Which ingredients cause skin purging? It is usually triggered by active ingredients that are used to treat the acne. It gets worse before it gets better. Some of these ingredients are retinoids, vitamin C, AHAs and BHAs (glycolic, malic, lactic, and salicylic acid).
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.
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.
Other products that contain benzoyl peroxide [5], lactic acid, retinyl palmitate [6], retinol, tazarotene [7], vitamin C, glycolic acid and salicylic acid also cause skin purging. Chemical peel and laser treatments such as microdermabrasion are also known to produce a similar effect.
These “can cause an increase in skin cell turnover which can lead to purging—a breakout of spots in areas where you would normally get acne. However, hyaluronic acid does not increase skin cell turnover; it's purely a hydrating skincare ingredient.”
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.
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.
Skin purging happens when new ingredients, like retinol, promote increased cell turnover, which causes clogging and worsening breakouts. This is particularly the case as oil and debris that is trapped deeper underneath the skin comes to the surface.
By reinforcing the skin's protective barrier and balancing your skin's oils, these ingredients help to keep pores free of too many pimple-promoting components. Then, by further reducing the effects of toxins and environmental stressors niacinamide and zinc help foster healthier, less congested skin.
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.
These products are actually removing excess dead skin and oil (sebum) from the skin. Q. Does glycolic acid cause purging? Yes, glycolic acid can sometimes cause purging in acne prone skin.
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.”
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.
You can't speed the purge, but you can help make it tolerable. Four to six weeks may sound like a long time to wait for the skin of your dreams.
While retinol definitely gets a bad rap when it comes to skin purging, it's not the only culprit. "Any ingredients that cause cell turnover can cause purging, and that includes exfoliant acids like alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids," says Dr. Farber.
Purging is slightly different, appearing on the skin mostly as blackheads or small skin-coloured bumps just under the surface of the skin. But it is also possible for purging to cause similar spots to a breakout, too.
And two, that levels of zinc affected the severity of the acne inflammation. In other words, if you're low on zinc, there's a small chance it may play a role in having acne, but if you already have acne, not taking enough zinc will definitively make your acne inflammation much worse.
Some serums can be too oily, which can exacerbate bumps and cause excessive buildup in the pores; other serums may contain high amounts of acids or exfoliants that can irritate the skin and worsen the condition—especially if your skin is sensitive, she explains.
Some refer to this phenomenon as skin getting worse before it gets better. ... As salicylic acid penetrates the pore lining, it thins the thick, sticky oil (sebum) buildup as it loosens and reduces the size of clogs residing deeper in skin.
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).
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.
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!
Add in a dry environment and you may actually end up with dehydrated skin. In fact, excessive use of humectants, like hyaluronic acid, can worsen dry skin conditions. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) explains that, when your skin becomes dry, it actually produces more oil, which can lead to breakouts.