Pimples on shoulders/back/chest from working out?
 

recently i been working out for like an hour everyday at the gym. i've been in this routine for around 3 weeks and I'm starting to notice acne forming.. Its only concentrated on my body for some reason. could this be from working out? i shower right away when i get home and its not a lot but im afraid it will get worse. also, i have been buying protein shakes and supplements from the health food store. maybe this is the problem as well??
is this normal?

TIA

When you start to work out your body starts to up the Hormone levels and that often causes body acne or "Backne" as i call it. Make sure you wash and change your sheets regularly.... like every few days because that is a major cause of Backne.. sleeping on old dirty sheets.

Berz out.

The increase in testosterone could be to blame. Being why working your legs can be so beneficial is their increase in your bodies testosterone levels, which could translate into a difference in your hormone levels and thus an increase in sebum levels, especially on your back.

this explains much for me

when you wash your clothes, try to use detergent that is fragrant-less. same as body soap.

remember to drink lots of water too to wash out the toxins.

i was on this toxin flushing ridding stuff for a bit... that sent my skin to overload. but yeah, drink lots of water, shower often, and exfoliate!

Do you know if there's any way to decrease this increase of hormones my body is suddenly creating?
Or maybe I can find a good body wash to keep the pimples at bay..
I don't really wash my sheets all that regularly. Maybe like once in a blue moon. I'm probably being a little naive but do you think washing my sheets that often is necessary? I never really gave that much thought to my bedsheets. I'm thinking about taking a couple days break and see if this time off helps.

Thanks rslater!! Time to do some research because I have utterly no idea what you just said. sebum levels? testosterone? It's as if you're speaking a whole different language than me. Usually my work out routine consists of hitting the treadmill and then just working on the weights. I'm kind of obsessed with the bench press.

Ok.. is there any good brands or particular detergents you find superior? I'm just using liquid Tide detergent. Usually I just buy whatever is on sale or smells good. Thats probably needs to change. I usually bring vitamin water to the gym or gatorade. I don't really like water all that much
I know my aunt is like a health freak so I could most likely get her to hook me up with some good herbal teas. I heard they are great for the body.

I try to shower at least 2 times a day. Should I buy one of those spongy brushes to exfoliate my body? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't exfoliating just scrubbing the skin so it's really clean?

Anyways, thanks for the tips everyone. I might make an appointment to see a dermatologist if things don't get better. Like I said its not really all that bad but I don't want it to get worse.

exfoliating is scrubbing off the dead skin. the biggest organ on the human body is the skin. it lives, and it sheds skin, just not as 1 big piece like a snake. scrubbing it off lets the new skin breathe.

When you go to the gym your body will start to produce more testerone, which is the principal male sex hormone. Its what makes you a male. The higher levels of testersone in your body, can translate into a higher production of sebum from your sebaceous glands. These glands, or rather the overproduction of this oil from these glands is what causes acne. The increase in oil mixed with bacteria causes your pores to clog, thus causing a pimple.

To simply this, anabolic steroids are testosterone. People who take these steroids tend to get acne, especially on the back. The cause of this is the same as with our bodies. The increase in testosterone can increase the production of sebum, thus increasing the chances of pimples.

When you work your legs out really hard as well as other large muscle groups your body naturally kicks the testosterone into a higher gear. You NEED this to build muscle you dont' want to stop it. Taking days off wont do anything.

As for washing your sheets lets put it this way... you spend 8 hours sleeping and sweating and rubbing your dead skin cells on your sheets every night. That mess creates bacteria wich in turn goes back on to your skin creating acne. Would you wear the same shirt every single day for 8 hours for a month without washing it? NO so why do you think your sheets are any different? You should be washing them at least once a week.

Berz out.

i have a huge mother f**king pimple on my face..

I poped it yesturday while showering..

now it has gotten worst, and it's super big and red.

washing your bedsheets is like possibly one of the most sanitary things you can do. do you know how many dustmites and other gross things grow/develop overtime? imagine all of that bacteria on you when you're sleeping!! wash those dirty sheets now.

as for laundry detergent, there's no particular brand i would recommend but it will clearly say 'fragrantless' or something to say there is no smell on it.

and i'd push the whole "i dont like water all that much" attitude out the door. because no matter what other substitute you use in place of h20, will never amount what it does. vitamin water and herbal teas are great but i usually only drink it when i need an extra boost in my system. water is seriously the way to go.

Thanks everyone. I didn't want to keep anyone out of the loop but my breakouts have slowly been clearing up and I'm using Nizoral soap which has been a real life saver.

Does anyone know how long it will take these red marks to clear up? They kinda look like scars.. What can I use to make them fade because they're really unsightly to the naked eye.

what if you are a night shower'er. then you are usually much cleaner and exfoliated and all that before you sleep, so you would that means less stuff would probably be growing in a bed? I have a very active imagination, and my sanity requires an answer to this.

I like Dove and other scent-free and pure stuff for moisturizers and such

ive found that goin to tanning salons and doin a quick fake n bake a few tiems a week for 3-5 minutes clears up your skin wonderfully! and it feels good!
i had "bacne" and started tanning, within a week it was almost all cleared up!

I find that I can't shower 'right away'. If I do, I'm still sweating when I get out of the shower (I sweat lots).

the radiation from the UV rays kills the bacteria that causes acne. UV rays penetrate fairly deep into the skin.

take a luke warm shower then rinse fairly cold until your body temperature is low enough that you don't sweat before u get out. it also closes your pours.

I've gotten a pimple on my ass before, I think its from working out but I'm not entirely sure. Has anyone ever gotten one of these before? I remember it was a really big bitch because when it got bigger I couldn't sit properly..

Lol could be an ingrown hair. That would get pretty bad fast since you'd always be applying pressure to it.

To the OP, diet plays a huge role in terms of your skin as well. Drink lots of water, eat your greens, don't overdo the protein. Take in what you need, but don't go in excess of anything.

Like !SG posted, get yourself a loufa for the hard to reach areas of your back. As you get bigger, it'll get harder to reach all areas, especially between your shoulder blades.

As your body starts to get used to working out, it'll automatically start to balance your hormone levels.

Good luck!

i was wondering this question too