The Skin Nerd: back to basics to treat the pesky plague of ‘bacne’

All ages can suffer from spots across their back but thankfully, there are many things we can do about them, says Jennifer Rock

‘Bacne’ is a colloquial term for back acne that makes it sound more fun than it is. In reality, back spots can be a painful plague on all ages, and can zap confidence faster than you can say “off-the-shoulder”.

There is no inherent difference between the spots that appear on your face versus your back or any other area of your body. Like all congestion, it occurs when a pore or pores become clogged with dead skin cells and sebum, and they become red and inflamed when bacteria manages to enter the pore and cause the classic bacterial hubbub leading to redness and pus.