Cystic acne treatments
How
What is Cystic Acne?
This type of acne causes visible scarring because of its depth and inflammation. This is formed when bacteria gets trapped in the pores and triggers an infection deep into the skin. It appears to be a red and tender bump filled with pus.
Cystic acne is considered as the most severe kind of acne. It comes with pain that is impossible to ignore. This happens because there is no opening to release the pent-up bacteria and oil which causes pain and discomfort. A severe condition as this requires acne treatment to get rid of it effectively and safely.
The severe form of cystic acne is known as acne conglobata.
Cystic Acne is Deeper:
Cystic Acne is deeper than other types of acne, like blackheads and whiteheads.
Cystic Acne is More Intensely Inflammed:
Normal pimples are small inflamed bumps on the face.
When these bumps become more infected, a large pus-filled cavity forms deep inside the skin. This results in cystic acne.
If the cyst bursts, the infection may spread to the surrounding area and cause more breakouts.
What causes Cystic Acne?
Hormones
For women, it’s usually the hormonal shifts that happen during their monthly period, which causes the glands to produce excess oil. This causes the oil glands to be filled with sebum that leads to breakouts.
High levels of androgen and testosterone are also linked to causing breakouts. This causes high activity of the sebaceous glands which leads to overproduction of sebum. There’s a higher chance of pores getting clogged, leading to severe acne.
Genes
Acne tends to run in the genes. If one of your parents suffered from a severe acne breakout, it is possible you might get it, too. A family line with the genetic tendency to overproduce sebum leads to oily skin which results in more breakouts.
Diet
There’s also a chance your diet may be one of the causes. Some foods can trigger inflammation on the skin and speed up the formation of a cyst. High-glycemic foods and dairy are amongst the culprit linked to causing acne. A study associated skim milk to triggering acne growth.
This type of severe acne condition does not go away on its own and may last for weeks.
Good for
Common areas where cystic acne may develop
It is that painful, hard cyst on your chin that won’t seem to come to a head, stay on your face and continue to bug you. The longer it stays, the higher the chance it will develop into a stubborn acne scar.
Pimples growing on the chin are usually related to hormones, especially in women. Hormonal imbalance and shifts can disrupt the body’s healthy functioning and cause acne flare-ups. Acne growth on the chin may fluctuate during monthly periods. Also, an increase in androgens and testosterone in women are the main reasons why they’re prone to pimples growing on the chin.
Hormones are what stimulate oil production. Too much sebum triggers the growth of bacteria which then gets trapped in the pores. Cystic acne breakouts typically happen underneath the skin and the bacteria in there.
treatment summary
IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light. IPL is a safe and effective treatment of rosacea as well as reducing unwanted hair, rejuvenating skin and for treating other conditions such as broken thread veins and spider naevi. The IPL treatment is a type of light therapy that utilises a range of wavelengths to target the pigments in blood vessels and hairs. The energy provided by these wavelengths is taken up by the darker pigments in blood vessels making the IPL treatment suitable for the reduction of rosacea. The IPL laser is also a very popular skin rejuvenation treatment and one of our most popular anti-aging treatments due to its gentle nature and the little to no downtime associated with the procedure.
procedure time
60 mins
DOWN TIME
None
no. of treatment
Monthly
anaesthetic
None
recovery
Mild erythema
pain level
None
result
Immediate
areas of treatment
Face, neck, décolletage, back
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Topical Treatments
Creams and ointments containing benzoyl peroxide, retinoids or antibiotics target excess sebum, bacteria, and clogged pores – all in which causes the development of severe acne. This topical acne treatment can reduce oil on your skin, kill bacteria, and unclog pores.
Laser Therapy
For more stubborn cases of acne on your chin, help from a dermatologist is required. Laser therapy, i.e. CO2 Fractional Laser or IPL is a useful acne treatment because it reduces the number of acne-causing bacteria on the skin and reduces inflammation.
Acne on the cheek is usually caused by oil and dirt buildup that clogs the pores over time. The dirt and debris that encourages bacteria growth on the cheek come from the environment. These may be on your pillowcases, dirty smartphones, and habits of touching your face with dirty hands.
Environmental pollution is one of the skin’s worst enemies. Dirt, oil, and bacteria make a perfect formula for causing acne. These can all find its way deep into your pores which then leads to an acne cyst.
Lifestyle changes
Making a habit of changing your sheets and pillowcases regularly can help lessen acne on your cheeks as they can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Overnight, your oils and dead skin cells transfer to your sheets and trigger bacteria growth. This bacteria then transfer back to your skin the next night which leads to pimples. This becomes damaging to the skin in the long term. If the bacteria makes its way deep into the pores, this may lead to severe acne.
Medical Facial Treatments
For severe acne on the cheeks, a facial treatment that contains cleansing, exfoliation, peeling, and infusion is a sure way to soothe the skin and reduce any inflammation. This acne treatment helps minimize pores and reduce oil on the face.
Sebaceous glands are what produce the oil on our skin and hair. The acne is formed when a sebaceous gland in the skin’s surface is blocked, and the oil is unable to pass through it. The excessive sebum, dead skin cells, and bacteria block the glands which cause inflammation, leading to the development of acne. This shows up on the forehead as a soft red bump and is pus-filled. It is usually painful as it does not come with a head to release the pus.
Factors that can cause more acne and pimple growth on the forehead are stress, hormonal changes, some medications, and bad hygiene.
Home Treatments
First things first, don’t ever try popping your acne as it will spread the infection and increase the likelihood of an acne scar to develop. Use a cleanser that has salicylic acid to get rid of the dead cells and dry out the pimple. Followed by a facial moisturizer, preferably oil-free. You can finish it off with an acne spot treatment containing Benzoyl peroxide to reduce the inflammation.
Oral Antibiotics
Facial washes and creams may just be enough to keep your skin’s surface clean. An oral antibiotic may be prescribed by doctors to keep the inflammation at bay and kill the pent-up of bacteria deep inside the pores, which causes the pain and acne scar. This medication is an effective acne treatment that targets trapped bacteria. Note that this should be strictly used with the guidance of a doctor since it comes with side-effects.
Cystic acne damages your skin and causes permanent scarring. Common acne scars include depressed pits, ice pick scars, sometimes hypertrophic scars and keloids.
