Those are indeed cysts.

The regimen will definitely provide results, but I would really look towards diet. I'm not sure if you're asian or not, but I'm just going to let you know that acne is ABSOLUTELY diet related.

It's a bit enraging that the overall wisdom of most of this forum believes that diet and acne are not related. I'm sorry, but that just isn't true.

Yes I am asian.

Over the past week I have almost removed my dairy intake (sometimes sprinkling cheese on food) and sugar (no more candy). I pretty much have a consistent diet of 1 serving of pasta/rice, vegetables, as well as some type of meat (50% red meat, 50% poultry/pork).

1) Any more tips on diet?

2) Also are there any other suggestions to help improve my cysts? I am taking ibuprofen and icing my cysts every night before doing the regimen.

I read a post (the sticky post) that polysporin works but I'm a bit skeptical.

3) How do I improve the flakiness? I try to apply moisturizer every couple of hours but wondering if theres a better solution.

Thanks!

I think you caught your "acne progression" at an early stage. You're gonna heal nicely - stay positive.

How about try cutting out the rice and pasta? Replace it with Kale greens. The rest should be fine. Really look at your carbohydrate intake - I think you might respond well to a lower carb diet. If you can, go for fish most of the time, rather than beef or chicken. Avocados have really good fat in them (I eat like 2 or 3 a week) which is also good for the skin.

Also, cut out WHEAT products. Look at the ingredients list and make sure it doesn't contain wheat, gluten, or flour. But BE VIGILANT about this. Stay focused and do not stray from your goal of clear skin. I love junk food as much as the next person, and it took me a hell of a lot of willpower to avoid it. Though, clear skin was good enough motivation.

For the flakiness, try some alpha hydroxy acid (Dan makes a good one that is only ~$9 a tube).

Good luck, I really want to hear about your progress.

Thanks jarrit! Before my most recent outbreak I've just had a TON of hyperpigmentation [sorta masked by my cystic acne at the moment ] with some depressed areas (was going to discuss doing TCA peels with my doctor before my most recent outbreak).

I'll try my best to follow the diet tips you outlined. I've had really bad acne (worst than pictures above) for a year now and it's definitely motivation to eat properly! Do you recommend I take any supplements? I've read on this message board that zinc and fish-oil supplements would help). I read your log and it is definitely very motivating!

Can I use AHA on top of my moisturizer?

Hey, I wouldn't bother with the supplements until you're clear.

Try to set yourself up with a simple diet first. I personally ate KALE and FISH for 1 week, and with the incredible results I had, decided to continue.

Kale is a miracle food. Throw in some avocados and vinaigrette and it isn't too bad.

The purpose of this simple diet is to find out if you have issues with certain foods. Here's an example meal for me :

- Salmon cooked on a pan, with some garlic, salt, and pepper. As simple as it gets.

- Kale with avocados, sometimes I'll even grill up a little zucchini with coconut oil and salt and pepper.

This diet didn't make me feel any strange itchyness or allergic reactions. I stuck to it for about a week and my cysts completely disappeared. It is a diet high in protein, good fat, and low in carbs (depending on how much kale you consume).

The low in carbs part is crucial here because it will help you regulate blood sugar.

Stick to it for at least 2 weeks. Just spend the money on the ingredients and tough it out. How do you react to spicy foods? Do you ever feel a strange itchiness on your face or jawline or mouth region? This itchiness is indication of an allergic reaction. Even this kale and fish diet can spark an allergy in someone who is allergic to fish or shellfish (factories that freeze more than 1 type of seafood have serious cross contamination).

Depending on how you do in the two weeks, I'd start introducing other types of foods very, very gradually.

AHA+ can definitely be used with moisturizer.

(I also take insanely good care of my teeth. Floss every night!)

Update:

So this morning while washing my face (following the regimen) one of my cysts started to ooze out pus. I wiped it off and continued applying BP and moisturizer. Now (several hours later) the area where pus came out has started to scab (dark red scabby area). I'm starting to get nervous about the pus.

Should I be worried? Thanks!

What's the update on changing your diet?

The lesion will heal faster with an improved diet that is more beneficial to your system, rather than damaging.

More damage control = more acne.

Hey jarrit,

Changing the diet hasn't really changed much, to be honest. The area on my face is still very red and there are still bumps from the acne lesions. I will still continue to do it for the next couple of weeks as it has been something I wanted to do anyways. My doctor has prescribed me doxycycline, and I hope that will help.

As always, I will accept any suggestions that people have tried.

And I hope you meant more damage control = less acne

My face was exactly the same, but I would pick at the cysts constantly ... bad idea I know, but they itch I couldn't help it. I decided to go with natural remedies, and I found something that is helping ALOT , its only been a week since I started doing this . I wash my face with Organic Raw honey!!!! This has been my miracle for my cysts, I would get a new cyst everyday or so but my cheeks were never clear of these suckers. Now, it has only been a week and I haven't had any new cysts I can't believe I wasted so much money in products with chemicals that would only irritate my skin and didn't help at all :/... okay so I wash my face with raw organic honey and I leave it on for about 20-30 minutes like a face mask:) then I wash with warm water and then PAT dry ( please do not rub your skin). My skin look 100% better and no more cysts! ! Heehehe this is super exciting please try it, oh I moisturize with vitamin e oil to help with mucha acne marks because like I said I dis alooot of picking . It would make me really happy if at least one person tried this and gets amazing results like I'm getting. Good luck:).