Though this common form of acne presents its own challenges for treatment, you're significantly more likely to experience itching from inflammatory acne. Inflammatory acne manifests itself in deeply rooted cystic breakouts and red pimples which tend to hurt, and — you guessed it — itch.
Itchy acne is an uncomfortable and extremely common affliction. Clogged pores primarily cause acne. Itchiness is caused by dryness and irritation. While scratching may bring relief in the short term, it can make acne symptoms worse, so it's important to resist the urge.
Cystic acne happens when this infection goes deep into your skin, creating a bump that's full of pus. It may hurt or itch. If a cyst bursts, the infection can spread, causing more breakouts. You can treat these breakouts.
To relieve the itching, use a warm compress and a benzoyl peroxide wash. If you're using it on your face, dilute the wash so the mixture is only 4% peroxide; on other areas of your body, aim for 10%. While the infection heals, make sure your skin is always clean and dry.
Fungal acne and hormonal acne are often confused with each other because both types of acne start in the hair follicles. Fungal acne occurs when excess yeast develops, whereas hormonal acne is caused by excess sebum. Fungal acne can result in whiteheads, itchiness and often becomes red, irritated and inflamed.
The first is very simple: when our skin heals, it has a tendency to itch — that's why we pick at scabs, too. Your discomfort may also stem from the skincare products you're using. After all, if an over-the-counter cream or serum dries out your skin too much, you'll be left with inflamed, flaky, itchy skin.
You can tell if acne is hormonal or bacteria by its severity if flare-ups occur during hormonal imbalances, and whether topical treatments resolve the issues, or if systemic medications are needed.
Causes of itchy skin include: Skin conditions. Examples include dry skin (xerosis), eczema (dermatitis), psoriasis, scabies, parasites, burns, scars, insect bites and hives.
Bacterial folliculitis
Folliculitis is an inflammation of the hair follicles, and it is often due to bacteria infecting the follicles. It can cause small, round pimple-like eruptions on hair follicles, and the eruptions may itch. Staphylococcus aureus is a type of bacterium that may cause bacterial folliculitis.
Cystic acne is a type of inflammatory acne that causes painful, pus-filled pimples to form deep under the skin. Acne occurs when oil and dead skin cells clog skin pores. With cystic acne, bacteria also gets into the pores, causing swelling or inflammation. Cystic acne is the most severe type of acne.
What does hormonal acne look like? Whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules, cysts and nodules are all common hormonal acne symptoms. Normally, whiteheads and blackheads do not cause pain, inflammation or swelling, but if they do, then they are most likely forming into cysts and pustules.
One of the telltale signs of a hormonal breakout is its location on the face. If you're noticing inflamed cystic acne on your chin or jawline area—anywhere around your lower face, really—you can bet your bottom dollar that it's probably hormonal acne.
The pimples (whiteheads or blackheads) typically show up on the face and neck, and can extend to the chest, shoulders or upper back. These pesky bumps can become inflamed and painful, but usually don't itch.
A blackhead may look like dirt stuck in pores. But actually the pore is congested with bacteria and oil, which turns brown when it's exposed to the air. Pimples are raised red spots with a white center that develop when blocked hair follicles become inflamed or infected with bacteria.
Fungal acne causes clusters of small, itchy, red bumps (papules) on your skin. Sometimes, the bumps get a bit larger and turn into whiteheads, small pockets of white or yellow pus (pustules).
Keratosis pilaris causes small, red bumps that can be mistaken for acne. Clues you're not dealing with acne: Unlike pimples, these bumps feel rough and usually appear on dry skin. You'll usually see them on your upper arms and on the front of your thighs. You may notice that family members also have these bumps.
On the surface, cystic acne can look like large, red boils. Cysts, like nodules, reside deep underneath the skin's surface. But because they're filled with pus, cysts are softer than nodules. The pimples that define cystic acne burst open, often leading to infection.
Bacterial acne rarely does. Clusters. Fungal acne often appears in clusters of small whiteheads. Bacterial acne is less clustered and more sparse.
Whiteheads (closed comedones)
Whiteheads are more difficult to treat because the pores are already closed.
Hard pimples develop when dead skin cells, sebum, and bacteria enter the skin's surface. Once under the skin, bacteria can multiply quickly. This can cause the skin to become irritated and even infected. Hard pimples appear as raised bumps on or under the skin's surface.
Causes of Cystic Acne
Cystic acne occurs when bacteria, dead skin cells, and sebum (the substance that makes your face feel oily) get trapped beneath the skin's surface and become infected. This leads to a large, swollen cyst (bump) that can hurt just to touch.
Do not try to pop, pick, or squeeze a cystic pimple. It may be tempting, but popping a pimple can introduce more bacteria to the pore, slow healing, drive the infection deeper into the skin, and increase the chance of scarring.
Pictures. Allergic contact dermatitis on the face can cause a large, red rash. It may also contain small red bumps along with dry, crusty skin. If you develop this type of allergic reaction, it'll occur along the parts of your face that have come into contact with an irritating substance.