Have you just started using a new product or a skincare routine that has promised to make your skin glow but has now made it worse? As a result, you now have sore skin and a deep hole in your pocket! This phenomenon is called skin purging. Skin purging, as horrific as it looks, is good for you. It’s a good sign that your skincare product is working.

What Is Skin Purging?

Skin purging refers to a reaction to a skincare product’s active ingredient, which increases the skin cell turnover rate a few days after using the new product. As a result, you’ll be shedding dead skin cells faster than usual. Unfortunately, this will make your skin look worse before it gets better. 

During this purging process, the pre-existing congestion (clogged pores) beneath the surface of your skin will rise to the surface.

All the acne that was to form gets activated faster than it usually would on its own. Remember that this acne would have made its way to your face with or without using the product, but it would have taken longer. So, purging removes all the nasty stuff from your skin at once, leaving only the good stuff behind. It is like a deep cleansing process.

What does skin purging look like?

Skin purging may vary from person to person and will depend on one’s skin tone. The skin gets tiny, red bumps that are painful when touched. In addition, a range of blackheads, pimples (with or without a yellow or white centre of pus), flaky skin, dry skin, peeling and whiteheads may appear, making the skin texture very rough to touch.

These flare-ups caused by purging have a shorter lifespan than a breakout. They tend to heal between 3-4 weeks, the time the skin takes to regenerate itself approximately every 28days or more for some people, unlike skin breakouts, which go on even after six weeks with no improvement. Therefore, they should heal much faster.

Skin purging also appears in areas where you frequently break out. If they appear in new places, then that is not purging. We suggest you see a dermatologist.

Purging also appears uniformly all over the face.

What should you not do when your skin is purging?

You may be tempted to stop using the product that caused your skin to purge in the first place, but refrain. The same ingredient that’s causing your skin to flare up with pimples is the one that’s treating your skin problems. So let it run its course.

When your skin is purging, it is at its most sensitive stage. But, unfortunately, you cannot stop this process. So it would be good if you were patient till it heals.

Another thing you shouldn’t do is pick at or pop your skin. The acne caused by purging is temporary, but picking at it might make the scars permanent.

Lastly, do not use too much makeup, as this can aggravate the situation when your skin is purging.

Skincare Ingredients That Can Cause Skin Purging

1. Retinoids
2. Beta-Hydroxy Acid (BHA) like Salicylic Acid
3. Glycolic Acid
4. Vitamin C
5. Chemical Peels
6. Benzoyl peroxide
7. Lactic Acid

To Wrap Up

There you have it. While skin purging and skin breakouts have similar symptoms, skin purging is temporary. It isn’t for the faint-hearted. When dealing with breakouts, flaking skin and dryness for several weeks isn’t desirable. Be patient and give your skin an extra boost of tender loving care. Although this may seem like some steps backwards on the road to glowing skin, do not throw in the towel! Your healthy glowing skin is right around the corner.

Worry no more. Remember, purging is a good sign that your skincare product is effective and that you are doing the right thing.