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.