I know this post isn’t about money, but I made a promise to myself when I was a teenager that if I ever found a way to heal my face from the dreaded acne condition known as cystic acne that I’d share it with others. And in case you’re lucky enough to have only ever suffered a few breakouts in your life, cystic acne hurts.

Cystic acne is hard, painful, welts that don’t pop. It takes forever to get relief from them and even though I’m now 30 years old, I still have at least one breakout a year. So, for my fellow acne suffers, this post is for you. I promise I’ll be back with more money advice but for today, this is me trying to help my fellow acne sufferer know that yes, you can make those dreaded pimples disappear…

First things first…

In order for me to share what I use on my face, I have to share my skin type so you can determine if anything I use will even help you. I have combination skin which means it’s a combo of oily (gross) and sensitive.

Basically, in the summertime my face is an oily mess and in the wintertime my face is dry and itchy from the sensitivity to dry air. Fun times, I know.

What I Use

Wash

I wash my face at night with a product from my childhood….Noxzema. I only use it at night to help remove all of my makeup but goodness does it clean my face! I love that stuff. I do sometimes switch it out for good ol’fashioned cold cream but only in the winter time when my face is dry.

In the mornings, I wash my face with Olay’s Regenerist cleanser using their Pro X facial brush to cleanse my face. I do sometimes use a more harsh exfoliate in the morning, especially if I’ve been camping.

My favorite mask to use to really deep clean my pores is this one here. I only use it once a week and sometimes less but it works wonders!

***I used to use Proactiv and even though it did work to get rid of my acne it made my face so dry it hurt. It was way too harsh for my combination skin. Also, the monthly subscription (if you purchase directly from Proactiv) was more than I used in a month so I ended up wasting a lot of money on it. But it does work in case you’re thinking about using it.

Keeping my pores small and clean

I mentioned in what I use to wash my face that I use Olay’s Pro X facial brush, which definitely helps to keep my pores clean and small, but I also use an essential oil that has been known to “rebuild” the cell walls of your pores. This helps to keep them getting any larger.

The essential oil is Geranium Essential Oil from Young Living. I will warn you though that the downside to using this oil is that it has a strong scent. It smells like flowers so it’s definitely not a gross or bad smell it’s just a strong scent and may bother you. The smell does dissipate rather quickly once the oil dries, but I thought I’d warn you before you use it. Also, avoid over using it – a small amount works great, no need to lather it on as that would end making your face too oily.

Lotions

I don’t use any special lotions just Oil of Olay’s original Active Hydrating Beauty Fluid during the day and Oil of Olay’s Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Face. I don’t why I’m partial to Oil of Olay…maybe it’s because that’s what my grandmother (who had FLAWLESS skin) used, but they’re my favorite and work wonders!

When Breakouts Happen

Whenever I do get a breakout (or even a sratch from one of my kiddos), the thing that I use on my face is Vitamin E oil. You can find Vitamin E oil practically anywhere and it lasts a long time. It is a heavy/sticky oil so only a little bit is needed to do the job.

Vitamin E oil helps to get rid of the redness, dark spots, and swelling associated with Cystic Acne. I know it seems counterintuitive to use oil on a huge hurtful pimple but it really does work. I do recommend that you allow the oil to dry all the way before applying makeup though or else you’ll end up with a dark spot on your face where your makeup collected.

My Makeup

Part of how I got my Cystic Acne under control was I stopped using liquid foundation. This was a hard decision for me to make since I was so embarrassed by the welts on my face but honestly, it made all the difference!

I started using BareMinerals in 2006 and haven’t looked back. I asked for Christmas that year for the special starter set they had since I didn’t want to pay $60 for makeup that I wasn’t even sure was worth it (it’s now a lot cheaper than when I originally received it). I have tried several different store brands and cheaper versions of BareMinerals but I keep coming back to the original because in my opinion nothing covers and gives that “flawless” look quite like them.

I’m a firm believer that by switching to a powder foundation that it allowed my face to breathe better than the layers of liquid foundation that I was using. I also go at least one day a week without makeup on to help keep my face in balance.

Do you have any products that you use to help get rid of or manage Cystic Acne? I’d love to hear about them!