OUCH. There's nothing worse than a painful cystic spot appearing the night before you have something big on. At this stage, we can nearly predict when one of these monsters is about to appear but the good news is there's some expert advice available. The first rule of thumb is NEVER to pop the spot in question because you're only going to make matters much worse. In conversation with Allure, dermatologist Scott Dunbar said that cystic acne is composed of "deep pockets of white blood cells" which will not pop, no matter how sore they get or how much they throb. What you can do to stop the swelling and lessen the redness is apply ice to the affected area. Rachel Nazarian, all-around skin saviour and dermatologist with the Schweigher Dermatology Group says: "Applying an ice cube directly to your pimple for several seconds will constrict small blood vessels feeding the cyst and immediately decrease redness and size". Finally, when the spot is at its worst (angry, red and huge) use the colour-correcting technique to disguise the  inflammation. Foundation/concealer with a green tinge will help to hide the redness. Finally, a three-pronged approach that might actually work.