Pimples can strike anywhere (almost)

To put it in very simple terms, breakouts are blocked pores, a pore is the part of a hair follicle, and you have hair follicles all over your body (with the exception of the palms of your hands and the bottoms of your feet). Even when the hairs themselves are barely visible, the pores will be there.

Where there are pores, there can be blocked pores, which means that acne breakouts can strike anywhere (almost). It’s therefore not uncommon to experience acne on your back, legs, chest or elsewhere.

If that sounds familiar, then there are a few things you can do.

• Make sure you wash your bedding and towels on a regular basis. While they can feel nice on your skin, they also pick up a lot of sweat and other dirt, which is then transferred back onto your skin and can contribute to blocked pores.
• Thoroughly clean yourself with an appropriate soap when bathing or showering and apply moisturiser afterwards, even on hard to reach areas. As with the skin on your face, proper care can really reduce the chances of breakouts developing.
• Remove dry skin when it develops, because dead skin cells are great at blocking pores. If you experience dry skin on your back, shoulders or elsewhere, consider exfoliating those areas occasionally. Removing the lingering dead skin cells will help to keep your pores clear.
• Don’t squeeze whiteheads. Whether you find it gross or immensely satisfying, squeezing a whitehead or other pimple helps to spread bacteria from acne spots. Those bacteria will happily take up residence in other pores, and the outbreak will spread.
  
  That, in short, is it. As with breakouts on your face, there’s no miracle cure or 100% guarantee that any routine or procedure will stop acne developing on your body. Risk reduction is the best that anybody can do, so try tweaking your routine and see what works best for you.