How to Get Rid of Chest and Back Acne

Hi, I’m Dr. Chad Hartmann, a board-certified dermatologist with U.S. Dermatology Partners, and today I want to talk to you about chest and back acne.
Acne and chest and back acne are predominantly due to genetic factors and I think it's important for people to understand this because commonly I’ll have a patient who comes into the office with acne and feels that the acne is their fault because they're not cleaning the area enough or I’ll have a parent who brings in their child and thinks the acne is due to the child not washing the area or because their hair is going over the area causing the acne and this is rarely the case and unfortunately this can lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment and when treatment is delayed this can result in scarring which is permanent.
Chest and back acne is treated similar to other forms of acne, however, sometimes chest and back acne tends to be a little bit more stubborn and not respond to treatment and it's also sometimes more difficult to treat simply because of where it's located. It’s hard to apply topical agents to these areas.
How we treat acne is normally determined by the severity of acne, if the acne is mild often times we'll start with topical treatments such as a cleanser or a topical antibiotic or a topical retinoid.
When the acne is more moderate then we'll normally need to use an oral agent or something by mouth. Typically we'll use antibiotics by mouth and in female patients, we can consider either an oral contraceptive pill or a hormone-blocking agent when it's appropriate. If the acne is more severe or in patients who don't respond to less aggressive treatments Accutane is normally a very effective treatment in these patients. If you or someone who's suffering with chest or back acne please reach out to one of our U.S. Dermatology Partners locations. There are many effective treatments and we look forward to helping you in your journey.