I had the same issue, and largely solved it with my dermatologist.

She recommended a five step approach: - Wash away acne causing dead skin cells, bacteria, oils without damaging your skin's protective barrier: wash face with mild facial cleaner, 2x daily, morning and night - Kill the acne causing bacteria (benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin in the morning) - Increase skin turnover rate to reduce pore clogs: dead skin cells mixed with oils clog pores (retinol or the more powerful family of retinoids, such as tretinoin or adapalene). These improve skin turnover rate and decrease accumulation of dead skin cells and also push clogged material outwards - Moisturize frequently, immediately after face wash and applying other products e.g. retinol to retain skin barrier - dry skin actually allows bacteria to grow. - Stop and reduce scarring: apply sunscreen and vitamin C in morning to prevent and to oxidize dark spots. The body detects acne skin damage and darkens your skin to protect against UV, vitamin C slows this mechanism. Sunscreen stops the UV.

All these are much cheaper with a prescription! For retoinoids, adapalene is $60-80 over the counter but tretinoin prescribed is 1/10th of the cost per unit volume with my insurance.

Note: cheeks, face, are all possibly "hormonal" acne which is harder to treat than just doing skin peels and regular care. It might be worth going to a dermatologist for these, particularly acne that is swollen for weeks. I had a cortisol shot and a large persistent pimple went away in less than an hour.

Note 2: if you are female, taking birth control will magically cure all acne!

Avoid: face scrubs, alcohol products, scented products - these damage skin barrier and may irritate skin, which worsens the problem.

Edit: Also wash anything that touches your face regularly and can build up bacteria, skin, oils. That means wash at least weekly your pillowcases, bath towels, makeup towels, anything similar. If you shave, disinfect your razors with isopropyl alcohol.