If you have pimples on your buttocks, you may believe you have buttock acne. While acne can affect the skin on your buttocks, this is not a common location for such breakouts.
Other conditions, such as folliculitis or keratosis pilaris, are more common and can look like acne. What appears to be a pimple on the buttocks could actually be a boil.
This article discusses the causes of butt pimples and their mimics. You'll also discover how to treat them, as well as how to avoid them.
Butt pimples have a distinct appearance that varies depending on the cause. While various types of acne can cause butt pimples, they are not the most common cause.
Acne on or around your buttocks is less common than acne on other parts of your body, such as your face and chest.
There are numerous other non-acne causes of pimples on your buttocks.
Your buttocks, like the rest of your skin, have pores. Pimples can form when pores become clogged.
Acne vulgaris (common acne) most commonly affects the face, but it can also appear on the chest, shoulders, back, and, less frequently, the buttocks.
Consult a dermatologist if you have widespread acne. Body acne is frequently treated with prescription medications or natural herbal remedies such as Apollo from Elma Skin Care.
If you see what appears to be a pimple on your buttocks, you might assume it's acne. In fact, the most common cause of red, inflamed pimples on your buttocks is an inflamed hair follicle (folliculitis).
Hair follicles can be found on nearly every part of your body, including your buttocks. When a hair follicle is irritated, it turns red and swells. The inflamed bumps can combine to form a white head that resembles butt acne. The bumps can be painful or itchy, but this is not always the case.
Folliculitis can appear almost anywhere on the skin.
Here are some of the reasons:
Tight-fitting clothing can irritate hair follicles due to friction.
Sweating irritates the hair follicles.
Non-breathable undergarments (such as nylon or polyester) can trap moisture against your skin, irritating your hair follicles (even if you don't sweat a lot).
Bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa can infect hair follicles.
If you spend time in a hot tub or pool, you may develop a specific type of folliculitis (hot tub folliculitis), especially if it is not well maintained.
Keratosis pilaris is a common skin condition characterised by small, skin-coloured or red bumps. These are typically fine and rough, and you may only notice them if you run your hand over the affected skin.
Keratosis pilaris bumps can resemble small pimples or goosebumps. However, unlike butt acne pimples, keratosis pilaris bumps do not.
Keratosis pilaris bumps form when the protein that forms a protective layer on the skin's surface (keratin) accumulates around the pore opening. When keratin accumulates, it can harden and form a plug, resulting in the bump you see and feel. 7
Despite its discomfort, keratosis pilaris is a harmless condition.
Keratosis pilaris is most commonly found on the buttocks, backs of the upper arms, and fronts of the thighs. Keratosis pilaris on the face is common in children (usually on the cheeks).
Keratosis pilaris has no known cause, but it does tend to run in families. The condition is most severe during childhood and adolescence, but it gradually improves.
Many women experience flare-ups during pregnancy.
What Exactly Is Keratosis Pilaris?
Boils (Skin Abscesses) (Skin Abscesses)
Acne pimples can be quite large at times, regardless of whether you have facial or butt acne.
If you have a large, painful pimple or a cluster of large pimples on your buttocks, you most likely have a boil (skin abscess).
Boils form when a hair follicle becomes infected. They start out small but quickly grow into large blemishes. They are also extremely painful.
Boils can form anywhere on the body, the buttocks being a common site.
Staphylococcus bacteria most commonly cause boils, but they can also be caused by Streptococcus or Pseudomonas bacteria. Although it is uncommon, fungal infections can cause boils.
How to Treat Butt Pimples
You do have some options for treating and even preventing pimples on your buttocks, depending on what's causing them.
There are some methods for treating butt acne and the more common conditions that cause butt pimples.
Treatment at Home
Self-care and over-the-counter options, such as benzoyl peroxide products and exfoliating creams, may allow you to treat your butt pimples.
Warm compresses can assist the boils in "coming to a head" and draining. They'll be on their way to healing once they've drained.
Draining also alleviates the discomfort caused by boils.
Peroxide of Benzoyl
Although not all butt pimples are acne, they can often be treated with over-the-counter (OTC) acne treatment products.
Butt acne is best treated with benzoyl peroxide-containing body washes or bar soaps. These products are available without a prescription at any drugstore or big box store.
For inflamed bumps like folliculitis, benzoyl peroxide works best.
Every time you shower, gently soap up all affected areas before rinsing it off.
Keeping your hair follicles clear will help your skin stay smooth. Exfoliation should be done on a regular basis. Exfoliating creams promote cell turnover while keeping the skin moisturised, and they are particularly beneficial for keratosis pilaris.
OTC creams containing glycolic acid, lactic acid, or salicylic acid should help if your butt acne is mild.
If your butt blemishes are extremely red, swollen, and painful, and home remedies aren't working, consult your doctor.
If your infection is severe, you may require topical or oral antibiotics.
If your boil does not improve after a few days, your doctor may need to make a small incision to drain the infection (lancing). Never attempt to lance a boil on your own.
An outbreak can happen to anyone. While butt pimples cannot always be avoided, there are some things you can do to make them less likely to appear:
After you've worked up a sweat, take a shower. Sweating can irritate hair follicles and make your skin more prone to acne. Avoid wearing sweaty workout clothes and shower as soon as possible.
Change to cotton underwear. Cotton is more breathable than synthetic materials.
Gently cleanse the skin. Scrubbing irritates already inflamed follicles and causes blemishes to become redder and larger. Exfoliate instead with skin-soothing body washes or creams containing alpha hydroxy acids.
Blemishes should not be popped or picked at. Picking and popping pimples can aggravate breakouts and increase the risk of infection.
Avoid wearing clothes that are too tight. Tight pants' friction can irritate your skin and cause a breakout.
Butt pimples can occur for various reasons, including true butt acne.
Taking care of your skin, allowing it to breathe, and keeping your hair follicles clean will help you avoid breakouts.
Talk to your doctor or naturopath if you have a pimple that gets really big (dime-sized or larger), a pimple that hurts, or many inflamed pimples on your buttocks. You may require prescription medication.
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