Many of our patients at the Advanced Acne Institute have cystic acne and are searching for a cystic acne solution. They’ve gone to multiple dermatologists and received a variety of treatments for cystic acne that fall short of an actual resolution. This is why they ultimately came to the Advanced Acne Institute; because their prior treatments were not effective.

Cystic acne requires aggressive treatment

So why is finding a solution for cystic acne so difficult? Well, the first thing to understand is that cystic acne is a severe form of acne that requires an aggressive form of treatment. Using topical medications alone just won’t work; topical medications only rarely solve this condition. Despite this, I routinely see patients with severe cystic acne who were treated with topical creams and gels. Certainly, these topically applied medications have a role in some forms of acne, they just aren’t strong enough to deliver effective results against cystic acne.

So that’s how I usually start my consultations when I discuss cystic acne with a patient. This is because I want my patients to understand that the reason that they have not gotten better is because they were not treated with a strong enough regimen. I want to reassure them that there is a handling for their cystic acne condition so that they don’t get discouraged.

The handling for cystic acne can be different for each patient

So what is the solution for cystic acne? Well, the answer is that there really isn’t one single solution. The truth is that every patient with cystic acne is different. Also, each patient with cystic acne may be searching for a different cystic acne resolution. For example, some may be looking for a little bit of improvement while others may want complete resolution of their cystic acne. Furthermore, some cystic acne patients have severe scarring, some have mild scarring and some have no scarring so the urgency of resolving cystic acne can differ with each of these circumstances.

Only one or two treatments can qualify as a full cystic acne solution

The fact is that there are only one or two treatments that can qualify as an effective solution to cystic acne. For women, a medicine called spironolactone can often be very helpful. Spironolactone works by blocking the male hormones that promote cystic acne. It can be very effective to resolve cystic acne. I have many cystic acne patients who have completely clear skin as a result of using spironolactone.

Another effective medicine for cystic acne is isotretinoin, also known by the initial brand name of Accutane. Isotretinoin is the most potent of all medications for cystic acne and can be considered the most definitive handling for cystic acne. Even patients with the most severe forms of cystic acne can be successfully treated with isotretinoin.

We’ll discuss spironolactone and isotretinoin in more detail in another blog post. The important thing to remember, however, is that there are medications to help fully resolve cystic acne.