PROVEN Team
PROVEN Team includes Stanford scientists and dermatologists who combine their expertise with cutting-edge technology to bring you the best for your skin.
Skin purging: A Science Backed Approach
Can't tell if your skin is breaking out or purging? Science may have a solution. Read on to learn all about it.
Resource by: PROVEN Team
How To Tell If Your Skin is Purging or Breaking Out
There’s always that moment of panic when you look in the mirror and see blemishes all over your face. While you may automatically assume that these blemishes are caused by a regular breakout, that’s not necessarily the case! In fact, these blemishes could be caused by your skin purging itself of old cells to grow new and healthy ones.
Knowing and understanding your skin is a key component of treating it correctly. So, before you immediately lather your breakout with tons of topical products, here’s what you need to know about skin purging versus breakouts and how you can tell the difference.
With PROVEN's cutting AI technology, you can get personalized skincare solutions. Say hello to radiant skin today by taking the 3 minute quiz.
What is Purging and What Causes It?
Initially, skin purging may look like a regular breakout but it’s far from it! In fact, skin purging is actually a good thing. This is because skin purging occurs due to increased cell turnover from using products like retinols and acids that exfoliate the skin. As a result, all of the existing pore blockages come to the surface quickly and appear as blemishes.
But why does this happen? Think of purging as your skin clearing itself out and putting you on the path toward clear skin.
Once all the blockages come to the surface, your skin can develop clear and healthy skin cells in their place. These blockages can appear as a variety of blemishes including whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules, cysts, and pre-pimples underneath the skin. You may also experience dry skin and peeling skin during the purging process.
So even though purging may not be ideal, it’s temporary and should only last for about 28 days -- or two skin cycles.
What Are Breakouts and What Causes Them?
Breakouts, on the other hand, aren’t the result of increased skin cell turnover caused by exfoliating products. Instead, they are caused by pores and follicles that are clogged by oil, dirt, and dead skin cells.
Acne breakouts typically appear on the face, forehead, chest, upper back, and shoulders due to the high amount of sebaceous glands located in these areas.
These sebaceous glands produce oil, or sebum, that keeps your skin naturally hydrated. While this is definitely a necessary component of the skin, it can become problematic. This is because some people’s sebaceous glands produce more oil than others.
As a result, pores are more easily clogged and blemishes form more frequently. Different types of acne include: whiteheads, blackheads, papules, nodules, or cysts.
While acne breakouts are generally caused by oily skin, there are some things that could make you more prone to acne breakouts, including:
Hormones such as androgens can cause the skin to produce more oil and can lead to clogged pores. The production of androgens increases during puberty, which is why acne is commonly known as a teenage condition. That being said, acne can persist well into adulthood. In fact, other hormonal changes involving estrogen and progesterone during menstruation or menopause can also trigger acne breakouts.
Acne breakouts may also have a genetic connection. This is because skin type is also largely genetic, which means that if your parents dealt with acne breakouts as teenagers or adults, you’re more likely to deal with them as well.
If you’re experiencing new acne breakouts after beginning a new medication, this could actually be an unwanted side effect. This is especially true concerning medications containing corticosteroids, testosterone, and lithium.
While stress doesn’t directly cause acne, it can exacerbate the issue by affecting your body’s healing mechanisms and triggering cortisol production. As a result, your breakouts can last longer without healing while new breakouts are still coming to the surface.
Diet is another factor that doesn’t directly cause acne but can contribute to the problem. This is because your diet can affect your hormones, which in turn, affects acne. As a result, it’s recommended that you avoid greasy, fatty, and sugary foods while prioritizing healthier foods with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, healthy oils, and antioxidants.
Cosmetic products can contribute to acne issues due to thick consistencies that can easily clog pores and form blemishes. These products are known as “comedogenic” products.
How To Tell the Difference Between Purging and Breakouts
Purging and a regular breakout can look very similar. So, how can you tell the difference? Here are some signs to look for:
- If you’re experiencing blemishes after introducing a new product that exfoliates the skin, such as a retinol or an acid, then you’re likely experiencing a skin purge. On the other hand, if you’re experiencing blemishes after introducing a new product that could potentially clog the skin such as an oil or a sunscreen, you’re likely experiencing a regular breakout. Finally, if you’re experiencing blemishes despite no new additions to your regular skincare routine, then it’s likely just a breakout.
- If you’re experiencing blemishes in the same areas that you usually see them, then you’re likely experiencing a skin purge. Conversely, if you’re experiencing blemishes in new areas, then you could be experiencing a negative product reaction that’s causing a legitimate acne breakout.
- If your blemishes appear and disappear faster than normal, then you’re likely experiencing a purge. But if your blemishes are appearing and disappearing at a normal rate -- about eight to ten days, then you’re likely dealing with an acne breakout.
How To Manage Skin Purging
Even though purging skin may be considered a good thing, it doesn’t mean that you simply have to suffer through the process. In fact, there are things you can do to manage this process and help improve the appearance of purging-related breakouts.
Here are some steps that you can take to make the process easier on you and your skin:
- When introducing a new skincare product or developing a new skincare routine, you may want to ease your skin into it to manage purging. For example, start by using a new product once a week and slowly increase the frequency to a few times a week. Another example involves introducing one new product at a time so that your skin can slowly adjust to each new product rather than several all at once.
- No matter how tempting it is, do not pick or mess with the blemishes that appear on your skin during the purging process. This could only make the purging worse by spreading bacteria or lead to permanent acne scars that negatively affect your complexion. This can trigger more inflammation which can worsen redness and scarring.
- Avoid the use of drying agents while your skin is purging. Drying agents can cause dry, flaky skin on your face- causing your skin cells to produce more oil that can further exacerbate the purging process. As a result, stay away from exfoliating agents, including acids like salicylic acid which is commonly used as a remedy for blemishes.
How To Treat Acne Breakouts
While some tips for managing purging skin can also be applied to managing breakouts, there are some key differences:
- Similar to the skin purging process, avoid picking at, popping, or generally touching the breakouts on your face so that they can properly heal.
- Choose non-comedogenic cosmetics products that don’t clog pores to prevent the appearance of additional blemishes.
- Utilize topical skincare products with an effective active ingredient including benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, azelaic acid, and retinol.
Perhaps the best thing you can do to help fight acne breakouts is to implement a tailored and comprehensive skincare routine. If you’re struggling with acne, you need to use products that can help you address this issue with beneficial active ingredients. Furthermore, you need to incorporate beneficial skincare steps including cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing.
If you struggle with acne, cleansing is key. It’s recommended that you cleanse your face twice a day to get rid of dirt, oil, and sweat that can clog the pores and lead to blemishes. This in mind, exfoliating is still key to removing stubborn dead skin cells that can also clog the pores and contribute to breakouts. Finally, even though oily skin may seem sufficiently moisturized, those with oily and acne-prone skin still need to moisturize to help manage the production of oil on the skin.
Customized skincare for a clear and radiant complexion
Clearly, there are a lot of components involved in an effective anti-acne skincare routine -- but this doesn’t mean it has to be difficult!
In fact, PROVEN Skincare makes the process as easy as possible thanks to our Skincare Quiz. All you need to do is take an easy three-minute quiz regarding your skin to receive a custom formula that’s incorporated into a facial cleanser, daily moisturizer with SPF, and night cream.
From there, improving the appearance of your blemishes is easy thanks to your personalized three-step skincare routine. Purging and breaking out are two commonly confused skin conditions that require different treatments. While the skin purging process should largely be left alone, breakouts need to be effectively treated.
In any case, both of these two skin concerns can be addressed and remedied through the right skincare routine!
Here Is Why Personalized Skincare Is Better
Personalized skincare comes with a host of benefits
  |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Formulated and made-to-order for you | No | |
| Targeting your unique Acne needs | No | |
| Optimized for your lifestyle + environment | No | |
| Easy 3-step system for all your skin needs | No | |
| Made by Stanford scientists and AI tech | No |
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Proven co-founder, Dr. Amy Yuan, fixed her skincare woes by using her computer science background to analyze the effectiveness of more than 20,238 skincare ingredients, 100,000 products, 20 million testimonials, and more than 4,000 scientific journal articles. Now she is applying that to create the perfect skincare for you.
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