As bad as acne could look on your face, there are other parts of the body where it could quickly appear and could be painful as some of them feel on your face. Acne, or as we call them, pimples could promptly appear on the chest, legs, or back.
One of the common areas that everyone experiences acne is on the shoulder. The growing adolescents could easily share acne on their shoulders, and it could look awful in appearance as they leave spots behind.
Acne is visible when the hair follicles in our skin trap dirt, oil, and dead skin cells on the surface instead of releasing them. We have pores in our every part of our body’s skin which are just small opening. Through these tiny openings are the hairs of our body that grow, and each of these hairs is located on the hair follicle beneath skin layers.
These dead skin cells are carried to the surface by the oil-producing glands known as Sebaceous, connected to these hair follicles. But if the oil glands and skin cells form a plug within the hair follicle, there are chances of it trapping the dirt, and the outer of it is visible to us as acne.
Not all acne is painful and causes inflammation, but it depends on the shoulder developed. Some of the possible types of acne are mentioned below.
Types of Acne
Mainly, experts have observed two kinds of acne that could cause on an individual’s shoulder.
Acne Mechanica
Acne Mechanica is the type of acne that occurs due to excessive pressure, heat, or physical factors that could cause the Sebaceous gland to trigger and release sebum in a large amount. It generally damages the area where the acne breakout has occurred.
Some of the potential reasons for its causes include:
- Wearing clothes that trap air and are too restricted due to the tightness. Hence, they lead to the body, releasing sweat and heat to form moisture and infection on the back resulting in acne.
- Carrying a heavy backpack that causes pressure on the shoulder area
- Using any pillow or blanket, the fibers of which are itchy and irritating
- Performing physical activity but not cleaning oneself properly and leads to sweat causing infection and acne breakout.
Acne vulgaris
Acne vulgaris is the scientific/medical term given to a standard acne breakout due to a change in hormone levels in the body or the sebum and skin cells trapping oil and dirt in hair follicles instead of releasing them.
The reasons behind a change in the hormone that could cause Acne vulgaris could be:
- Adolescent males who have their testosterone levels rising could experience acne vulgaris since an increase in testosterone causes a breakout of acne.
- A high level of testosterone hormone in women due to PCOS could experience acne breakout on the shoulder.
- An increase in progesterone level just after the beginning of ovulation and ends just as a female is about to menstruate could cause acne breakout on the shoulder. Consumption of progesterone-only hormonal birth control pill could cause acne breakout on shoulders too.
- Insulin growth factor as part of other hormonal factors could regulate the sebaceous gland’s growth, causing the whole-oil trap process leading to acne breakout.
- The other hormones that promote oil and sebum production and the sebaceous gland include Melanocortins.
The appearance and possible symptoms of Acne Breakout
The acne’s visibility differs in every individual; just as different types of pimples could appear on the face, the same applies to the shoulder as well. Acne varies in size, shape, color, and symptoms in various individuals.
- Whiteheads: It appears as a small, round bumpy pimple with a white center, which is firm and more solid. Whitehead does not evacuate even after squeezing them with a finger.
- Pustules: It appears as a small bumpy-like pimple with an inflamed, painful base and a puss-filled head center.
- Blackheads: It appears as a small, round bumpy pimple with a blackhead at the center. The back center is often misunderstood as dirt; instead, it is believed to be oxidized sebum.
- Cysts: It appears as a large puss-filled lumpy pimple that leaves a scar behind when it is reduced.
- Nodules: It appears as a large and hard lump situated deep within the skin and feels tender & painful if touched.
- Papules: It appears as a small red bump that is tender or sore in touch.
Ways to treat and prevent Shoulder Acne
There are certain chemical compounds and elements that could help in treating acne breakouts, and one must choose their gels, creams, or lotions, which contains the following chemical compound:
- Salicylic acid helps in the reduction of sebum production as well as skin inflammation or redness. Salicylic acid’s property of being a beta-hydroxy enables the removal of sebum reduction. It exfoliates the skin by cleansing all the dirt and oil from the skin and sucking the acne’s dirt.
- A bacteria known by the name, Cutibacterium acnes bacteria cause acne vulgaris. Benzoyl peroxide is one of those antiseptic elements you must look for in your acne curing lotion. It leads to a 70-75 percent reduction in inflammation of the acne.
- Azelaic acid is another compound one must look for in curing acne on your shoulder or torso. Azelaic acid is found in wheat or barley that could help in reducing the redness of the acne.
- Retinoids are another compound obtained from Vitamin A and application of which could make a difference in the acne’s visibility, reducing it slowly. The chemical helps increase the skin cell and keep the dead cell, oil, and dirt out of the skin’s small pores.
- Antiseptic could also help reduce acne’s pain and effect on the skin, or hormone therapy medication that would reduce hormones that could cause acne slowly help reduce acne from the parts of the skin or shoulder.
Prevention of Acne
- Keep your skin and body clean after performing any rigorous physical activity to dry the sweat completely. It could help in reducing the chances of infection.
- Do not apply any harsh cream or lotion that could lead to any rashes or inflammation.
- Try shampooing your hair so that there isn’t any trace of dandruff-causing acne or pimple.
- Do not pop or pin the pimples. It could cause septic or infection.
- Try bathing with warm water throughout the year.
- Do not wear tight or unbreathable clothes
- try changing your sweaty clothes
- Avoid scratching or scrubbing the pimple area, which could lead to infection
- Apply sunscreens in hot weather.
One must follow a clean and hygienic routine to avoid acne on the shoulders. But if there is a medical condition causing the shoulder acne, you must meet with your dermatologist as soon as possible and take their guidance to treat the acne with expert advice.
