Skin Purge vs Skin Irritation
A skin purge is a common thing when starting a new product. Unfortunately, for some clients, so is a breakout. This can be very concerning when you don’t know the difference or what to look out for. When getting to the root cause of your breakout, you can consider the following factors.
What is a Skin Purge
Skin purging can be brought about by particular ingredients that have keratolytic activity on the skin, this is because they are gently resurfacing your skin and can bring about a temporary break out. When this is the case, then it’s worth pushing through the period of breakout as your skin is going to look much better after the purge is over. This can last 4-6 weeks until a full skin cycle has been completed.
What Ingredients Can Encourage a Skin Purge?
Any Retinoid (e.g Retinol, Retinyl Palmitate)
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (e.g Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Glycolic Acid, Mandelic Acid)
Enzymes (e.g Papain, Bromelain)
What Ingredients will NOT Encourage a Skin Purge?
Anti-Oxidants
Peptides
Growth Factors
Hyaluronic Acid
Ceramides
Niacinamide
What does a Skin Purge Look Like?
Skin purging usually looks like comedones and whiteheads. They may appear as small, red swollen bumps on your skin that are similar to what you could expect from a breakout.
Another factor to consider with a skin purge is the duration. As mentioned above, the purge should take 4-6 weeks. If this continues longer than that, it is a clear sign that your skin is not purging but reacting to the product.
A purge would typically happen in areas where you are prone to break out. If you are breaking out all over your cheeks and your forehead when you would normally only break out on your jaw line, it’s possible that it’s not a purge.
Also take into account what product you added to your skin routine. If it does not contain one of the ingredients mentioned above, it’s likely not a purge. It’s worth having your skin checked out by a skin care professional sooner rather than later. It’s also worth knowing that your skin can have a purge as well as a negative response to a product.
How to Treat Your Skin During a Purge
Continue your skin routine as normal being as gentle with the skin as possible. Whatever you do, do not pick at the skin as this could cause inflammation, scarring and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Soothing and hydrating products are recommended for a skin that is purging. DermaFix HydraSooth is recommended as it can help reduce inflammation and hydrate the skin without feeling too heavy on the skin. Always use your sunscreen, even when your skin is purging. DermaFix DermaShield SPF 40 SANS approved broad spectrum UVA/UVB/HEV light protection sunscreen is recommended.
What does a Negative Reaction to a Product Look Like?
An allergic reaction will look red, bumpy, scaly and they are classically itchy. This can occur all over the area treated. If you are noticing welts, redness or anything resembling a rash, this is likely not a purge.
Good quality cosmeceutical products are formulated with ingredients displaying low to no comedogenic rating. This means that the ingredients are not known to produce comedones on the skin and will not likely cause break outs.
If your skin doesn’t purge, that is not a sign that the product is not working for you. All skin is different and therefore all skin responses are going to be different. Make sure that you are following your DermaFix Accredited Skin Care Professional’s advice.
