The Cystic Acne Toolkit

I've mentioned having to deal with cystic acne before. However, I'm dealing with it much more effectively after much trial and error. My medicine cabinet looks like graveyard for Sephora products before I finally starting honing in on products that work. Finding products that work for adult acne is somewhat difficult. While pursuing the skincare section at Ulta not too long ago, I had the following conversation with an employee:

Uber-Chipper Ulta Employee: Have you tried salicylic acid acne products? They're really effective for treating hormonal acne.
Me: I've been dealing with acne for 18 years. Salicylic acid has never worked for me.
UCUE: Are you sure? It's the most popular treatment for acne.
Me: If that crap worked for me, I wouldn't be standing here looking for something else.

After probably three years worth of research, I've put together the following toolkit to help keep my giant red inflamed pimples at bay:

1. Mario Basescu Buffering lotion, $18 | 2. St. Ives Blemish Control scrub, $4
3. Sephora Lance/blemish extractor, $18 | 4. Sephora Three-in-One Blemish extractor, $22
5. Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask, $4 | 6. Olay Pro-X Facial Brush, $28

1. Mario Badescu's Buffering Lotion is the best pimple drying lotion I've ever used. The first time I used it, I had an enormous pimple that was the size of a pencil eraser under my left eye. I could look down and see it. I tried to pop it a few times with no luck. In desperation, I went to Ulta and just wandered around for probably two hours researching before I ended up in front of the Mario Badescu display. After reading the label, I squirted some out of the tester bottle onto a cotton ball, held it said giant pimple for about 15 minutes and left. The next morning, the pimple had gone down probably 75 percent. It was gone by three days later and didn't scar. I went back to Ulta and bought a bottle. If you're at wit's end trying to treat stubborn pimples, try this lotion.


2. For me, exfoliation is key to helping control acne. My cystic acne is hormonal, but I get smaller pimples when I'm not staying on top of exfoliating. This St. Ives scrub does have salicylic acid in it, but I like the texture of the scrub when I really need a deep clean.


3. When my pimples hit a certain size, they get a giant white head and I get antsy by trying to be a good girl and not pop them with my fingers. With this lance, I can gently touch the pustule, let it start to drain, and then use the extractor end to press most of the gunk out.


4. I don't have this particular model of extractor, but I have a similar one. This model has a flattened wire extractor at one end, with a sturdy wire loop at the other end. I use this model on my smaller pimples and blackheads.


5. In the summer when my skin gets super oily and congested, I use this Mint Julep mask to help control oil and help battle sweat-induced pimples. Sometimes it helps with the cystic pimples, sometimes it doesn't.


6. The Olay Pro-X brush, next to the Mario Badescu lotion, has been the most effective in helping to keep any acne at bay. Again, most cystic acne is hormonal, but exfoliation can help keep them from getting any bigger or worse, double-decking. A double-decker pimple is what I call a pimple with two heads, or two pimples touching. This is gross, but I noticed with my double-deckers that if you popped one head, pus and liquid would gush out, but the other head would pop out dirt and debris. I'm guessing when the one pimple forms, it becomes much easier for nearby pores to get clogged quickly.

If you have any helpful tips, products, etc., please feel free to share in the comments!