Ugh, cystic acne. I hate it.
Sadly this is something I’ve battled off and on throughout my life. Once I stopped nursing, it reached its all-time worst. While my hormones readjusted to the new normal, I battled several painful, underground pimples on my chin each month.
If you’ve ever experienced cystic pimples, you know they take FOREVER to heal. And even if they don’t break through to the surface, they still leave a mark. Trying to lighten hyperpigmentation when you are constantly being hit with new pimples each month is a vicious cycle.
Thankfully I’ve found a skincare routine that has drastically reduced my cystic acne. Some of the products are more recent finds – within the last couple months – so I’m excited to see what the longer-term benefits are (I’ve already seen amazing results).
How to Stop Cystic Acne
1) First, start with the right cleanser. In a world of double-cleansing, it’s important to use a cleanser that won’t strip your pores. If that happens, your pores overcompensate and produce more sebum, which makes cystic acne ten times worse.
I recently started using this one and love it. It’s soap and sulfate-free so it won’t strip your skin. It has alpha and beta hydroxy acids which are formulated specifically to remove impurities while plumping and toning the skin.
2) Immediately after cleansing, I use these acne eliminating pads.
They’re drenched in salicylic acid. Forewarning, they burn. I use one on my entire face, but you can spot-treat if you prefer. To save money and get the most out of the product, you could cut them in half. Just a half pad is big enough to do the trick.
The packaging says they can be used daily, but I only use them when I feel a pimple coming on.
3) Right after applying the acne eliminating pad, I dab on benzoyl peroxide just to the affected area. I use one from my dermatologist, but this one is also great.
Pro Tip: you can purchase over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide up to 10%. While you may think a higher concentration is better, it’s not. Stick to between 2% – 5% benzoyl peroxide. The reason? 10% is extremely drying and your pores will overcompensate and produce more oil. You’ll just make the situation worse.
This one is 2.5%. The one from my dermatologist is 5%.
4) I use this mud mask for maintenance.
It draws bacteria out of your pores, then tightens and shrinks them. You can actually feel your face get a “lift” after you wash it off. It’s incredible and I’ve been using it for years.
5) These pimple patches are my favorite. They tend to work best if a pimple has broken through to the surface, but you can use them at the beginning stages of a cystic pimple too.
Tons of companies make these types of pimple patches, but this one is by far the best. For the record, I don’t like Zit Sticka. The consistency is weird – it has prongs on one side that actually poke into your skin and kind of hurt. It doesn’t stay on for more than a couple hours without sliding off and I didn’t find them to be effective for cystic pimples.
6) If you just need to cover a cystic pimple, this concealer is life changing.
Formulated with shea and mango seed butter, it’s super nourishing. It won’t stick to dry skin, cake or flake. It also doesn’t sink into your pores and make them look more pronounced like thicker concealers do.
It’s 25% off right now and comes in 30 shades.
Pro Tip: choose a shade with a yellow undertone. When covering pimples, you need a yellow-toned concealer to reduce redness. Even if you have ZERO yellow undertones in your skin, trust me, go with yellow.
If you are nervous about this choice, mix it with your true match concealer.
7) Ice your face.
It’s literally that simple. Every morning and evening, I put three ice cubes in a washcloth and press it to the affected area for 5-10min. This helps reduce inflammation (and ward off pain).
Photo by Arielle Levy
Candid photo from a simpler time. Light test during a shoot downtown when grabbing a coffee and randomly running into 2 friends was the norm (both happened right after this shot).
