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When I was in High School, I suffered from terrible back acne. I did get breakouts on my face and hairline, but most of it appeared on my back. It was primarily cystic acne—those hard, sore underground bumps on the skin that take weeks to go away. I visited a dermatologist who gave me oral antibiotics and topical creams to use on my back. Although the combination did help lessen the acne breakouts, I was left with dry, itchy skin and clothing that got bleached out. (Many topical acne creams contain Benzoyl Peroxide which will lighten clothing if contact is made.) Shortly after High School, I entered beauty school and our teacher talked about an ingredient in hair products that can cause acne blemishes on the back and around the hairline—Panthenol. Come to find out, I was using a hair care line loaded with this ingredient, since it is a popular ingredient for strengthening the hair. So I immediately switched to a Panthenol-free hair care line and never got breakouts again. I was cured and able to go off of prescription medication! … If I slept over at a friend’s house and forgot to bring my Panthenol-free products and had to use something with Panthenol, I would literally get acne blemishes the very next day. I was that sensitive to it. Years later, I am now able to use hair care products containing Panthenol and have no problems at all. I guess my body has changed. I am a huge believer that sometimes certain foods you eat and certain lifestyle habits can affect the way your skin responds. Most people don’t want to be on prescription medication if they don’t have to. And for me, it was a simple change in my hair care products that cured my acne. Note: Panthenol makes for a great ingredient in skin care products and will not cause breakouts because of the low percentage used. It’s the extremely high percentages used in hair care products that can cause breakouts for some–but not all. Sign up here to receive monthly skin tips in your email box! 
 Content Copyright © 2012, Renée Rouleau, Inc PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may use any items from this article in your print, blog, magazine or electronic newsletter. But in order to do so, you must include the following paragraph including a link to www.ReneeRouleau.com. Information courtesy of www.ReneeRouleau.com, a website with skin care tips, products based on nine skin types and advice from skin care expert and celebrity esthetician, Renée Rouleau.
Posted October 29, 2009 by Renée Rouleau
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Hi Renee! Can you recommend a particular brand that you think may help? Nearly everything contains panthenol and those that don’t leave my hair feeling dry. It seems as though you have to choose between your skin or your hair.
Posted on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 11:18 am by Jen
Yes, it is hard to find hair products that don’t have it in them. You have to just keep reading ingredient labels until you find one that doesn’t have it in it. For most people, it’s the conditioner that would be most problematic for breakouts. You can also try using one where the ingredient is real low on the bottom of the list. OR you could avoid conditioner all together and try using just a leave-in or spray-on conditioner.
Posted on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 9:22 pm by Lydia Noel
Thanks Lydia! I’ve been wasing my back after I use the conditioner and it seems to be helping a bit.
Posted on Fri, 6th Nov 2009 8:20 am by Jen
Jen-
For conditioner, try Terax Crema (found at ULTA, Sephora, etc.) it is a great, hydrating conditioner!
For shampoos, I like the Frederick Fekkai Apple Cider shampoo – great smell and works great to get all the product build-up off!
Hope this helps!
Posted on Mon, 9th Nov 2009 12:42 pm by bex
Wow, I had no idea! This saddens me because I love my shampoo and conditioner. It leaves my hair so silky and soft. Any suggestions on where I can look for panthenol-free products? I like the fresh clean smell not too much of the fruity type. =)
Posted on Mon, 5th Apr 2010 1:48 pm by Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
I don’t typically give suggestions on which brands to use, but definitely check the ingredient labels on the products you look to purchase.
Posted on Tue, 6th Apr 2010 7:43 pm by Renée Rouleau
Hi,
I have always had clear skin, even through teenage years i never suffered from break outs at all, i had the odd spot here and there which was great.
Then about 5 years ago when i was 24 i had a massive breakout all over my back and along both sides of my head, i tried changing my washing liquid, soap, shampoo and used spot creams and nothing changed, the spots on the side of my head had started to dissappear a little to only appear on my forehead, then they appeared under my jaw line along my neck and my back stayed bad thoughout. The only thing that kept it kind of under control was Which Hazel.
Four years later i was 28 and had run out of ideas until through research and luck i found something on the internet about PANTHENOL and how it can cause acne in some people. I wish i saved it now. The only shampoos i could find on the market without this chemical was head and shoulders or johnsons baby shampoo. I started using the baby shampoo and all my lumps and spots etc all started to go, my back was the first to clear and my face slowly followed. As it took so long to find out what the cause was it took a good 6 months or so to finally get rid of them all. I am now spot and blemish free accept the odd spot here and there and can finally go back to showing a bit of skin in the summer and not be embarrased and sore. I now use baby shampoo all the time, but as it’s not strong, i give my a hair a quick wash every now and again with head and shoulders to give it a bit of a shine. I also changed my body wash to johnsons or sanex which are really good and safe on the skin. Unfortunately as it was four years of acne, i now have scar tissue on the sides of my head and along my jaw line and top of my back so if you have had any of what i went through, please try baby shampoo, it helped me! Also if it helps, the shampoo i was using when the breakout happened was tresemme, i then tried, Pantene, Dove, and herbal essences. I hope this helps you all.
Posted on Sun, 9th May 2010 11:45 am by Sally
Thanks for sharing, Sally!
Posted on Sun, 9th May 2010 6:13 pm by Renée Rouleau