What is purging? Myths and truths

Hi, everyone. First off, sorry for my long hiatus from blogging, and I am so sorry if I have ignored your emails and comments. My email account that was associated with this blog has been hacked, and it has taken me this long to recover the email address, and to continue posting. I will try to improve my email security in the future so that this do not happen again. I have attended a few beauty seminars in Korean and Japan, and met with a few renowned skincare experts there. I couldn't stop nagging them with a lot of different questions, and I am bursting to share the new information with you! In addition, I have also tried a lot of new products, some of which are just genius/wonderful, and I really want to share all the reviews with you. 
One of the questions I get asked most often is whether breakouts after initially switching to a new product is "purging, and how long "purging" is supposed to last. I feel that purging is one of the most confusing skincare concepts, and often misused by sales assistants to persuade you to stick with a product that do not work. In this article, I wanted to share a few facts about purging to help you: 1. recognize purging; 2. know when to expect purging; and 3. debunk all the myths of purging. 


What is purging?: Purging, by definition, means the skin's action of getting rid of excess sebum or "gunk" in the skin, generally through the process of breaking out. Many people allege that they experience purging when they try a new product that causes breakouts initially, but works well eventually without causing further breakouts. However, not all of those reactions are actually purging. Sometimes, the initial breakouts experienced when trying new products may indeed be the new products working to rid the skin of all the "gunk", before making skin better; however, other times, the initial breakouts may just be the skin's way of getting used to the new products.


Differentiating between purging and skin's initial adjustment period to a product: As mentioned before, there are two main reasons why a new product would cause breakouts on the skin initially, but stop causing breakouts after some time of continued use: purging and reactive skin. Purging occurs usually when someone uses a product that is supposed to help with acne, generally cleansers, exfoliants, and other topical acne medications (such as salicylic acid, retin-a/tretinoin, and benzoyl peroxide). The product may work by first lifting the impurities from the skin, such as the gunk in clogged pores. Sometimes, the gunk comes out easily, while other times, the gunk may have a difficult time being expelled from your pores, causing a whitehead or a inflammatory pimple. This is not really supposed to happen with non-medicated moisturizers or foundations. 


Reactive skin also causes breakouts (as well as maybe red patches or other symptoms) when you first start using a product, and the breakouts may or may not subside after a time. This is because some of us has skin that is rather sensitive and reactive, especially those of us using acne or other topical medications that thins the top layer of skin (such as benzoyl peroxide). The thinner the top layer of your skin is, the more you may be prone to sensitive or allergic reactions to a product. Unlike purging, reactive skin can occur with a full range of skincare and facial makeup products, from cleansers to concealers. 


What products generally cause purging: Products that are most prone to causing purging are products containing topical acne medications and products that are supposed to help with acne. Some examples are a new scrub, a new toner containing salicylic acid, and a new moisturizer containing benzoyl peroxide. Do not stop using a product simply because you are purging. Once the purging period is over, you may (or may not) receive the clearer skin the product promises. 

How long to expect purging to last: This is a really hard question and differs from person to person. It depends on how fast your skin reacts, and also, how serious your acne was before you started the new product. For example, a person who had a full face of clogged pores may experience more purging than a person only suffering from a blackhead on the side of his/her nose.


How long to expect reactive skin to last: This also differs from person to person, depending on the sensitivity of your skin and the products you are trying. I sometimes experience no reactions from new products, sometimes I experience one single breakout, and sometimes, I may have to wait for 2 months before a product starts working for me without causing trouble. 

Am I purging or having reactive skin or is this product simply causing me to break out?: As mentioned before, the type of product you are experiencing with gives a clue about whether you may be experiencing purging. It is more difficult to differentiate between reactive skin and simply breaking out. For a lot of people, this simply turns into a waiting game to see if their skin bounces back after a time. 
Sometimes, you may be able to tell based on your skin's past reactions. For example, if I am reacting to a product, I would generally experience inflamed pimples. If a product is simply too rich for my skin, I would see whiteheads and clogged pores. And if I were purging, I would see whiteheads and some inflamed pimples where clogged pores used to be. 

How to reduce the symptoms of purging and reactive skin:  There is no way to skip right through the purging or reactive skin phase, but you can make the symptoms milder by easing in a new product. When I start using new products, I never start using a few new products all at once. I ease them into my routine one by one. I generally experience the least reactions this way, and also, if a product were causing me trouble, it is easy to pinpoint which product it is. I also start using a product very slowly. For example, if I were trying to introduce a new cleanser into my routine, I would substitute it for my original cleanser twice a week or begin with, and slowly increase the frequencies until it completely replaces my original cleanser. 

Skincare and Beauty Product Expectations

If you are a beauty junkie like me, you have likely tried many many different skincare products in your life time. You have products that you genuinely like, but you may decide to switch when the next new and great things come along, ignoring principles like "If it ain't broken, don't fix it". Sometimes, after spending a lot on the new products, you suddenly discover that it is nothing special, and did not deliver the results it promised, or horror of horrors, it made your skin worse. Do not return, throw away, or generally dispose of that product yet! One question we need to ask ourselves before deciding to give up on another product is: Have I given it enough time to work? In this article, I will answer a few FAQs about using new skincare products, and share the "product trying timelines" I use for each different type of product.



Why your skin may appear worse when you first start a new product: I get a lot of emails with different variations of this question, generally saying "I have just started using XYZ product, it does not seem to be working for my skin. My skin has become (insert symptom, including dehydrated, oily, rough, dull, broken out)." I am very sympathetic to the difficult phase of when one tries a new product, so I would like to share the answer with all of you:
Your skin may appear worse because you have stopped using a product that has been working for you, and started a new one whose benefits has yet to kick in. I realize that many products promise permanent results, but the fact is, the results you receive from most beauty products begin to diminish as your use of the product ceases (with anti-aging products being an exception). However, keep in mind that if you experience worse skin, the symptoms should intensify during the first few days of trying a new product, rather than popping up the very day of trying a new product (with the exception of acne in reactive skins). For example, skin may become rougher and duller because your previous skincare products contains acids or other forms of chemical exfoliants, but it will happen in the span of around 3 days to a week.
Cleansers: If all you were expecting from a cleanser is to get your skin clean, you can expect the cleanser to work right away if it is going to work. However, if you are expecting anti-aging or acne-reduction benefits from your cleanser, please follow the guidelines below for that specific category.

Exfoliants: You should see softer and more glowy skin right away. However, full benefits should occur after half a month to a month of consistently using the product. If your skin appeared to be red and irritated (especially from a chemical exfoliant), your skin may become more used to an exfoliant after a period of use (ranging from a week to as long as 6 months). However, the most discomfort you should experience is flakiness or a burning sensation. Anything more than that would mean that you are allergic to the product, and therefore, you should discontinue use.

Moisturizers: If all you were expecting from a moisturizer is higher levels of hydration, you should see some benefits right away or several hours after application, with full benefits following after around 1.5 months of use. If you want brightening, anti-acne, or anti-aging, please follow the guidelines below for that specific category.

Anti-Aging Products: Anti-aging serums are an entirely different matter. By anti-aging, we mean age-prevention, which category generally consists of antioxidants and sunscreen/sunblocks. You are not supposed to see a lot of results from anti-aging serums because their effects are meant to be seen in the future. Therefore, unfortunately, you have to be very very careful in choosing products in this category, because you cannot use your skin's reaction as a guide to how well the product is functioning. I will do two articles on antioxidants, and sunscreen filters in the near future. However, some people do see some benefits from anti-aging products, such as plumper skin, or most frequently more radiant skin. This is because some antioxidants can repair some damages done to your skin in a very short period of time prior to using them.

Anti-Acne Products:  Anti-Acne products are by far the most tricky, probably because acne is a tricky condition by itself. Many times, you may see your skin become worse before it gets better in this category of products, because some anti-acne products may bring to surface all the pimples that are forming deep in your skin, this is often called "surging". This type of products may take from 1 day to 6 months to work. However, you should be able to see a lessening of "bumps" on the skin, otherwise known as clogged pores. 


Skin Plumping Products: This really varies by the type of product. For some products, you can see results from the first day, and for others, you can see results after a few months. It is best to ask the person you are buying the products from if they are the "authorized sellers". However, it should take at least 1.5 months for full benefits to develop for this type of products. I must also admit that skin-plumping products is not my "area of expertise", so I cannot go deeper into this type of products.

Skin Tone Improvement Products: This is also a tricky category. It is generally hard to see an effect after the first use, and many people become discouraged easily. I tend to allow for 1.5 months in order to see some slight slight improvements (unless the product promises otherwise), and if I see no benefits, I generally discontinue use unless I'm also using it for some other benefits.
Makeup: For makeup, of course, you should see benefits right away, unless you are expecting some skincare benefits from those makeup. "Makeup" benefits are defined as immediate benefits that can get washed away, and "skincare" benefits are defined as long-term improvements that will persist.

If you have sensitive or reactive skin: It is common to experience surge of pimples or redness when first using the product. However, be careful to avoid products that cause clogged pores, which generally show up as flesh colored bumps on your skin that is not inflamed, because clogged pores are not caused by the initial adjustment period. They are caused by heavy ingredients in the product incompatible with your skin type.

"It gets worse before it gets better products": There are a few categories of products that may make your skin get worse before it gets better. Generally anti-acne and exfoliants. One of the most famous/notable products in this category is Retin-A. It is a retinoid, and is used for acne, but it is also the only FDA-approved ingredients that reduces wrinkles. It may sound like a magical product, but in the beginning stages, many people experience acne, red, scaly, flaky, peeling skin.

Allergies: Do not mistake an allergic reaction to some products as the harmless initial reactions that will go away. You know your skin best, so you should be able to tell what types of allergic symptoms you are prone to. However, as a general rule of thumb, unless you are experiencing pimples, you should generally check whether you are allergic through googling or consulting your physician/dermatologist.

My recipes for strawberry yogurt mask--with variations for different skin types

In my last post, I promised to share my recipe of strawberry yogurt mask, which replaced laneige strawberry yogurt pack for me. I am aware that there are many versions of strawberry yogurt masks online, and that it is hard to say that my version is original. So let's just say that this is my version of the recipe that I got from my mother, and later modified after asking my Korean derm for some suggestions. I have made different versions for different skin types as gifts to my cousins and friends, so I will include different recipes for dry skin, oily skin, combo skin and normal skin. However, I myself have only used the recipe for combo skin. All four recipes are considered to be good for acne-prone and sensitive skin types. Please read on for the recipes


First off, I should mention the benefits of those strawberry yogurt masks, and I will elaborate on the benefits of each variation of the masks as we go along.

Strawberry: Strawberries is a natural source of salicylic acid, which is considered to be a BHA. Salicylic acid is oil soluble, which means that it can penetrate into the pores and dissolve the gunks and clogs caused by sebum over production. This is especially good for acne-prone skin.
In addition, strawberries contain a slew of antioxidants as well as many vitamins, which should give the skin a glow after washing it off.

Yogurt: Yogurt has anti-bacterial because it contains lots of yeast, which helps dry out acne and help prevent potential acne. Yogurt is also very soothing for skin, which soothes breakouts. It has often been said that yogurt bleaches skin. This is because to some degree, the soothing abilities of yogurt repair sun damage, so if your skin is tanned from the sun, it might become a little whiter with the constant use of yogurt masks. However, I have not seen much of a difference since I'm naturally very fair and adore sunscreen so much that I do not think I have tanned from the sun.


Combination Skin:


Ingredients: two tablespoons of honey, two strawberries, and 1 cup white yogurt (I do use store bought strawberry yogurt when in a hurry, however, making your own with strawberries and plain yogurt is still recommended)

Benefits: Honey is a great humectant, which means that it helps skin retain moisture, enough though it may not moisturize a lot by itself. I think it is especially good for combination skin because it helps the skin retain moisture where it needs it the most.
Honey also has great antibacterial abilities, which is especially good for reducing acne.
In addition, honey is sticky, which I've found to be good for reducing clogged pores, because it really does stick to the gunk in the pores and bring them out


Instructions: 
1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Then I add my two tablespoons of honey into the mixture and keep blending. My mother likes to heat the honey before adding it because she believes it blends better that way. I just add the honey without heating because I'm lazy. :P
3. After blending thoroughly, I like the put the mixture in the fridge to cool it so that when I apply it, it feels cold and soothing. :)

When you feel like it (I do this after exfoliation), apply the mask onto your face, and rinse off after the mask has somewhat dried, or after 30 minutes.



Oily Skin:


Ingredients: Two eggs whites, two strawberries and 1 cup of plain yogurt.

Benefits: Eggs are very soothing for skin. For centuries in Asia, people would use the egg whites to soothe bruised and swollen skin, and puffy eyes. Egg whites also help maintain the right sebum balance in skin, which helps reduce oily skin. In addition, egg whites also help tighten skin.
Egg yolks are great for moisturization and revitalizing tired skin. However, we will not use the egg yolks in this mask. You could eat them or use them for a hand treatment like I do. I mix them with olive oil (or your choice of oil) as a mask for my hands, and seal with some thick cream like vaseline, then cover with plastic gloves.

Instructions: 
1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Then crack the eggs and pour the egg whites into a bowl. Beat the eggs until they are foamy and frothy.
3. Add the egg whites and the strawberry yogurt blend together. Blend them until even.
4. Cool in the fridge.
5. Apply on face and leave on for 20 minutes. Try not to move facial muscles during this time.


Dry Skin:


Ingredients: Two tablespoons of jojoba oil or olive oil (or your choice of an oil that does not irritate your skin. This is very different for all people. OR if you cannot stand all oils, substitute with half of a ripe avocado), two strawberries, and 1 cup of yogurt.

Benefits: Olive oils (or most oils derived from nuts) and avocados are great in their moisturizing abilities because they contain lots of essential fatty acids. In addition, they contain great antioxidants which are good for anti-aging and correcting sun-damage or damage from free radicals.

Instructions: 1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Add the olive oil or your choice of oil. OR if you decided to use the avocado, mash the avocado. Blend with the strawberry yogurt mixture.
3. Cool in the fridge.
4. Apply on face and leave on for 20 minutes.


Normal Skin:
Ingredients: Two strawberries and 1 cup of yogurt.

Benefits: If you have normal skin, lucky you! This is the simplest of the masks. As stated before, both strawberries and yogurt have anti-bacterial abilities, helps unclog pores, soothes skin and prevents acne.

Instructions: 1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Cool in the fridge
3. Apply on face and leave on for 20 minutes

NOTES: I have not mentioned what kind of yogurt I use. I personally use full fat plain yogurt (organic when possible) 

Update for going off Benzoyl Perxoide--a month later

I'm still in Korea, still with little time to post, but I just wanted to share my progress on going off Benzoyl Perxode with you, since a lot of people emailed me about it. You can see the original post here
I would like to stress once again that the fact I get post inflammatory hyperpimentation from benzoyl peroxide may not be a universal experience, but I think a lot of people experience it since 90% of my friends who went on benzoyl peroxde reported the same to me. Secondly, I do put on sunscreen while using benzoyl peroxide, since I use sunscreen religiously anyway. Thirdly, I'm not on any birth control pills or any other things that is prone to cause hyperpigmentation.
Okay, now that that's clear, I would really like to share my progress with you! :)
When I posted last time, I got mostly clear skin, but now my skin is even clearer, kind of similar to when I was using benzoyl peroxide. When I am really stressed out or stay up late for several nights in succession, I would get breakouts (which I also did while on benzoyl peroxide), but the breakouts would be about 1.5 more than when I was on benzoyl peroxide. The happy news, however, my skin is finally able to let all the acne mark traces fade within 5 days. For example, I got a big pimple three days ago, while staying up for another board meeting, and now you can't really detect it. I hope that by tomorrow morning, no traces of it will be left.
I also experienced some other things while going off benzoyl peroxide, but I wasn't sure that it was purely coincidental. However, now after I asked several of my other friends who are also trying to go off benzoyl peroxide, they told me the same thing: hands and necks, which touched benzoyl peroxide before seems to be much more acne prone for a month. I got those tiny tiny white heads on my hand even though I never did before. It wasn't a lot or really gross or anything, just bizarre. :)

Oh, and in my last post, I teased you with the promise that I got of lot of stuff in a neighboring country, that country is Japan! I got a lot of skincare items, sekkiso, horse oil, sofina jenne, curel, etc. :) I'll be reviewing them soon! Japan also has a lot of very very exciting makeup that I want to share with you too.
The upsetting part is that I feel so old when I was in Japan...I don't know why since I'm probably one of the youngest in my firm. I think maybe the mini skirts, cute hairstyles, and kawaii tops got to me...I was wearing this boring business suit while girls around me are so flamboyant, even the few business associates I met with! I have undyed waist long black hair which is un-banged, unlayered. At worst, people say my hairstyle is archaic, and at best, classic...This business associate I met with insisted on introducing me to her stylist, and she had quite fashionable red tinted blond hair with long layers, and cute bangs. I was really tempted to have her go at it, but when she told me I should have shoulder length hair, I found an excuse to say that I have to go, etc And so I dragged this friendly associate with me to the department stores to do a lot of shopping! :)

How to go off Benzoyl Peroxide and why I did it?

You must be surprised to see this cleanser on my blog, since I rarely use any American products, and when I do, it's mostly cosmetics, but I actually have used this cleanser for more than 2 years, and have just stopped  using this recently. NOTE: I'm writing this article as a tip for how to go off on benzoyl peroxide cleansers in general, not just this cleanser, but I'm using this as a specific example.
Why I started using this product: Call me stupid or short sighted, but in my teenage years, I was really bothered by the few pimples that I had (which come to think of it, wasn't really a lot, around 3 or 4 weekly). I found this while going grocery shopping with my mother, and then went home to check on the reviews. I told my mother I wanted to add this item to my skincare, and she tried to persuade me against it. She told me that it is true that this product will give me clearer skin but at a cost, that benzoyl peroxide will dry out my skin and age it in the long run. I was young then, and asked her simply "how much would it age me? Would I be getting wrinkles prematurely? By how many years?" My mother said perhaps 2 to 3 years. At that time, I thought why not? I can have truly clear skin for a long time at the cost of getting wrinkles 2 to 3 years earlier.

What this product did to me: Since I'm writing a tutorial on how to stop using similar cleansers, you must think that I hate hate this product and it's horrible. The fact is, I can't really hate it. It did everything it promised to do: cleanse your face and stop acne. But then, it did not say what it might cause: hyperpigmentation. When I first started using this product, I enjoyed perfect skin for 3 months. Then I got a huge pimple on my cheek. I tried to get it to go away quickly, but it wouldn't. It stayed on my cheek for a whole week, and when it finally began to get smaller, I found that it's leaving behind quite a dark purplish red mark. I was horrified. I had pimples before, but when they are gone, they are gone.... A month passed with no incidents, while I tried to fade the mark, and then I one day tried on a base makeup product. I felt my face gone itchy and red that afternoon, and developed pimples the next day. A week later, those pimples left more marks. For a while, I was obsessed with finding a solution to fade hyperpigmentation, and was really tempted to try hydroquine even though I know it would cause more trouble for me in the future. I ended up using natural remedies: yogurt masks, honey masks and sticking to my skincare. Half a year later, the marks faded. For two years, I never suspected this product was the culprit. Last summer, I was bitten by a mosquito, and someone told me that using this wash to wash the affected area will numb me from itching. It did, but I found that the mosquito bites took a month to fade, whereas it usually take three days, and I still have some hyperpigmentation from the spots left on my arms.

How I discovered this was the culprit: I was on a trip and I forgot to bring this cleanser. I went to Yosemite falls the first few days and couldn't find a drugstore for miles, so I just used another cleanser. I wanted to buy another tube of this as soon as I get out of Yosemite falls, but when I only got a few whiteheads that disappeared the next day, I thought I'd wait till I get home. That was still a lot for me, since while using this cleanser, I rarely got pimples at all, maybe monthly. But I managed to persevere. Miraculously, the pimples I got that week didn't leave marks on me at all and got better the next day usually. I thought about it: either it was the California climate, the stress free life, or the wash. I decided it was the wash, and decided to eliminate it from my regimen.

Why? How does this work?: First off, BP is a really effective over the counter acne medication because it kills the P-bacteria that causes acne. Salycic Acid also works, but is less effective and more gentle in my experience, since it is basically a chemical exoliant. Now, why did BP do this to my skin? Apparently, BP generates free radicals which harms skin, and slows down the healing process of the skin. It may reduce collagen production in rare cases, which is why it might cause premature aging. The reason that my pimples last longer and leave hyperpigmentation is simply because this medicine makes them take longer to heal.
Now the main course: How to go off a cleanser with BP:When I got back from the trip, I decided to go back on to the cleanser, and slowly ease off it, in order to get less pimples (I was optimistic and thought that I was getting one or two pimples a day on that trip because I went off BP too suddenly). And I was right. I was using it once a day at night for two years, so I gradually started using it every other day. I got a few whiteheads at first, so I waited and waited till my skin adjusted and is pretty clear before I started lessening the use of the cleanser again. (btw, it took 2 weeks for my skin to really get used to using this every other day, but I continued doing this for 2 months just to be safe). Then I started using this once every three days, which lasted for 2 weeks, and then once every 4 days. I wanted to gradually increase to once a week, and then once a month before completely going off it, but on my trip to Korea this time, I forgot to pack this cleanser, and harsh cleansers like this are really hard to find in Korea. So I thought never mind. I got 2 to 3 whiteheads a day for the first few days, but now I'm mostly clear (I haven't had any new breakouts for 48 hours, and my old breakouts are clear). My face is pretty clear except for those hyperpigmentation I had from this cleanser before.
Oh, and another tip is to exfoliate more often. You technically don't need to exfoliate while using cleansers with BP, because it peels off skin for you anyway, so when trying to go off it, you need to exfoliate more. When I was using it once every two weeks, I exfoliated once a week, and now that I'm completely off it, I exfoliate twice a week or three times every two weeks.
Drinking a lot of great green tea from Korea might have also helped. My coworkers here are very friendly, and one gifted me with a generous case of green tea (the best tea in Korea and China are usually not placed in tea bags). The quality is quite similar to the tea my grandmother send me every year, which should be of the top quality, since she pick only the tips of leaves by hand on our relative's tea farm in Southern China.

Footnote: What I write here is my own experience, benzoyl peroxide might work excellently for you, and if it does, please do not discontinue use because of my article.