin grows faster. Microdermabrasion is another treatment used for acne. With this method tiny crystals are use to slough off the top skin layer. Laser surgery is another treatment. Laser resurfacing uses infrared light to burn away the top layer while the heat accelerates skin renewal. Chemical peels, microdermabrasion and laser therapy are also good for reducing acne scars.

References

• Acne - Treatments and Drugs
• Acne Remedies
• Home Remedies for Acne

Resources

• Acne Resource Center