I've had good success with aspirin. Of course, some cysts/zits will be stubborn. But aspirin has helped me so much. What I do is crush the aspirin (I put a pill in between two toilet paper squares and use the bottom of a nail polish bottle). Once that is done, I apply some topical cream to my affected area and (while still wet) apply some aspirin powder. I leave it on overnight! The anti-inflammatory properties should work their magic and help you.

Does this take away the redness?

For me, it totally does. It just seems to calm everything down. Another thing for redness is an egg white mask. It's a bit gross but it really is amazing!