What is this thing on my cheek?

About two weeks ago, I had a huge pimple on my cheek that never really surfaced -- there was a small reddish area where the pimple was, but the "puss part" was mainly under my skin. My dermatologist gave me a glycolic acid peel, the pimple seemed to dry up and there was a scab on top of the area where it was located. Now the scab is gone, but the area is still hyperpigmented and there's a small, hard bump under the skin where the pimple was. Is this a keloid or just the pimple that isn't completely gone? Or is it something else?

[maatson]

Cystic acne.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like a sebaceous cyst. They may occur anywhere on body but scalp, ears, back, face, and upper arm, are common sites for sebaceous cysts. Blocked sebaceous glands, swollen hair follicles and excessive testosterone production will cause such cysts.

Generally no treatment is required but they become painful then it means they are infected,Then surgical excision by traditional wide excision, minimal excision, and punch biopsy excision may be required.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.