6 replies to this topic

[DrHarleyQuinn]

Ok, I'm gonna start off by saying that I know I'm going to catch some heat for this post but as a 30 year old woman who has suffered constantly from cystic acne, I know how desparate we can get for anything to help. 80% of my acne is hard, dime sized acne cysts which are obviously hormonal. I've tried everything under the sun. Proactiv, birth control, antibiotics, retina, anti-bacterial prescription creams, 5-6 different vitamins, over the counter zit creams, drying creams, sulfur based products..I could continue on but you get it. Most of you have done the same. To date I still haven't found anything that completely cures my cysts. I've found that using Acne free's sulfur mask helps to a point. However, the only thing that will bring my cysts to a head is hitting the tanning bed. Bad, I know. I don't go more than once a week. But if I have a couple cysts that I can't bring to a head with hot washcloths or by steaming, I go tan. I had a nickel sized cyst on my chin for 5 days. I went to a tanning bed for 15 mins. Less than 8 hours later, all it took was gentle pressure and all the infection drained out. By no means am I saying tan all the time cause that will dry out your skin creating more zits. But if you have a cyst that just won't go away, it's the only thing I've found that will cause the infection and head to come to the surface. I've seen people post about icing but that's never been successful for me. From my experience, icing a cyst just pushes the infection down farther in your skin. Until you get the head and infection out, a cyst isn't going to go away. I know what works for me may not work for everyone. It's not just tanning beds, if I get a few hours of sun on a hot day, it will have the same effect. However, it's cold 8 months of the year where I live, so getting real sun isn't an option for me most of the time. Im open to hearing debates on this topic. My hope is I will eventually find a product that will stop cysts before they start but until I do, this is my savior.

Also, stay away from spicy foods and drink tons of water, that helps.

[Ripon10]

Have you tried Vitamin D3 to supplement the lack of sun exposure?  I do not have firsthand experience with it, but have read it has been very helpful others' acne.

[bluefilteredlight]

I have found also that tanning does help with my cysts too. Especially the ones that hang around on my face for weeks at a time and don't want to "head". 
 

BUT, do I want skin cancer just to get my face clearer? Nope. 
Is it an easy resolve? Yes. 

 

I hope we will find a way to get rid of cysts without relying on tanning beds. 

[AbstractFactory]

If I have a smallish cyst, I tend put some undiluted Lavender il on a cotton swap and spot treat. If it's a supanova mofo I stick a blob of pure Aloe Vera gel on it.

[Sarsar123]

Tea tree oil is very god and natural

[brightling]

Why don't you just buy an acne bluelight? Blue LED is supposed to work the same as the sun without the harmful rays. Look it up; blue LED light therapy has been proven effective and it will probably be effective for you if the sun is. There are lots of handheld devices you can get--the only thing is they can get expensive. Dont try to get around it by buying a cheap LED bulb either, cause it probably doesn't work as well---plus you'd probably have to sit around turning your head this way and that, using it for like 1/2 an hour. Maybe get one from the LED Man; there are a bunch of threads around here on him and his lights. I bought one from him and I like it though its not an acne light (psssh probably should be considering I recently had to go on accutane but whatever). I like the size of his lights. I dunno if we're allowed to post links here but just search "led man" on google and his site is one of the first to pop up.

[nicmic62]

I'm 24 years old and have been dealing with cystic acne since I was 13. It has been a constand struggled. I feel your pain. Proactiv did help, but not enough. Going on the regimen is what really helped my skin the most. LOTS of Benzoyl Peroxide does the trick! Been on it for a little over a month and almost 80% of my cysts are gone if not reduced in size.

 

Hope that helps. Good luck