The Backne Shower Cape

[chopandchange]

This is my latest eccentric experiment. It seems to be working well.

To prevent backne when using conditioner, I am using a plastic binliner (cut along two sides to make it bigger) spread across my back and pinned at my throat with a claw clip.

Of course, it probably makes me look completely and utterly crazy and ridiculous when in the shower, (If it were a superhero cape, I suppose I'd be called WaterWoman) but it seems to be doing the trick. ;) The massive sore red lumps on my back and neck seem to be recovering and getting smaller.

Anyone else care to join in and look crazy too?

(And before you ask why I don't just

A. wash my hair upside down, or
B. stop using conditioner, the answers are:

A. it creates terrible tangles and brings on palpitations and nausea due to my low blood pressure, and
B. my hair likes CO. :) )

[Sara_1987]

haha, it sounds funny, but hey, it doesn't matter if it work for you!

I also can't wash my hair upside down because of the same reason as you!
I don't really get backne, but I'm terrified of getting it (I have a long history of facial acne, which is now gone, thank God).
I always CO my hair first and then I use body wash and afterward I use my regular facial cleanser on the back of my body to make sure there is not CO residue on my skin.
This seems to be working well :)

I did however get these small acne-like bumps right behind my ears a week ago, but I think it was due to overnight oiling. They have cleared up by now.

[katana]

Would pinning your hair after conditioning, but before you wash it off work?

[Ravenne]

I have bacne problems too. I just use a claw clip and twist my hair up off my back while it's sitting with conditioner in it. Seems to work for me. But hey, if you've found something that works for you, I say go for it. :D

[jaine]

I was about to suggest "what about switching to a conditioner that doesn't contain skin irritants?" but in truth I don't know of any that are light enough for co-washing.

I know of some heavy conditioners that don't contain any skin irritants (like Aubrey Organics White Camellia) and I know of some very gentle shampoos that don't contain skin irritants and also don't dry out my dryness-prone hair (Hugo Naturals, California Baby, and John Masters Organics) ... but finding a lightweight conditioner that doesn't irritate my skin to some extent is difficult...

usually I end up combining AOWC plus a small amount of gentle shampoo in my hair at the same time, which leaves my skin & hair both happy.

[Dani]

Thank you so much for posting this, truly. What a fantastic (and funny looking ;)) idea! I can't believe it never occurred to me, as I've been dealing with bacne for 18 years! Starting puberty very early + very long hair + athlete = terrible, embarrassing spots on my neck and shoulders and back forever.

The only thing that's ever worked is to put my hair up in the shower after its "done", and wash my body after that. And that still never worked all the way, anyway. But I don't like to use anything but water on my skin in the shower, so you can see my problem there. :p Anyway, I am definitely going to try this, because my biggest problem with having long hair at any point in my life was that the bacne was horrible and I hated it. :( I just figured I would have it forever, and keep on seeing perfect backs all around me and wondering why I had to cover my back up for the rest of my life. :eek: Why me? *boo hoo* But I have short hair right now, and it really doesn't make any difference.

Also, my head loves CO, but my body is just.. urg. Terrible. I've never understood how people could do it with no skin problems! That's my biggest obstacle wrt CO...

ETA: Wanted to mention that awhile back I figured out how to shampoo my hair (in whatever way) and rinse that, then condition one side of the bottom length and then the other side , then rinse one side while bent forward a bit, then rinse the other side while bent forward. That way no conditioner gets on the skin at all, just put on, then rinsed off. That's my best "defense" so far, anyway.

Thanks for letting me babble about this... as if you had any choice. :D

[chopandchange]

Thanks for all the replies! Yes, I know it sounds like an amusing idea. Even if it doesn't catch on, at least you can have a giggle at my expense!

I haven't ever been able to find a conditioner that didn't affect my skin. Even the all-natural conditioner base that I bought contained oil, and oil makes my skin break out. Plus, that conditioner was absolutely useless on my hair.

I don't understand the comments about pinning my hair up. Maybe you have a different routine to me. I am not really talking about the conditioner on my hair. That's not causing the backne. I don't leave conditioner in my hair when I'm in the shower. It's the conditioner getting rinsed off my scalp that's the problem.

Here's what I do. I put moisturising conditioner onto dry hair (from about the ears down) for about an hour prior to getting in the shower. Then I get in and, leaning to the side, rinse off the conditioner, parting my hair in two sections, so the conditioner doesn't get on my body. That part is fine. Now my hair is rinsed and moisturised, but I still need to clean my scalp. So I use a different cleansing conditioner and CO my scalp. This is the problem part. When rinsing my scalp, regardless of which direction I lean in, the product is inevitably going to slide down my back and shoulders (unless I am upside down, which I can't be, for the reasons described above). This is where my new Water Woman cape comes in handy!

Anyway, everyone is different, and my funny method seems to be working for me! :cheese:

[katana]

Ah! Completely misunderstood. Sorry 'bout that!

[Purdy Bear]

Iv seen worse. An old aquaintance of mine used to wear a babies bib while brushing her teeth so she didnt get the usual spills down her front. She also wore a rather large shower cap when washing her face.

I do suffer with a dry back when Iv shampoo'd my head, so I might join you in the Water women world! LOL

[chopandchange]

Ah! Completely misunderstood. Sorry 'bout that!

That's quite all right, Katana. It was my fault for not giving enough information about my routine and explaining the problem properly. :)

[chopandchange]

Iv seen worse. An old aquaintance of mine used to wear a babies bib while brushing her teeth so she didnt get the usual spills down her front. She also wore a rather large shower cap when washing her face.

I do suffer with a dry back when Iv shampoo'd my head, so I might join you in the Water women world! LOL

Yay! My first Water Woman convert!

May I request a new Water Woman smiley showering with her cape? LOL!

[MissMandyElizab]

I will be making my own "water woman" cape thanks for the great idea!!!!

[BattahZ]

I can't see the picture, but that sounds like a fun invention! :)

What's worked for me to reduce bacne - first, after I rinse out my conditioner, I twist my hair back up and clip it and thoroughly rinse my back. There's always a lot of conditioner there, so that gets rid of it. Second, when I apply my normal 5% BHA solution to my face before bed, I swipe it over my upper back and shoulders. That's eliminated any bacne I used to get.

Good luck! Your hair is lovely.

[sugarpixie10988]

What a creative idea! I usually avoid breakouts on my back by putting my hair up when its got conditioner in it and washing my back well after I rinse it off. If that ever stops working though I'll definitely give this a try :).

[walterSCAN]

*snip* That's not causing the backne. *snip* It's the conditioner getting rinsed off my scalp that's the problem. *snip*


This is my problem... Ugh! There hasn't seemed to be anything I could do about it either, as my current method is a lot like Dani's, but, like her, it doesn't work completely. I definitely can't wash/condition upside down either-- tangles + low blood pressure + sore neck from heavy wet hair = not worth it.

I don't know why I never thought of parting my hair and conditioning each side separately... I'm going to try that, and if it doesn't work, I may join the WaterWoman club!

[GoddesJourney]

Well, I guess that's just a cool (dorky) idea. I like it. I used to get this sometimes as a teenager, but my friend got it so bad that she had to keep her hair up all the time. Both her chest and back would be covered in acne with the oils/products from her hair and she ended up growing out her bangs to protect her forehead. She had nice thick hair, too. I bet she would've done well with milder shampoos to cut back on the oiliness.

Anyway, my solution is to shower normally and then queeze the water out of my hair and lift it up while I wash off my back right before I get out of the shower. I turns out that I always have a film of conditioner on my back from under my hair (meaning it doesn't rinse off well because my hair is on top of it). I don't know if that would work for someone who is really sensitive to conditioner.

[peronella]

Oh Man, I'm so in! Nothing ive tried works, but this seems like it will, awesome!

[BranwenWolf]

That's a great idea. I might try it.
I usually wind up flipping my hair over either side to condition.

[justme]

I know of some heavy conditioners that don't contain any skin irritants (like Aubrey Organics White Camellia)...

Actually Aubrey Organics products make me break out nastily. :(

What I do is after washing my hair, I put it into a hair towel while still in the shower and then wash my back. It's not perfect, but it seems to help.

[Magdalene]

Whatever works for you.

[Heidi_234]

What causes it though? The hair full of conditioner resting on your back while you let it soak and work or the conditioner streaming down when you wash it out? Pinning your hair up and rinsing out not standing upright could do the trick :confused: My back is prone to acne too, but I didn't have any trouble with conditioners myself.

[chopandchange]

I don't understand the comments about pinning my hair up. Maybe you have a different routine to me. I am not really talking about the conditioner on my hair. That's not causing the backne. I don't leave conditioner in my hair when I'm in the shower. It's the conditioner getting rinsed off my scalp that's the problem.

Here's what I do. I put moisturising conditioner onto dry hair (from about the ears down) for about an hour prior to getting in the shower. Then I get in and, leaning to the side, rinse off the conditioner, parting my hair in two sections, so the conditioner doesn't get on my body. That part is fine. Now my hair is rinsed and moisturised, but I still need to clean my scalp. So I use a different cleansing conditioner and CO my scalp. This is the problem part. When rinsing my scalp, regardless of which direction I lean in, the product is inevitably going to slide down my back and shoulders (unless I am upside down, which I can't be, for the reasons described above). This is where my new Water Woman cape comes in handy!

Anyway, everyone is different, and my funny method seems to be working for me! :cheese:

I already covered that here, so I'm quoting myself to avoid answering the same thing again.

[Razor]

If I remmember for my next hair wash, I will do it :p
If it does work that would be pretty awesome, cause Im starting to get my face acne under control, so If I got rid of my backne, that would be just flaming swell :D.

[Heidi_234]

Even when you bend at waist when rinsing out? This is what I do, and I do it pretty much because it prevents the rinse-out water travel down my back.

[*Aoife*]

I like this idea. I''ve just started getting backne again, after being free from it for over a year. I didn't think conditioner had anything to do with it... I think I'll try this out.

I'm going to look like such a dork in the shower with a shower cap and cape on :o

[Naamah]

That's a great idea. I may try it. :p

[SophieSpector]

i have to be super careful about shampoos and conditioners or I get bacne.

What I do is shampoo and condition like normal, rince so on, split my hair in two round the back so there is no hair down my back and get a long body brush and some natural soap, lather up and give my back a good lathery scrub. This has worked really well.

[Flynn]

That's a terrific idea! Not weird at all. If you have skin issues, you gotta do what you gotta do.

I don't have severe low blood pressure issues, and my core is strong enough that I can just arch my back while standing enough that my hair hangs free, away from my body, while I wash and condition. i tend to get a lot of skin irritation from conditioners.