How to tell if your skin is purging or breaking out

Have you used a skincare product with the hopes that it treats your acne and gets rid of the dark marks left behind, only to be presented with skin much worse than you ever anticipated? Well, either of two things could be responsible for this. Your skin is either purging or breaking out.

If you would like to know how to tell if your skin is purging or breaking out then,

Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or something… and let’s dive in

This post contains affiliate links, we earn a commission when you purchase through these links at no additional cost to you.

Table of Contents

How to Tell if Your Skin is Purging or Breaking Out

A skin purge is the better of the two, while they can both be annoying, a skin purge is rather a good sign. It shows that the product is doing what it was meant to do.

A skin purge occurs when skincare ingredients that encourage faster cell turnover cause clogged pores and gunk underneath the surface to work their way up to the surface.

A breakout on other hand is a different issue. This is a normal process if your acne-prone or an adverse reaction to products that don’t go well with your skin and this commonly leads to skin sensitivity.

7 signs of skin sensitivity you should know about

What Ingredients cause Purging?

Like I stated above, your skin will experience a purge when you introduce skincare products with ingredients that either increase cell turnover rate or cause exfoliation.

Examples of such ingredients are Retinoids, Alpha-hydroxy acids(AHA) like glycolic acid, lactic acid, and mandelic acid, and Beta-hydroxy acids(BHA) like salicylic acid are notorious for this. Others are benzoyl peroxide, vitamin C, and exfoliating procedures like microdermabrasion and laser.

How to pick the right retinoid for your skin concern

What does Skin Purging Look Like?

A skin purge many times looks like your usual type of breakout. These breakouts would have made their way up eventually.

Some may have as mild as whiteheads and blackheads, some papules and pustules, while others may have a mix of these.

Breakouts from irritation often are more of tiny itchy rashes that cause a burning sensation.

Is your Skin Purging or Breaking Out?

Now at face value, a skin purge may look similar to a breakout and you may get yourself all worked up trying to figure out which you are having. Though with subtle differences between the two, you can tell which is which in three ways

A) The Location of the Breakout

The average time it takes the skin to complete a cycle is approximately 28 days. Let’s say you start using a skincare product that speeds this rate up. Now instead of the usual 28 days, your skin begins to turn over more quickly than it usually does.

This brings the micro-comedones(baby acne) to the surface. Since this is a normal process being sped up, you tend to purge around areas you are more acne-prone. While a breakout from irritation is more widespread but worse around delicate areas like around the eyes, nose, and corners of the mouth.

B) Duration of the breakout

The duration can also give pointers to the cause. A purge will typically last for about 4-6 weeks. While this is the expected time, yours could last longer. That was my experience when I introduced a retinoid to my skincare routine the very first time. Mine lasted for about 10 weeks. Breakouts don’t usually have a duration they continue for a long time until your acne or irritation is under control

C) Did You Introduce a New Skincare Product

If the breakouts started a few days after introducing a new product that doesn’t contain any of the above-mentioned ingredients then it could probably be an irritation. In reverse, if the breakouts occurred after the addition of these ingredients, then it’s a purge.

How to Prevent Skin Purging

Experiencing a purge is almost inevitable with many skin actives, so rather than hit a dead horse let’s see how we can make this period bearable at best.

When introducing new products into your skincare routine helps to start slow. Some of these ingredients can be downright irritating. When you introduce them gradually, the skin learns to handle it slowly as well. So rather than using a new product every day, start with once a week for the first two weeks and then to twice a week, then to every other day.
Start with lower concentrations of skin actives and increase as you go. With retinoids for example it is always best to start with the least concentration there is.
Opt for more gentle alternatives of the skincare ingredient you wish to incorporate. Ingredients like L-ascorbic acid which is the purest form of vitamin C are very beneficial but can be too much for some skin types. Opt for milder forms like ascorbyl glucoside instead. The same applies to retinoids, use milder alternatives like retinyl palmitate and retinol rather than going straight to tretinoin which is the gold standard when you are brand new to retinoids.

Avoid using too many of these skin actives at the same time. Remember asides from these products causing a purge, they can be very drying. Using them together will cause severe dryness and flaking.

How to Treat Skin Purging

Now the purge is on and it’s driving you nuts. What do you do?

Wash your face with a very mild cleanser during this period, you don’t want to use products that contain drying ingredients.
Applying a moisturizer daily is key, this combats the dryness usually associated with most skin actives.
Reduce the frequency of application of the skin product

Avoid popping the breakouts as this can introduce bacteria, leave annoying scars and worsen the condition Period.
You could use soothing products that contain Niacinamide and Centella Asiatica to calm the skin.

I hope this video has helped to clarify the difference between the two. See you soon.