LM answered Thursday September 7 2006, 4:53 pm: Agh. Cystic acne SUCKS.
This type of acne isn't caused by the environment OR makeup, and is instead the result of either overactive hormones or excessive bacteria in your pores.
I had this kind of acne reallllly bad last year, and I tried everything. Proactiv (one of my last resorts) helped it somewhat, but it was still pretty bad. My doctor referred me to a dermatologist. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics, which cleared up the problem nicely.
The only side effect to this was that antibiotics can make your teeth slightly yellow. As long as you brosh everyday, you'll be fine. Plus, you won't be on them forever, so don't worry about it. Most of the damage done to tooth enamel is done by the time you hit pubery anyhow =]
Regardless of whether you go the dermatologist route or not, here's a couple home remedies and treatments:
-a warm/hot facecloth, held up against breakouts, helps make everything clear up sooner and makes spot treatments more effective. Apply a spot treatment with salicylic acid (it'll minimize the scarring this acne will inevitably cause)
-a clay mask will draw excess oil from your pores
-find a good foundation that doesn't look fake. Even if your acne isn't that bad, it'll make you feel more confident and then you'll be less likely to pick at your face (a big no-no, because popping cystic acne makes it 92878934758 times worse!!)
Lastly, don't do too much to your face, and be gentle! You don't want to overdo anything.
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