Less severe mild to moderate acne is caused by pores that get clogged with oil and dead skin and usually have a white or blackhead with slight inflammation.
It becomes cystic acne when the pore shatters beneath the skin causing the inflammation to spill out into the area surrounding it. Your bodies defense is to create a cyst around it to stop bacteria and the inflammation spreading further.
Many people are unsure whether they have cysts, if you have red bumps that can be quite painful then you can be certain it's cystic acne. Another tell tale symptom is that they don't form a head because they are embedded underneath the surface of the skin. This makes it more dangerous to squeeze and prod because you will push the infection deeper and can cause more severe scarring.
Main Causes
One of the main causes are hormones. Androgens are hormones that can cause overproduction of oil in your sebaceous (oil) glands. This causes excess oil to get trapped in your pores and provides a suitable environment for bacterial infection. Cystic acne often occurs when there is a sudden increase in this hormone such as puberty, menstruation and weight loss.
Another cause connected to hormones is stress. When your stress levels increase it is met with an increase in the hormone cortisol which also overstimulates your oil glands.
Treatments
The best acne treatments are those that target and heal the cysts from all angles of the problem.
1. The bacteria has to be treated as it is the main cause of infection.
2. The oil production has to be controlled as part of your treatment.
3. You must take an active step in protecting your skin from further infection and new breakouts of cystic acne occurring.
