Adult Acne Cysts

Alright let me start this post with a big fat *DISCLAIMER*– acne is a complicated and complex medical condition, and should always be treated with the care of a licensed dermatologist. What worked for my skin and my body may not work for you. From hormones to digestion to genetics, there are many, many factors at play in treating acne, and unfortunately there is no one-size fits all approach or magic bullet fix. That said, I KNOW how hard it is to struggle with acne, so I want to share as much information as I can about my acne journey, in the hopes that it can help you in some way. As always, consult a doctor before adding or removing supplements to your routine (especially when we are dealing with hormones).

Okay so a little background on my skin. I suffered from moderate-severe acne in high school. My acne was always around my mouth / chin /jawline. My sophomore year I was so desperate to cure it I got on a daily antibiotic prescription, which I took for probably 6 months (so cringey to think about – are we surprised at all i’ve had so many gut issues? -___-). Eventually my skin chilled out, and I was pretty much acne free from 17-18 all the way through 26 (beginning of last year). My skin was SO good for a while – I got compliments all the time – and could load my face up with WHATEVER and never broke out. Sure I’d get the occasional hormonal pimple (again around my mouth) but that was it. I used every serum and every face oil with no issues.

Then around spring 2018 my skin started getting BAD. Worse that it had ever been. I had cystic acne around my mouth but also on my cheeks (new for me). I was never without several active acne spots. I still don’t know what caused that change – there’s nothing I can point to. My digestion wasn’t great so it could have been that, or just hormonal changes of getting older. Anyway, I got on a prescription topical (clindamycin) that sort of helped, and a WAY too strong Retin-A (.06%) that made my face peel and go crazy. Acne + peeling. It was a sexy time. Again, my skin chilled out for a while, but then came back with a vengeance.

Cystic & Hormonal Acne For Teens & Adults

Around the holidays of 2018, my skin started getting worse and worse. And by January, I had full blown cystic acne on my cheeks and chin. I spent at least 30 minutes each morning icing my face and then spackling on as much concealer as possible, with no success. This time around, I had a strong feeling it was hormonal (I went off birth control in July with no issues to my skin, but got back on in September) so of course I starting researching and coming at it from EVERY ANGLE. So, there’s the list of EVERYTHING I did to clear up my skin. Because I did it all, there’s no way to point at one specific thing to say “this fixed it!” but this is the combo that worked for me.

When trying to cure acne, its helpful to understand what it actually is. Acne is no simple issue, but I’ll try to give a high-level summary. To put it simply, acne results when hair follicles become clogged and with excess sebum (oil) and/or dead skin cells that become infected / inflamed with

When working to heal my acne, I was focused on reducing sebum production by regulating my androgen hormones, preventing clogged oil glands and reducing topical congestion in my skin. To do this, I combined both topical changes, as well as diet / supplement changes to support hormone regulation, digestion, liver function, and overall reducing inflammation.  STARTING WITH THE BASICS

Treatment And Prevention Of Cystic Acne And Facial Abscesses

First things first, there’s no getting around the benefits of a clean diet. My diet was already pretty clean, so didn’t make many changes here, but wanted to call out the basics.

Alright this where I made some major changes. Since all signs pointed to my acne being hormonal, I was focused on balancing my hormones and reducing androgens (male hormones linked to excess sebum production). My dermatologist wanted to put me on an androgen blocker (spironolactone) – which is a pretty intense drug – so I wanted to take a natural approach first. If you’re dealing with hormonal acne, talk to your doctor about the options below.

Again, I pretty much threw everything at my skin at once, so hard to pinpoint any one major factor, but I’d say my top changes were:

How To Treat Adult Acne (plus Learn What Causes It To Begin With)

Since it’s been over a year since I published this, I wanted to share a couple new favs in my skincare routine. I still keep it very simple, 100% oil-free, and have focused on medical-grade products that give results. *Not all of these are ‘clean’ beauty – CeraVe contains parabens – but for now, they work great and never make me breakout. Still on the hunt for a good, natural, oil-free moisturizer.Sure, you deal with the odd invader blemish that loiters around your jawline and eventually comes up for air in a violent hiss of blood and pus (yum.)

But if you've ever handled cystic acne – a persistent tapestry of swollen, sensitive and scarlet red spots – then you'll know that you're playing in a whole other sandpit. This develops when cysts form deep underneath your skin, which can result from a combination of bacteria, oil, and dry skin cells that get trapped in your pores.

Although anyone can develop acne, cystic acne tends to occur in people with oily skin. It’s also more common in teens, women, and older adults with hormonal imbalances.

Pimples: Causes Vs. Acne, Types & Treatment

Reported a significant increase in adults dealing with the skin condition, with factors like hormonal birth control, pollution, stress and overly complicated beauty routine mooted as possible explanations. Living in an age of tumult, like we have been for the last two years, thanks to Covid. This has huge implications for our skin, too: dermatologists agree that stress and breakouts can be linked.

Next up is a dermatologist on why cystic happens and what the treatments for. Scroll on for two women on how they treat theirs – and the skin positivity lessons they've learned along the way.

'Cystic acne refers to acne breakouts where spots are deep, red, tender and inflamed, ' says Dr Anjali Mahto, a consultant dermatologist and author of

Adult Cystic Acne

'These types of spots have a high risk of scarring and occur due to a complex interplay between genetics and hormones.' A key difference between the acne that most of us are familiar with and this? Lifestyle is not thought to play as much of a role.

Of course, when it comes to treating any acne that you may be experiencing, it's useful to know if yours is potentially the more superficial type, which you may be able to manage via switches to your diet and stress levels, or if you're dealing with the more stubborn cystic.

'If you are getting large spots about 5-10mm in size which are tender and causing scarring, then it is a sign you may be suffering with cystic acne, ' Dr Mahto says.

Everything You Need To Know About Cystic Acne Treatment

'If you're getting acne which fails to respond to over the counter treatments after a few weeks, affects multiple body areas (e.g. face, back and chest), is causing skin scarring or affecting your self-confidence, then it is best to seek medical help early, ' Dr Mahto explains.

She recommends going to see your GP or a derm to start prescription treatments, noting that cystic acne does not tend to calm down with the help of things like skincare treatments.

So, what is likely to happen once you've seen a specialist? 'There are a number of tablet treatments a dermatologist can discuss with you, depending on individual circumstances – things such as spironolactone or isotretinoin, ' Dr Mahto says.

What Is Cystic Acne?

As to food: 'Dietary changes are controversial but for a small, select group of people (not everyone) limiting dairy and sugar may help.'

If you’re tired of waking up with acne patches and stickers stuck to your pillowcase come morning, then Sunday Riley’s Saturn Sulfur Spot Mask might just be a game changer. The sulfur forwarded formula also boasts blemish-fighting zinc PCA and bentonite that helps to draw out impurities – and for its big finish, 4% niacinamide helps boost skin’s radiance.

The small but mighty paste pot, formulated with a careful balance of de-congesting, deep cleaning and rehydrating ingredients derived both from nature and science, is the perfect spot stopper. Potent combinations of zinc oxide and ferric oxide which make up calamine – alongside bentonite clay, white willow bark and fortifying humectant glycerin – it's what blemish pastes dreams are made of.

Prevent Chin & Jawline Breakouts With These 8 Expert Approved Tips

To know Kiehl's is to love science-backed beauty solutions, and the preventative combination of 1.5% salicylic acid and niacinamide in their blemish spot treatment is no different. Yes, blemish banishing sulfur features in the formulation of this paste, but thanks to the inclusion of vitamin B3, the non-drying paste can be used