People with acne must maintain the same delicate balance when they shower and shampoo their hair as they do in cleansing their faces. As with facial cleansers, acne patients use a specially formulated, gentle body cleanser when they shower, such as Dove or Oil of Olay body wash. This helps protect sensitive acne-prone areas of the body like the chest, back, and shoulders from being irritated.

Moreover, since many people with acne have oily hair, in order to keep oil from the hair from being transferred onto the forehead, neck, and back, where it can clog the pores and worsen acne outbreaks, people with acne must shampoo their hair every day. In addition, they must take special care to rinse their hair thoroughly. Otherwise, residue from shampoos or conditioners can clog the pores on a person’s back and forehead. A young woman with acne explains how she solves this problem: “I have figured out how to keep my back and chest clear of zits: when you’re in the shower,  wash these areas with a gentle soap after you have rinsed the conditioner out of your hair. I know this can be a problem especially for girls with long hair; the conditioner goes down your back and leaves this nice zit-causing film that water doesn’t wash off.”

Perhaps the most important good health habit that people with acne can practice is keeping their skin clean. Having clean skin keeps bacteria from spreading, reduces excess oil, and helps the skin shed dead cells. For acne patients this involves maintaining a delicate balance between cleansing the skin without irritating acne lesions, drying the skin, or spreading bacteria. This is accomplished through a carefully prescribed regimen that begins with gently washing the face no more than two to three times a day.

Although many people think that frequently scrubbing acne-infected areas stops acne outbreaks, this is not true. In fact, washing too often or using ordinary soaps can make the skin dry and sore, which worsens acne symptoms. Instead, acne patients use mild facial cleansers, which are specially formulated not to irritate the skin. Ordinary soaps, on the other hand, contain harsh ingredients that can irritate inflamed acne lesions and dry out the skin. If the skin becomes too dry, the sebum glands overcompensate by producing even more oil, which exacerbates acne outbreaks.

Not only do acne patients use gentle soaps, they also use disposable washing pads or their fingers rather than a washcloth or loofah to cleanse acne-prone areas. The reason for this is that when a washcloth or loofah is used more than one time, it can trap and spread bacteria. In addition, washcloths and loofahs made from scratchy fabrics can irritate acne lesions and worsen inflammation. For the same reasons, acne patients use a fresh, clean, soft towel to gently pat, rather than rub, their skin dry once they are finished cleansing. Then, once acne patients have cleaned and dried their face, they can apply topical treatment. An acne patient recalls:

When I first started breaking out, I scrubbed my face all the time with the same washcloth that hung in my bathroom for weeks, and the same soap that I scrubbed my hands with after I worked on my truck. Then I rubbed my face dry with the same towel I used on my hands. The only thing all that cleaning did was turn my blackheads into pusy red zits. Once the dermatologist straightened me out, I stopped using all that stuff, and my skin started to improve right away.

Shaving can also worsen acne. Razors can cut acne lesions, causing pustules and cysts to rupture. If the cutting edge of the razor is not clean, it can spread bacteria and oil. If it is not sharp, it can irritate the skin and cause a razor burn, which makes the skin appear redder than usual.

In particular, shaving with a dry razor causes problems. Washing the face before shaving softens the skin and beard. Conversely, when the face is dry, the shaver’s skin and beard are tough. Therefore, the shaver must apply more pressure to the razor in order to remove facial hair. This irritates the skin and leads to razor burn. Consequently, most men with acne use a wet razor or an electric razor, which requires even less pressure than a wet razor and is thus gentler on the skin.

Shaving lotions can also cause problems. Lotions that are not noncomedogenic can clog pores just as cosmetics can, and after-shave lotions that contain alcohol can dry out the skin and cause an increase in sebum production. In fact, because shaving and shaving products present so many problems for men with acne, many male acne patients try to avoid shaving whenever they can. A former acne patient explains: “I’ve had some bad experiences shaving, like burning my face and turning it bright red, and slicing open my pimples. Some of the scars I have are from pimples I destroyed shaving. Even now, I try not to shave every day. I still get little pimples, and shaving is hard on my skin. When I do shave, I use an electric razor, and I don’t press hard.”