Acne treatment: what are the causes of cystic acne?

Common acne if left untreated for a long time may develop into cystic acne. Before trying to find out the causes of cystic acne let us have a look at what differentiates cystic acne from normal acne. The cystic acne can be described as an overdeveloped or severe form of normal acne. The blemishes of cystic acne are large sometimes up to a few centimeters.

Cystic acne is usually filled with pus and feels very soft from outside. Those who have cystic acne tend to pick it which should be avoided because it may worsen the infection. The scars of cystic acne are larger and uglier than normal scars therefore one should make it a point to start the treatment as soon as possible.

Coming back to our original topic lets us have a look at the causes of cystic acne.

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o Hormonal changes: During puberty when hormonal secretion is at its peak, oil glands in the skin start producing more oil than normal. It blocks the pores and forms acne. Similarly during menstruation cycle and pregnancy a lot of hormonal changes take place causing acnes to form.
o Chemical based cosmetics: It is quite common for many people to believe that if cosmetics are used frequently, acne will not develop. In fact chemicals in different cosmetics are sometimes not suitable for a particular kind of skin; therefore instead of curing acne they aggravate it. People with oily skin should be more careful than those who have dry skin.
o Picking pimples: usually pimples in normal cases heal by themselves. They start worsening the moment you try to pick it. Once picked, pimples spread to the surrounding skin and make it more severe.
o Genetic reason: People with a family history of acne are more prone to it than those with no acne history.

Apart from the above mentioned causes of cystic acne I must say stress also works indirectly to worsen the situation. As stress causes various chemical changes in the body, its negative effect on acne cannot be completely ruled out.