Forget what you\u2019ve been told about skin purging. It might not be pretty, but it\u2019s not necessarily your enemy either.\u00a0To clear things up, we went to those in-the-know (a research chemist and an\u00a0esthetician\u00a0who\u2019s been through it herself) for the facts. Heads-up:\u00a0Purging can actually be a good thing.\u00a0(*Faints.*)\u00a0Read on as they answer all our questions, from what does skin purging look like to why does it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before diving into what a skin purge looks like and what causes it, it’s important to know what the skin purging process really is.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSkin purging is your skin\u2019s reaction to being exfoliated<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0says Erica\u00a0Suppa, a research scientist formerly of GlaxoSmithKline, who is now a licensed\u00a0esthetician\u00a0and founder of\u00a0Fresh Faced\u00a0Skin Care<\/a>. \u201cWhen your top layer of dead skin cells dissolves away, it reveals your next layer in the epidermis, which reveals congestion that existed within your skin that you didn\u2019t realize was there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of the skin purging process and the accompanying acne breakout as the dead skin cells and debris beneath the skin\u2019s surface that’s coming out due to skin cell turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve tried a new moisturizer<\/a> and quickly\u00a0spotted a new\u00a0pimple,\u00a0it\u2019s probably not purging,\u201d\u00a0says Cassandra\u00a0Bankson, an esthetician, model and long-time acne sufferer who has garnered more than 2 million views on her YouTube real-talk video about acne<\/a>. A hormonal acne breakout or irritated skin caused by a new product could be mistaken for purging, especially if you have acne-prone skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Purging is a normal process when it comes to skin exfoliation. \u201cMostly chemical exfoliants<\/a>, such as\u00a0alpha hydroxy acids\u00a0(AHAs) and retinoids that stimulate cellular turnover. To a lesser extent, physical exfoliants<\/a>, such as facial scrubs can also stimulate purging,\u201d Suppa advises. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard to tell a purge from breakouts because they can look the same, though closer examination might reveal some key purging indicators. Suppa says, \u201cPurging will tend to appear more clustered and numerous, and often show up in areas of your face in which you\u2019ve never experienced breakouts before.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re truly trying to decide if you\u2019re breaking out or purging, speak with a dermatologist, because your skin\u2019s response to any product depends on your own genetic predisposition to conditions like acne and inflammation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not exactly. Bankson says, \u201cIt comes with a bad connotation, but if you\u2019re purging that means your skin cells are turning over faster. Waiting out that purging period means the product is working.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppa\u00a0notes that\u00a0purging\u00a0can help offset \u201cchronic breakouts for long periods of time.\u201d\u00a0So a little surface purging now could be\u00a0your\u00a0big breakthrough\u00a0to clearer skin<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI also recommend using sunscreen<\/a>,\u201d Suppa says. \u201cThis will help keep the leftover acne marks from staying on your skin longer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to remember that skin purging is a natural response. While there aren’t ways to completely prevent skin purging, there are some things we can do to minimize the effects of purging. Introducing one new skincare product at a time and giving it time to see results is important to minimize skin purging. Not packing on one acne treatment after another can also help prevent damaging your skin barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Purging is emotional and it hurts,\u201d\u00a0Bankson says.\u00a0\u201cBut learn this fast:\u00a0What you look like has no impact on how you can change this world.\u00a0You\u2019re not\u00a0broken,\u00a0and you don\u2019t need to be fixed.\u201d She also recommends empowering yourself with knowledge about ingredients and skin itself. \u201cStart treating skincare as selfcare!\u00a0Love all the things your skin does for you throughout the day.\u00a0You don\u2019t\u00a0have to\u00a0agree with what\u00a0your skin is\u00a0doing 100% of the time,\u00a0but you can find ways to appreciate all the ways it protects you.\u201d Forget what you\u2019ve been told about skin purging. It might not be pretty, but it\u2019s not necessarily your enemy either.\u00a0To clear things up, we went to those in-the-know (a research chemist and an\u00a0esthetician\u00a0who\u2019s been through it herself) for the facts. Heads-up:\u00a0Purging can actually be a good thing.\u00a0(*Faints.*)\u00a0Read on as they answer all our questions, from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-skin"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1654804055:21"],"_edit_last":["21"],"adobe_analytics_repeatable":["a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"value\";s:0:\"\";}}"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["4"],"primary_category":["5"],"_primary_category":["field_608c33bdd26d5"],"show_featured_image":["1"],"_show_featured_image":["field_609ee1cf1ce13"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["5"],"_thumbnail_id":["1179"],"post_views_count":["5058"],"mobile_image":[""],"_mobile_image":["field_60bf7692abe28"],"_post_views_count":["field_6107dfafd6a27"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Wondering what does skin purging look like and why it happens? Read on to learn more about this skin process"]},"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":{"primary_category":{"term_id":5,"name":"Skin","slug":"skin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":238,"filter":"raw"},"show_featured_image":true,"post_views_count":"5058","mobile_image":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1154"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4513,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions\/4513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What\u2019s not<\/em> skin purging? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn fact, your\u00a0skin has multiple\u00a0layers\u00a0and a pimple could be brewing under the skin long before you tried that new product,\u201d Bankson says.\u00a0\u201cAsk yourself questions to determine the breakout\u00a0culprit.\u00a0\u201cAre my\u00a0hormones going crazy? Am I drinking more dairy?\u00a0Or is this product speeding up my skin cell turnover and pushing\u00a0already-existing\u00a0debris to the surface?”<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat causes purging?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What does skin purging look like?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Purging is bad, right?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What about how purging makes me look and feel?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"