Tank-top weather has a way of making you notice the breakouts on your back and chest, and the fix is usually sitting in the shower aisle. Look for a wash with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, then let it sit on your skin for a couple of minutes before you rinse, because that short wait is what gives it time to work. Red, sore breakouts respond best to benzoyl peroxide, and Humane’s 5% wash is a gentle place to start. Rough bumps and clogged pores do better with salicylic acid, where Cetaphil’s fragrance-free wash is the budget-friendly pick. Just know that benzoyl peroxide bleaches fabric, so it’s time to switch to white towels.
Red and sore, or rough and bumpy?
The two main acne ingredients fix different things, so it helps to take a quick look at what’s going on before you buy. Benzoyl peroxide cuts down the bacteria behind acne, which makes it the better fit for red, swollen pimples. Salicylic acid helps clear out clogged pores and calms redness a little, so it suits blackheads, whiteheads and that rough, sandpapery feel on the backs of your arms or shoulders.
You don’t need both on day one. Pick the one that matches what you see and use it every day for at least four to six weeks before you think about adding a second. A benzoyl peroxide wash, an acid wash and a scrub all in the same shower will dry you out fast, and irritated skin tends to break out too, which is the opposite of what you want.
Strength matters less than you might expect. The American Academy of Dermatology says a wash around 5% is less likely to dry or peel your skin, and 10% is the strongest you can buy without a prescription. Unless you’ve used benzoyl peroxide before without trouble, starting low is the kinder choice.
Giving benzoyl peroxide time to work
The single biggest trick is patience in the shower. Lather the wash over your breakouts and leave it there while you shampoo or shave, since the AAD says it works best on the back after two to five minutes, when it has had a chance to get through thicker back skin. Then rinse well, because rinsing it off rather than letting it dry on your skin is what keeps it away from your clothes and sheets.
Even with a good rinse, benzoyl peroxide bleaches fabric, and the labels even warn about hair and carpets. Switching to white towels and sheets saves a lot of grief. The labels also suggest starting with one use a day and dropping to every other day if you get dry or peel, and several recommend trying it on one or two small spots for three days before using it everywhere. Afterward, a light, fragrance-free body lotion that won’t clog pores keeps dryness in check.
Salicylic acid washes are more relaxed. Massage one onto damp skin, rinse well and pat dry, and with Proactiv, the label says to rinse after one to two minutes.
Two benzoyl peroxide picks
Humane Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Wash 5% is about $24, though the price moves around. It’s 5% benzoyl peroxide in a short, simple formula with no fragrance, and the directions say to massage it into damp skin, wait one to three minutes and rinse. For red breakouts on your back or chest, this is where we’d begin, since 5% sits at the gentle end of what dermatologists suggest for the body and there’s nothing extra in it to react to. If you’ve used benzoyl peroxide before and want the strongest over-the-counter option, Humane also makes a 10% version for about $28. The label says not to use it if your skin is very sensitive or you react to benzoyl peroxide.
PanOxyl Acne Treatment Bar is about $9 for 10% benzoyl peroxide in a soap-free bar made for the face, chest and back. It’s vegan, with no fragrance or dyes. A bar is handy if you prefer bar soap or want something that won’t leak in your gym bag. Spread the lather over your breakouts and give it the same couple of minutes, and since it’s the strongest option here, start once a day.
Three salicylic acid washes
Cetaphil Acne Relief Body Wash is about $8 for 16.9 ounces, easily the best value on the list. It’s 2% salicylic acid with shea butter and glycerin in a fragrance-free base that cleans and gently exfoliates without drying you out. Reach for it when the problem is clogged pores, blackheads and small bumps rather than big red pimples. Skipping fragrance matters even more on your body than your face, since you’re washing so much skin at once.
Differin Acne Body Wash is about $10 for 10 ounces. It’s a 2% salicylic acid gel for the chest, back and shoulders, with shea butter, blue tansy oil to soothe, and relief from dryness for up to 24 hours. Differin and Cetaphil are owned by the same company, and these two washes are close cousins, though the Differin one adds glycolic acid and the blue tansy oil. If your skin is sensitive, the plainer Cetaphil is the safer bet, and if you like the idea of a little extra acid, this is the one. Differin is famous for its adapalene gel, but this wash doesn’t contain adapalene.
Proactiv Acne Body Wash is about $29 for 9 ounces, the priciest pick. It’s 2% salicylic acid plus glycolic acid, with cocoa butter, shea butter and sweet almond oil, and it does have fragrance. It’s best for oily, clogged skin that already handles acids well. The label asks you to test it on a small spot once a day for three days, start with one use a day, and rinse after one to two minutes, and it says to get medical help right away for hives, swelling of the eyes or mouth, blisters or trouble breathing. Sensitive skin is better off starting with the Cetaphil.
A plain wash for the rest of you
Eucerin Advanced Cleansing Body & Face Cleanser is about $11 for 16.9 ounces, and it isn’t an acne product at all. It’s a gentle, soap-free wash for dry, sensitive skin, with no fragrance, dyes or parabens. It earns its spot because body acne routines often go wrong when every shower turns into a medicated one. Use it on the rest of your body while the benzoyl peroxide wash handles the breakouts, or on its own when your skin feels raw or tight. Dermatologists pair acne treatment with gentle, fragrance-free care, and this fits that perfectly.
Small habits that help the wash
The wash does a lot, but a few everyday habits matter just as much. Try to shower soon after you sweat and get out of workout clothes quickly, and on days you can’t shower, wipe the sweat away with an oil-free cleansing wipe and change into something dry. Loose cotton or sweat-wicking fabric is kinder to breakout-prone skin, and those clothes are best washed after every wear.
Go easy on the scrubbing, too. Loofahs, back brushes, gritty scrubs and antibacterial soaps can make acne worse, so your hands and a gentle touch are all you need. Pay attention to what rubs, like a backpack strap pressing on the same spot every day, and try not to pick, since popping body breakouts only makes them linger. If you add an adapalene 0.1% gel, which can help benzoyl peroxide work better, a long-handled lotion applicator gets it to the middle of your back where your hands can’t reach.
Our full guide to getting rid of body acne goes deeper, and if your breakouts are mostly lower down, see our post on butt acne. For everyday washes that have nothing to do with acne, there’s our roundup of the best body washes.
Finding your starting point
If you’ve never used a body acne wash before, the Humane 5% is a comfortable first step. Use it once a day on the breakouts only, leave it on while you wash your hair, and give it six weeks. If your skin is mostly small bumps and blackheads rather than red pimples, the Cetaphil is the better match, and it’s cheap and fragrance-free.
If a 5% wash helped after six weeks but didn’t quite finish the job, you can move up to 10%, like the PanOxyl bar, or keep your 5% wash and add an adapalene gel at night instead of piling on more washes. If your skin turns dry, tight or peely, cut the medicated wash back to every other day, use the Eucerin in between, and moisturize every time you step out of the shower.
Some bumps need a closer look. If they’re small, all about the same size and itchy, they may be folliculitis, an irritated hair follicle problem that doesn’t always respond to acne washes, so have a doctor check them. And if your breakouts are deep, painful or leaving scars, skip the drugstore and see a dermatologist soon, because that kind of acne needs prescription treatment.
How long body acne washes take, and mixing two
Give any body acne wash time. Results usually start to show around six to eight weeks, and full clearing can take three to four months, so if nothing has changed at all by the eight-week mark, it’s time to see a dermatologist. Rinsing well helps with laundry, but traces of benzoyl peroxide left on your skin can still mark colored towels and sheets, which is why white ones are the easy fix.
You can use benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid together, just not both from day one. The labels warn that two acne products at once make dryness and irritation more likely, so start with one, add the other a few weeks later at a different time or on a different spot, and back off if your skin gets irritated. There’s more on body skin in our skin archive.
