Hi there! I've been using Mario Badescu Products for almost 3 mos..it's good for moderate acne, I would say these products are not harsh to my skin compared to Murad, Peter Thomas Roth, Proactiv that I bought and returned b/c they made my acne worse (from moderate to severe) and dried my skin big time. Try their Pink lotion and their drying cream/mask..very helpful...I'm using cucumber cleanser and oil free moisturizer (better than neutrogena - it doesnt make my face greasy)..Try to register in their website and they would send you samples good for like a week or two..though some are not available like the pink lotion b/c it goes in small bottle already..only $17+ (available at nordstrom's only or mario badescu website)

For cystic acne, over the counter products won't really help you, my dermatologist said you need to take antiobiotic orally and apply topical solution w/ antibiotic ( so far, tetracycline works for me and clindamycin) every person has diff results. :)