Well HELLO beautiful! Today I’m sharing an extremely personal, and quite frankly, a difficult topic for me. We’re talking about cystic acne.
Like most teenagers, I developed the usual pimple or blackhead in high school. But when I got into my early 20s and through my mid 20s, my condition got worse. And probably the worst part about acne (cystic acne or not) is that it’s right there. On your face. For everyone to see (because even makeup can’t cover everything). My cystic acne was the root of a lot of shame and embarrassment for me, to the point that sometimes I would cancel plans if I had a particularly angry breakout day.
If you’re anything like I was, you’re probably doing everything in your power to control that monster. I tried everything, and it was so frustrating. Please note that I’m not a dermatologist, and you should see a professional so you can have your skincare needs tailored to what will work best for you, but I’ve compiled some information of what I learned in hopes it may be helpful!
Although I do still suffer from the occasional breakout and I’m still working on getting rid of some scarring, I have been cystic acne-free since 2017.
First thing’s first — SWITCH YOUR PILLOWCASE
I’m sure you’ve heard that cotton or other microfiber blends will hold onto bacteria, as well as tug on your skin (and hair). Switch to a silk or satin pillowcase, like this one that I’ve been using from Amazon.
WASH YOUR SHEETS AND BEDDING OFTEN
Another no brainer, but I want to be sure I cover all of the bases. Think about it, you’re rubbing your face and body all over your bedding every single night. You may be sweating, and if you ever eat or allow your pets into your bed at night, all of those things can bring irritants into contact with your skin. I really love this laundry detergent, which doesn’t have any harsh chemicals.
TAKE YOUR MAKEUP OFF EVERY NIGHT — AND DITCH THE MAKEUP WIPES
Leaving your makeup on at night is HORRIBLE for your skin. Not only can it cause early signs of wrinkles and aging, but your skin isn’t getting the nutrients that it needs to rejuvenate. When you have acne, it means that your skin is irritated and inflamed, and leaving your makeup on is not doing your skin any favors. No matter how tired you are, make sure you are taking off your makeup every single night.
On a similar note, the biggest thing I can emphasize when it comes to products and the way you treat your skin (cystic acne or not) is to BE GENTLE. Not only are single use makeup wipes awful for the environment, they cause you to tug on your skin to pull the makeup off.
Instead, try using a microfiber cleansing cloth. I use one of these every night with a pump of cleanser (don’t use the same cloth over and over — see the previous section for reasons why not).
Pro Tip: If you find you need to tug on your eyes or face to remove your makeup, try putting a micellar water on a damp cleansing cloth and hold it gently over the spot for 30 seconds. It should break up the makeup so it wipes off cleanly.
WASH YOUR BRUSHES AND CHECK YOUR MAKEUP’S EXPIRATION DATE
Think about it for a second — you’re swirling that makeup brush into a product and then on your face. Every day. And if you’re breaking out, you could have an endless cycle of breakouts and cystic acne if you’re never washing your brushes.
Just like for your face, use a gentle cleanser to wash your makeup brushes, like this one. Check the packaging on your makeup for when the item will expire. Typically you’ll see a 6M (meaning 6 months) or 3M (3 months) inside of a little circular jar which tells you the shelf life of the product.
Be wary of extremely cheap makeup (though just because it’s in Sephora doesn’t mean it has a good formula). Check the ingredients, because they don’t lie.
USE A DOUBLE CLEANSE SYSTEM AT NIGHT
What’s a double cleanse system? It means cleansing twice — once to remove your makeup (hopefully with a cleansing cloth or a micellar water), and then again to actually wash your face after you’ve removed your makeup.
When it comes to the products that worked for me, I will say that the big brands with the flashy “acne fighting formula” did NOT work for me — if anything, it made my acne worse over time because it stripped my skin too much.
Gentle, simple formulas are what worked for me, and what I recommend over and over to friends and family, like:
– Simple Water Boost Micellar Water Facial Gel Wash
– Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water
– Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
– CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
Typically I use either Simple or Bioderma for my makeup removing step and then Cetaphil or CeraVe to cleanse afterwards.
EXFOLIATE, BUT NOT TOO MUCH
Exfoliation is a key step in skincare, because it removes all of the dead skin cells and readies the skin to absorb nutrients. It also increases the flow of oxygen and circulation to your face. However, when you’re dealing with a lot of acne, physical exfoliation can cause more irritation and breakouts because you can cause mini tears in the skin. (PUT DOWN the sugar, walnut, apricot, or other scrubs!)
If you must do a physical exfoliant, I’d recommend using sugar because it breaks down with water, whereas walnut other scrubs have shards that don’t soften with water.
Although it sounds scary, I’ve found that a gentle chemical exfoliation is way more beneficial. I exfoliate 1-2 times per week. Ultimately I listened to my skin, and most of the time in the beginning I was only doing it once per week. My favorites are:
– Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Salicylic Acid Exfoliant
– The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
MOISTURIZE!
I know, when you have oily skin, moisturizing sounds like the last thing you want to do because it feels like you’re making your face more oily. But in actuality, I realized that the reason my face was so oily was because it was overcompensating for the lack of moisture that it had.
Just like with cleansers, I found that simple formulas were the best. If you have other products (serums, etc.) that you like to use, a very basic moisturizer will help you avoid putting too many things on the skin that may cause irritation.
Some of my favorite moisturizers include:
– The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors
One thing I did with my moisturizer is add two drops of pure tea tree oil. (Once my cystic acne cleared, I no longer did this because I wanted to be careful of putting anything too potent on my skin long-term)
Side note: Never put tea tree directly onto the skin without diluting it, and like I’ve mentioned before, too much of something can be damaging to the skin as well. If you choose to do this step as well, make sure you’re using a pure essential oil, there are too many companies out there that are not selling pure oils.
KEEP IT SIMPLE, AND FRAGRANCE-FREE
Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but for me, there wasn’t just one miracle product for cystic acne (any acne really, not just cystic acne). This is a journey, and a lot of it requires using very basic and gentle formulas. I personally began avoiding all products that contain “fragrance” of any kind, because businesses don’t have to disclose which fragrances are used or the amount in the formula. (Which is NOT okay)
I also don’t recommend a 12 step routine either… because ultimately that’s 12 different products that could have something irritating in it. In the morning, I would cleanse and moisturize and then put on my makeup. At night, I would double cleanse, use a serum, mask or another product (but not every day), and then my moisturizer.
Some other products that I used (and still use today) that did not irritate my skin include:
– Sunday Riley Luna Retinol Sleeping Night Oil
ADDRESS OTHER AREAS OF YOUR LIFE — DIET, HYDRATION, AND MORE
Your skin is affected by many areas of your life. If your acne is hormonal (around the chin/jaw), maybe your body is in need of other supplements in your diet. Are you drinking enough water? If you have PCOS, inflammatory foods could be the culprit. Maybe your laundry detergent has harsh chemicals, and your face is breaking out from when your towels or shirt rub across your face.
Related: The Ultimate Green Smoothie
Ingredient lists are your friend, in skincare, makeup, and especially in your food. Take some time and look at everything you’re putting into and around your body, and do what’s best for you.
Much Love,
Jenn
