Zits is one of the type of skin breakouts that is a concern for many people. Zits are often infected and pus-filled, although some zits may form under the skin, causing headless pimples that are painful, red, swollen, and need longer time to heal than usual zits. Zits are triggered by clogged sebum on skin pores, wherein dirt and bacteria may also accumulate, resulting in whitish drainage called pus. Referring to two different types of zits, proper treatments are required by each type in order to fully heal them and get rid of the breakout. Mismanaging zits may cause worse breakouts and trigger worse kinds of pimples to occur.

Can a zit turn into a cyst?

Cystic acne is the most difficult acne problem to treat. Even improper treatments of this type of acne may lead to scarring which, in some people, can be permanent. As the most severe form of acne, cystic acne can be painful and emotionally distressing, since it influences the way your face looks. While acne is common, cyst acne is quite uncommon. The most common form of acne is called pimples, spots, or zits. There are some types—or better said, stages of zits that may be able to occur all over the skin face.

• The first stage of zits is called papules, which is caused by the infestation of acnes bacteria that leads to the irritation of the hair follicles.
• When the irritated hair follicles is swollen and causes red bumps to be visible, it enters the new phase of acne called pustules. Pustules is also often used to refer to acne breakouts with whiteheads on top of it.
• When the inflammation gets wider, wherein the hair follicles is finally ruptured, zits turn into a cystic acne, which has wider inflammation and deeper, hard, and painful cyst.

What contributes to this change?

If you have got some zits on the face, you might have the urge to squeeze the affected skin region. This habit—squeezing zits forcefully in improper manners—contributes to its change into a more severe form of acne, and one of those forms is cystic acne. Related to zit-squeezing that may result in the development of cysts, some causes are encountered, such as:

• Vigorous squeezing that causes clogged oil, dirt, and bacteria accumulation, which has actually been embedded on the skin tissues, to be pushed deeper beneath the tissues. When this happens, you might notice that your bumps grow larger, since the pushed-down materials trigger the occurrence of larger inflammation. If bacteria re-infest these materials, the result is larger amount of pus and more severely infected hair follicles. Your zit may also turn into a headless raised bump that is painful and requires more time before it is fully healed.
• Some people squeeze zits, yet they have no idea how much pus and other drainage are contained by these pimples. As a result, most of these people squeeze the zits without emptying the clogged pores thoroughly, only leaving the tore area to become an open wound. Later on, bacteria residing on the skin or sweat come to re-infest the wound, causing infection. Finally, the minor zits that are infected turn into larger cystic acne that may be harder to treat.

Other possible factors

Even if you are not a squeezer or a picker, minor zits can possibly turn into slowly-healing cystic acne when triggered by some factors, such as:

• Hormonal changes and imbalances that may be undergone by adolescences, pregnant women, and women in premenopausal phase.
• High level of humidity and excessive sweating that may bring along dirt, debris, and bacteria.
• Application of greasy, thick cosmetics, and wearing tight, unbreathable clothing.
• Use of harsh cosmetics and soap that may aggravate the existing zits.
• Certain chemicals and drugs that may cause skin breakouts similar to zits.