I've been fighting cystic acne for over 4 years now. I had tried everything OTC. I get horrible side effects with medicine so I tried to stay away from Accutane and such.

I HAVE to share this. After dozen of trial and error, I swear my face is 'clear'. I have blemishes and scarring but no cystic bumps AT ALL. Acne.org was my saviour.

My regimen:

Wash face, toner, acne creams, sunblock, moisturizer, drink tea

- Wash: Hot water in sink. Place washcloth with epsom salt until the epsom salt dissolves (about 20-45 sec).

I use that washcloth to 'pat - wash' my face to rid of dirt. I do scrub now because I've seen better results (even though it's forbidden ha!)

- Wash: I use gel cleanser. I was using Aveda Botanical Kinetics Purifying Gel Cleanser. But I promise I've been using TriDerma Facial Redness Cleanser for two days and it's made a huggge difference. So, I will most likely toss the Aveda. TriDerma is non-comedogenic, medical strength, for sensitive skin, with "exclusive AP4 aloe"

- Toner: Apple cider vinegar as a toner. I don't dilute the vinegar because it worked best for me this way. Instead of splashing cold water after washing my face, I put ACV (with a cotton ball or just my fingers).

- Creams: During the day, I now use Acnevir which is working wonders. I was using Aczone and stopped because 1) no huge results, 2) dermatologist only gave me samples

At night, Tretinoin cream .05% (Retin-A)

- Sunblock: Scarzone. Although I'm not it's done much for me, I feel safer with at least some SPF (15). I will buy higher SPF once I run out of this

- Moisturizer: Aveeno Clear Complexion. I mix this with the sunblock. I put spots on my face and rub both at the same time.

(I just started using TriDerma Facial Redness Repair lotion - like it already)

Additional stuff:

- I drink 2-3 cups of green tea plus any other tea. I cannot go without tea now.

- Water.

- Birth control. I went off BC for a while and I did not break out! So.. my faith is on epsom salt and ACV. Of course everything else keeps me completely clear but I saw huge difference with epsom and ACV.

- When I feel like my skin is too dry, I wash with Dove bar soap.

- Honey & Cinnamon mask: I leave that on for hours at a time when I'm doing my homework. People have complimented my skin after using the mask (on the daily, though)

My clear skin came after 4 weeks.

I kid you not, I'm so grateful for the reviews people have posted here because it allowed to come up with a regimen of my own. I was completely miserable with my acne. I would have easily 5 cystic pumps at any given day and now I don't have any. I have a fair skin and scar easily. My self-esteem was shit. I'm slowly but surely feeling so confident now. I actually like looking at myself. I have scarring that bothers me but nothing compares to the acne I had.

I would urge you guys to try any of the stuff I use especially the ACV, epsom salt, TriDerma, and Acnevir

let me know if you have any questions!