Skin purging occurs because newly introduced skincare ingredients increase the rate at which your skin cells turnover, causing you to shed more dead skin cells than usual. This, in turn, pushes layers of dead skin off and also brings clogged pores to the surface, Chang says, resulting in more breakouts.
When you start a new skin care routine or you incorporate new products into your current regimen, you may experience breakouts or skin flaking. This process is sometimes called purging. This is a normal, short-term condition where the skin will rid itself of underlying oil, bacteria, or dirt, according to Dr.
Skin purging typically looks like tiny red bumps on the skin that are painful to touch. They are often accompanied by whiteheads or blackheads. It can also cause your skin to become flaky. The flare ups caused by purging have a shorter lifespan than a breakout.
Retinoids such as Tretinoin, acids such as salicylic, and benzoyl peroxide are just a few of the products that cause purging. These products contain active ingredients that increase the skin cell turnover rate, therefore causing your skin to purge.
How long does it take for skin to purge? Unfortunately, purging can be a lengthy process and it can take up to three or so months before results start to show, especially if the treatment is an acne medicated treatment.
Generally speaking, dermatologists say purging should be over within four to six weeks of starting a new skin care regimen. If your purge lasts longer than six weeks, consult your dermatologist. It could be that you need to adjust the dosage and/or frequency of application.
Purging is a sign that the product is working and you should continue with the treatment as prescribed. After a few weeks of purging, your skin and acne will have noticeably improved. Breaking out is when your skin is reacting because it is sensitive to something in the new product.
If you want to prevent skin purging or limit a purge's severity, make sure you introduce your new acne treatment products slowly into your routine. This is true of other skincare products for most skin conditions! Slow and steady usually wins the race.
How to treat skin purging. “If the skin barrier is compromised when you see purging then start ingredients which help with barrier repair, such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid in a non-comedogenic formulation. If you are using a treatment or product continue with a slower approach.”
A purge can last as long as two months, and you should start seeing an improvement by the six-week point, if not sooner. On the other side of a purge is cleaner, clearer skin!
Though some people do report experiencing irritation and breakouts after using the ingredient, niacinamide is unlikely to cause purging. That's because it doesn't affect the skin in a way that usually triggers purging.
Why do some people break out directly following a facial? During a facial, skin is well stimulated and much of what's below the surface is encouraged to come up and out. If extractions are not done well then pores and pimples may have left over debris that come to a head in the following days.
Skin purging is a process that happens when certain skincare ingredients increase skin cell turnover. This encourages shedding of old, dead cells and growth of new, healthy ones. Unfortunately, this process often makes the skin look worse before it looks better.
Unfortunately, when you first start using it, your acne may get worse before it gets better. Some of the more common side effects include dry skin and chapped lips. You may also have dry nasal passages, which can make your nose bleed.
You Breakout A Lot
This is also a common sign and goes in junction with clogged pores. If you find yourself breaking out a lot, that typically is a good sign that you're using too much moisturizer for your own good.
These unwanted effects — particularly skin dryness and acne breakouts — are widely referred to as the “tretinoin purge.” While they don't affect everyone, many tretinoin users experience some degree of purge effects during the first several weeks of treatment.
Here are the commonly used active ingredients and treatments that can amp up cell turnover and pave the way to skin purging: Acids - The most common acids that can cause skin purging are AHA's and BHA's, which include salicylic acid, malic acid, glycolic acid, and mandelic acid.
"Ideally the skin is smooth, supple, and uniform in color," Waldorf said. If your skin feels less bumpy, the size of your pores has been reduced, and you're noticing less marks, acne, and discoloration, your products are likely working.
It takes between 2-8 weeks for the skin to become acclimated to new skincare products, and only then can you start to see results. Initially you may notice a negative effect on your skin, such as dryness, redness and spots. This is part of the skin's natural purging process, and is completely normal.
Salicylic acid also improves the shape of the pore lining, and once the pore is normalized, the backed-up, smaller clog can more easily come to the surface, appearing as new clogged pores (blackheads or white bumps).
Retinoids, vitamin C, AHAs and BHAs (glycolic, malic, lactic, and salicylic acid) can also activate the skin's purging. Retinoids are the major ingredient that can cause Skin purging. Retinol is found in most of acne skin care products, is an active ingredient that is known to cause a skin purge.
Most niacinamide products also contain a variety of other ingredients. If any of these ingredients increase skin cell turnover then they may be behind any 'purging'. Some ingredients can also be 'comedogenic' which means that they are more likely to clog pores and cause breakouts.
It's purely a hydrating skincare ingredient that helps to increase the amount of water within your skin. If you have experienced a breakout after using a hyaluronic acid product, it is highly unlikely to be due to 'purging' unless the product also contains an AHA, BHA, or retinoid (e.g. retinol, retinaldehyde).
Over time, this phase will pass (for some, it may be one to two months, depending on the severity of your breakouts.) The most probable reason for the breakouts experienced after using a BHA is pure coincidence.
However, hyaluronic acid does not increase skin cell turnover; it's purely a hydrating skincare ingredient.” In short, hyaluronic acid isn't to blame for any breakouts. Just be mindful that some products containing HA may cause trouble for acne-prone skin.