How to tell if you're Purging or Breaking Out

 By VeganAcneSufferers

Many people believe that skin purging is a myth, but this is simply not true. Your skin can – and does – purge. It can, however, be difficult to tell if your new acne breakouts are a purge or a bad reaction to the product. 

In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about skin purging and breakouts when trying new products, and what you should do if it turns out your skin is breaking out rather than purging.

What Causes Purging? 

Any kind of skincare treatment or ingredient that speeds up the skin's natural turnover rate has the potential to cause purging. 

 

The Ingredients That Can Cause Purging

There are several ingredients and products that can cause skin purging which are listed below. Many skin care treatments will advertise these ingredients, but others may hide it in their ingredients list, so it is important to look through the ingredients label to see if your product contains these chemical exfoliants or ingredients. 

Common ingredients and products that can cause skin purging are:

• AHAs & BHAs (glycolic acid, malic acid, lactic acid, mandelic acid, salicylic acid)
• Benzoyl peroxide
• Vitamin C ( ascorbic acid, L ascorbic acid )
• Retinoids (tretinoin, Differin,  isotretinoin, retinol, accutane)
• Exfoliation
• Azelaic Acid

Anyone who has ever used tretinoin or isotretinoin can attest that your skin does go through a “purging” phase. The skin will break out, usually quite a lot, but often in the places you usually breakout in. 

What Is Skin Purging?

A skin purge is a reaction the skin has to certain ingredients that increases it's skin cell turnover.   These ingredients, namely retinols and acids, take away the top layer of dead skin cells so the new cells underneath can regenerate sooner than they would on their own.

This process of regeneration is known as cell turnover, which is a natural process the body goes through. Chemical exfoliants for example speed up the cell turnover process.

 

Unfortunately, this can cause breakouts and blockages to come to the surface sooner, as the skin underneath is brought to the surface.

 

What Does Skin Purging Look Like?

Skin purging can easily be mistaken for a new acne breakout. Skin purging tends to look like clusters of small red inflamed bumps on the skin which may be filled with pus. They may also be surrounded by whiteheads near them. 

The good news, however, is that these breakouts are temporary. A real skin purge should leave your skin feeling looking refreshed and improved after a period of 4-6 weeks which is a sign that the products you chose are working.

 

How To Tell If Your Skin Is Purging Or Breaking Out

There are several ways you can tell if your skin is purging or if you are breaking out. Below is a checklist to help you determine which process your skin is going through: 

Signs Your Skin is Purging

• Breakouts occur in the usual spots – If you’re experiencing an increase in pimples but only in areas where you typically break out, it’s likely purging.
• You’re using an exfoliating or active ingredient – Ingredients like retinoids, AHAs, BHAs, and vitamin C speed up cell turnover, which can initially bring clogged pores to the surface.
• The breakouts clear up within 4-6 weeks – Skin purging is temporary. If your skin improves after a month or so, your new product is likely working.

Signs Your Skin is Breaking Out

• Breakouts occur in new areas – If pimples are appearing in places where you don’t normally break out, your skin may be reacting negatively to the product.
• You’re using a product that doesn’t increase cell turnover – If your product doesn’t contain exfoliating ingredients or retinol then it’s unlikely your skin is purging. Instead, the product may be clogging your pores or causing irritation.
• The breakout worsens or persists beyond 6-8 weeks – Purging should resolve within a month or two. If breakouts continue or get worse, the product may not be right for your skin.

 

How Long Does Skin Purging Last?

The skin’s average cycle lasts about 30-40 days, meaning every month, a layer of your skin cells comes off and new cells are exposed on the surface. Everyone’s skin is a little different and the skin cycle tends to slow down as we get older. 

Purging with skincare products can last up to 4-6 weeks. If your skin is purging, the irritation will stop after that, as the clogged pores have had time to rise to the surface and clear out, leaving you with healthy, unclogged pores.

If your skin has shown irritation for longer than 6 weeks after starting a new product, you are most likely breaking out instead of  purging.

When to Be Concerned

If your skin is still purging after 10-12 weeks, you may want to seriously reconsider a product.  Here are the biggest signs that the product is causing more acne instead of purging: 

• Breakouts are appearing in new areas where you don’t usually get acne.
• Painful, cystic acne is developing instead of smaller whiteheads.
• Skin becomes excessively dry, flaky, or inflamed, which indicates irritation rather than purging.

What Do I Do If My Skin Is Purging?

If your skin is purging, you should stick with the new routine and or product that initially caused the purge. Use the product as directed and read the instructions carefully on the bottle or insert. 

Keep your skin barrier as healthy as possible during this stage by moisturizing daily with a gentle fragrance free moisturizer. 

If you are starting a product that increases skin turnover, it might be too irritating so you can also reduce usage to every other day to help your skin adjust to it.  

Remember that even if a product does have ingredients that increase skin cell turnover, it does not always mean the skin is purging.  Sometimes the product or other ingredients in the formula aren't suitable for your skin and may be too irritating and causing breakouts. 

Because of this, it is important to only try one new product at a time and give it the full time to work, so you can determine which products your skin responds well to, and which cause breakouts.

What Do I Do If My Skin Is Breaking Out?

1. Stop Using The New Product.  If your skin does not begin to improve after 8 weeks of using the new product, it is time to ditch that product. For one reason or another, that product is just not right for your skin and causing breakouts. 

2. Go back to your previous routine. Once you stop using that product, go back to your previous routine for at least a week.  This will give your skin time to return to normalcy and give you a baseline to start with a new product.

3. Use this simple routine to help with acne breakouts:  a routine to heal the skin barrier  includes cleansing in the morning and at night, avoiding overuse of spot/acne treatments, and using a good moisturizer full of antioxidants in the morning and night should help the breakouts subside. 

How Can You Treat Breakouts?

It's important to keep skin hydrated, exfoliate gently 1-3 times a week - start with something gentle!  With acne, we might think the highest % of an ingredient is better but a lot of times it can have the opposite effect and worsen acne.

Some natural ingredients you can try to help heal breakouts and reduce inflammation are: 

• Aloe Vera
• Green Tea
• Tumeric
• Witch Hazel

When you are breaking out, it can be tempting to pop pimples and zits that show up, but it is important to resist this temptation. Popping these zits can worsen acne and leave behind acne scars.

In general, use products that are right for your skin type. Dry skin types, for example, should use products that help soothe and moisturize the face and are usually fine with heavier products or oil containing products, while oily skin types should still hydrate but look for sebum controlling and water based products to add moisture back to skin.

With acne you may want to avoid oil based products to see if that helps too.  

Hopefully, now you're well-equipped to understand the difference between purging and breaking out.

If your breakouts are not getting any better, it is important to see a dermatologist to help decipher what your skin needs to see results.

 

 

 

References:

Adu, S., & Stylidou, D. (n.d.). Ask A Clinician: What Is Cellular Skincare? Skin and Me. Retrieved from Skin and Me

Sharma, M. B., Rani, M. N., Kumar, M. V., & Thakur, M. P. (n.d.). COSMETIC SCIENCES. Google Books.

 

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I first got acne in high school, and it came back in my early adulthood. I was able to struggle through those difficult times and come out of it a stronger, wiser, healthier person as a result. I'm here to help you do the same thing!

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