0:00 how i got my body acne to start behaving this winter hi i am your acne big sister and i still struggle with body acne breakouts it is so frustrating i feel like no matter what i do i have a really hard time getting them to go away and then a lot of the times like if you have body acne you know what i'm talking about if you lay against a chair if you press your back up against a wall either you're in physical pain or your pimples pop and that is just great when it ruins your t-shirts yay body acne is something that i have struggled with my entire life i vividly remember being in high school at like one of those football or high school rallies sitting against the bleachers in a white shirt and um everyone was staring as i was walking away kind of
0:45 pointing and mumbling and snickering and i was like what's going on looked at the back of my shirt and i had pus and blood dripping down my shirt staining it and my back because my pimples had popped and that was the last day that i ever wore a white shirt without a jacket in public again and since then i've been insecure about my body acne i have found some things that work better than others but especially this winter my whole body and skin has been going through some changes and i have been trying different things actual actives such as prebiotic cleansers and retinoids and mandelic acid for my back acne and this is the first time in probably a year or two that i actually feel like okay hey she's listening we're getting her under control this is also embarrassing i wasn't going to include this but maybe we will we're going to talk about stuff below the back as well okay
1:31 okay let's start off with what my body acne was looking like this summer i again always break out i have a lot of scars a lot of kind of blackheads towards my shoulders and a lot of actually large pimples kind of down the trunk and the base of my back it's painful it's frustrating and something that i had to learn as i grew older is that you know your skin is your skin is your skin and if you're breaking out on your back or your chest you want to use some of the same ingredients that you would on your face things that are actually proven to fight acne or things that have actives that can actually help i will admit that uh it's hard to reach sometimes it's very difficult to do things during the summer i was using different sprays and i've kind of settled on one as of now but it's really hard to reach that area and if you don't take a shower every single day and you have sweat that kind of crystallizes or kind of dries on your skin it can
2:17 actually be really irritating and cause a lot of breakouts there are a few things that i've switched up recently and then some things that i have continued to use since the summer that have been working for me and actually been working better than anything i've tried recently and we always go back to those main ingredients those actives that are proven to help and then things for actual barrier support we want to make sure that we're not overly stripping our skin and i definitely think i have fallen victim to that i have overstripped my face and i've over stripped my back sometimes i don't pay as much attention to my body skin the way i do for my face and sometimes i end up taking showers that are way too hot or over stripping it which does not help and that is where we get into this guy this is brand new from zitstika this is the silk shake probiotic cleanser for barrier balance and this actually has omega fatty acids as well as green tea zitstika is one of the best brands if
3:04 you have acne prone skin they actually create products with acne prone people in mind and this is brand new we're working with them on a portion of this video because they wanted to launch those new things but this oh my god if you love milkshakes if you love smoothies and if you want to give your skin a little smoothie in the shower this is what you use if you didn't know i've had a smoothie every day for probably the past four years for breakfast it's like my little protein shake it's what i make helps me get up in the morning it's a little kick of cacao and a little happiness a little perk in my step because who doesn't love chocolate for breakfast but i love a silky shake and when this actually said silk shake i didn't really believe it i was like okay is it like a benzoyl peroxide acne body wash no it's actually a prebiotic and probiotic body wash that they say that it's supposed to help balance out the skin's microbiome and it's supposed to not strip it's like a
3:49 hydrating and cleansing body wash but it actually cleans you and it's okay and safe for acne prone skin because a lot of cleansers i find that they're either too soapy and they just strip everything or they're almost like goopy and they cause body acne flares and there's nothing worse than getting a little soap stuck in areas that the sun don't shine and then breaking out there and you can't even sit down because of how painful it is this is extraordinarily creamy it lathers up really well and they say that you can use it all over your entire body including your elbows and your knees and i will say that although i think this has helped with my back acne because i'm actually hydrating my skin and supporting it with things like tea tree and the omega fatty acids and not stripping it i also have used this all over my entire body and it cleanses without stripping whereas this next one i haven't been putting on like my elbows or my knees because it is intense this is from face reality they
4:34 have a skincare line as well as an acne clinic but this is the acne face and body wash so you can use it on both and this has benzyl peroxide in it this is an acne fighting product like this is actually made to fight acne and um i will say this is really good but it is really intense i did start using this on my face and um unfortunately benzoyl peroxide can bleach so that is something you want to be aware of especially if you have like a nice little dress or a nice little bathrobe you don't want to bleach it so i always like using benzoyl peroxide when i'm in the shower but this is so creamy it smooths on the skin so nicely and it actually fights that acne the way benzoyl peroxide works is by introducing oxygen with a bond breaking with heat inside of the skin and acne is anaerobic meaning it doesn't like oxygen that bacteria so it actually kills that right there in the skin now again the
5:20 one thing about benzoyl peroxide this works extraordinarily well and it's formulated for acne prone skin but it can be a little bit drying and that is just something that with every benzoyl peroxide you do have to consider and that is why i think that these two are actually a really great pair for me because this actively fights that acne and then this gives probiotic barrier support it helps with those hydrators and it doesn't leave my skin feeling dry or stripped and this has worked for my back i'm grateful that i do have pretty good mobility and dexterity i can reach pretty far but um when it comes to the behind i also have some problems with those which is why when i step out of the shower things have gotten a little different so let's talk about that because it is embarrassing but all of my life i have struggled with both pseudofolliculitis as well as butt acne and we are talking about these painful
6:05 welts that literally show up on my hiney areas now it kind of fluctuates throughout the year during the summer when it's more humid and kind of sweaty it's more the pseudofolliculitis side where there are these kind of boils almost under the skin and very very painful to the touch and they kind of look like red welts and then you know when it's a little bit more dry in the winter time i actually get butt acne like actual whiteheads and blackheads that are not the pseudofolliculitis but the pseudofolliculitis is almost always there and um it's really frustrating you know because these are two different conditions that look very similar and you can treat them with exfoliants and things like that but a lot of the things that i've used just don't work because i don't apply them enough or liberally enough these have done very very good stuff for the acne but not as much for the pseudofolliculitis i think that not overly aggravating and like
6:51 stressing out my butt skin has been helpful but this is actually what i've been using as i step out of the shower now this is brand new from verst this is something that i've never used before but they came out with this this year and this is a firm ground retinal body lotion and oh my god why did brands not put retinoids in body lotions sooner like i literally have worked with dermatologists who have sat there and told patients to mix just a pea-sized drop of their prescription strength retinoid in with some cerave and spread it on their body because it can help with anti-aging and it can help with a lot of skin conditions but a lot of brands don't have retinol body products the closest that i've used is a retinol hand cream from beauty pie that i really love but verse launched this and this has been phenomenal as you know retinoids work by binding to the rar
7:37 retinoic acid receptor and causing a chain of events in skin that leads to the dermis that bottom layer of skin to become thicker and that stratum corneum the top layer to kind of exfoliate off a little bit more and it works by renewing skin and actually thickening it and helping that skin kind of produce more of its own skin cells naturally faster and retinoids are fantastic for acne for hyperpigmentation for dark spots for wrinkles and for scars and my butt literally has acne scars pseudofolliculitis and that's pseudofolliculitis it's really inflammatory it's an inflammation and it leaves behind these dark purple marks on my detox my detox my botox it is very very frustrating this has been phenomenal it's got water and this retinol but it's also got jojoba esters so it's almost like this creamy emollient
8:24 retinol body moisturizer and it's actually a decent amount for what you get and the price is not horrible whereas if i would try to use like a prescription strength retinoid first off it makes your butt peel trust me i've tried i tried to spot treat my prescription strength retinoid onto my butt that was frustrating but it's gentle enough that it actually works as like a body moisturizer but gives those benefits and i never thought i would say this but like my butt is glowy okay okay and my back is glowy as well and i feel like this especially in combination with these has really been a game changer for me this retinol is encapsulated and again there's also that jojoba and that cocoa butter and all of this is really nourishing to skin and the fact that it's encapsulated means that it can penetrate and actually kind of think of it as like an extended release kind of like adderall xl it's an
9:09 extended release of this retinol so it can actually work more over time this has been amazing for the body and for the butt and i think that these three things have been phenomenal and these are the things that i kind of changed as i started to see these results but let's not forget that there are other things that i'm still using and i think it's important to kind of speak about those because of what they do i've been using this for at least the past year probably a little bit more on and off here and there but especially during the summer i was using this non-stop this is the sanderly md salicylic body spray and i would just spray this on it's two percent salicylic acid you know that's an exfoliant you know that it's oil soluble so it can actually get deep into those pores and it also helps to kind of kill some of that acne bacteria and this is wonderful and if you have issues with mobility just kind of spray spray spray spray it on and it is great but as i was using this during the summer it didn't
9:55 help with everything it did nothing for my butt um but even for my back it was good if i was like on the go but i don't think it was enough and actually adding you know a really good cleanser and a cleanser that's actually meant for acne prone skin as well as an actual kind of treatment step with this retinol i really feel like these are enhancing this or doing a little bit more than what this could handle on its own and let's not forget about emergencies zitstika you guys i keep on coming back to zipstika these micro dart patches are so freaking good and for black friday i stocked up first amazon had a sale on zipstika so i stocked up and then on black friday they had a sale and i got a whole bunch more and then again as a part of partnering with them i was like hey can we get a couple more both for my own little stash but also for our beautiful butterflies which yes we do giveaways for but these kayla patches
10:42 are some of my favorite products on the entire market these are made for acne and if you have an emergency if you have a large zit if you have something that's kind of sticking out especially if you're wearing like an off-the-shoulder dress or you just have something that is an emergency mwah there are nothing like these these are these little micro dart patches so they actually have these darts that literally have acne fighting ingredients in them they have tea tree they have salicylic acid they have sodium hyaluronate for a little bit of hydration and a little bit of humectant activities they've got niacinamide they've got an oligopeptide 76 and all of these help with yes acne and actually helping to kind of puncture that little zit under the skin and kind of get it before it becomes angry and mad also help with that hyperpigmentation that could be left behind normally because of the niacinamide and then help to soothe
11:28 the skin and actually stop that zit from really coming and getting angry to the surface these are so phenomenal and i will say i only use these on my back i don't use these on my butt just because i haven't had like a butt emergency i don't know if i ever will and also these wouldn't work on pseudofolliculitis at least i don't believe so because that's more inflammatory whereas this is actually meant to fight acne these are some of my favorite pimple patches and i keep on going back to them over and over again they come with like a little cleansing towelette so you actually cleanse the area first then you stick on the patch in literally four to six hours especially if you leave it on overnight does it just like slurps itself either back into the skin or like away and dissipates um and this is one of those things we actually did a video of testing these out overnight and my acne looked so much better just by the next day there's nothing that's going to cure a pimple or cure acne overnight so don't get that wrong but
12:14 this is one of the best things for those emergency treatments and i have been using those on my back if i'm wearing an off-the-shoulder dress or something big comes up just love this stuff i mean it's a valid very important part of that routine now again these are the three things that i changed the most especially for my pseudofolliculitis and my butt acne i think that these are the things that have helped the most because they are really the major changes but all together i finally feel like i've gotten my body acne to behave and is it gone completely no like i still have little breakouts i still have little pimples but it's just such a major difference and just being able to get dressed and like not be in physical pain or to actually be able to wear a sleeveless dress and not be like ashamed about my back or not just like worry about it you know i don't want to let these things impact me i've worked really hard on skincare being self-care
13:01 and loving my acne and my textured skin because you know what real skin does have texture just the way the bark of a tree has texture or the sand on a beach my skin does too and although i'm learning to love that there are still times that you know i want to feel better about my back acne or i just don't want it to be actively breaking out and as i go through that process it's okay for me to treat things and these are the ones that get me there so now you know all about my pseudofolliculitis on my cheeks not these cheeks ah cheeky and i hope that this helps you as well if you are someone who needs a good body wash and you have acne prone skin this is it if you are someone who's struggling with acne you need something clinical you need something that actually has an ingredient that's really going to get to work this one from face reality and again if you combine the two slam dunk
13:46 if you do want your skin on your entire body to glow to have that kind of retinoid glow to it just the way we say on our face why are we not doing that for our bodies this is absolutely it and if you have a hard time reaching this is going to be your best friend because a little spray spray goes a long way and then these little pimple patches even for your face for basically anywhere that those emergencies pop up having just one of these kind of in your arsenal for those emergency moments is literal stress relief it is just mentally calming to know that i have something that's going to work in an emergency and then it actually does what it says it's going to another thank you to zipstika for supporting our content allowing us to bring this content to you for free but also creating products that i freaking love genuinely some of my favorite products if you ever would have told me that i get to get sponsored by the brands that i've literally spent so
14:32 much money on and that i relate to that actually create products for people like me all of their social media has actual before and afters of real people i wouldn't have believed you i absolutely love zitstika and i love these two things again the volcanic body scrubby dub was not for me but that is new from zitsticka it was a little too harsh for my skin but if that's something you want i want to make sure that you do know it is available and that is something they have launched recently but overall do remember to stay hydrated both orally and topically always remember to reapply that spf and be youtiful both inside and out i love you and i can't wait to see you in this next video love you guys bye [Music] you
