Watch: Cystic Acne Extraction on the face

You get a pimple when a pore in your skin gets clogged, usually with dead skin cells. Sometimes bacteria get trapped inside the pore, too, causing the area to become red and swollen. Cystic acne happens when this infection goes deep into your skin, creating a red, tender bump that’s full of pus. It may hurt or itch.

Multivitamins: Talk to your doctor about taking a daily multivitamin. The zinc in the vitamin reduces skin inflammation while vitamin E can help heal your skin. Spot Treatment: Apply a warm compress for five minutes three times a day to bring the pimple to a head. Dab on acne gel or cream twice a day to dry it up.

Cystic acne is the kind of acne that forms large bumpy knots that lodge deep in the skin. In cystic acne, an inflamed pore becomes completely covered by tough pink skin so that it cannot drain, but instead grows larger and larger until it is eventually opened by lancing, surgery, or medical treatment of the skin.