What’s the deal with skin purging? A skin specialist weighs in
WORDS BY ELLA TAVERNER
“Though it seems a personal attack on both your face and wallet at the time, there is actually a method to your skin’s madness.”
If you’re a bit of a self-professed beauty maven like me, then I have no doubt you’ll resonate with this story. You’ve just purchased ludicrously exorbitant face cream encased in a fancy, frosted glass bottle. It’s sleek, it’s weighty, and (hopefully) full of the distilled essence of youth.
You furiously slather it all over your face, and head off to bed with a little more smugness than usual. You awake in the morning and head to the bathroom vanity with a little extra pep in your step. You open the cupboard mirror, only to be met with a cluster of pimples on your chin that seem to be mocking your failed attempt at achieving perfect skin. Sound familiar?
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Though it seems a personal attack on both your face and wallet at the time, there is actually a method to your skin’s madness. The response is called skin purging and despite what you might think, it’s not necessarily all bad. I spoke to Melbourne-based skin specialist Kelly Wilson of Loft Skin and Stuff to find out more.
What is skin purging?
“Skin purging is a temporary skin ‘response’ to when you are trialling a new product or changing anything in your skin routine,” explains Kelly. Not to be confused with a skin reaction, Kelly says it’s important to remember purging is temporary (think two to eight weeks) and actually pretty common.
To get a little more technical and flash my scientific prowess, the purging response is caused by accelerated skin cell turnover, which often leads to faster expulsion of impurities and dead skin cells. Though there are a number of products that can cause this response, Kelly explains “adding something more potent or active in the routine will cause the skin to respond, and respond quickly”. She mentions the most common culprits are those with a highly-active nature like vitamin C, vitamin A, AHAs and BHAs.
As someone who has spent too much time playing mixologist when it comes to skincare, over time I’ve learnt (the hard way) to distinguish skin purging from a regular hormonal breakout. As Kelly puts it, “Pimples relating to a skin purge will usually pop up quicker and typically won’t linger as long as a normal breakout”. They’ll also often appear in areas with more underlying congestion, meaning deeper blockages that you can often feel but not see.
So, how do you treat skin purging?
First and foremost, Kelly maintains “If you’re seeing extra pimples, you treat them as you would any normal pimple”. And no, that doesn’t mean picking until it takes up permanent residency on your chin. Instead, Kelly recommends a completely hands-off approach, while rotating between a spot treatment or a gentle clay mask.
“I love the MV Skin Therapy Signature Mask. It will help to gently detoxify, but also ease redness and inflammation.” That said, maintaining a thorough cleansing routine in both the morning and evening is super important, as well as ensuring you properly remove any makeup. Incorporating supplements into your routine can also be a great way to support skin health. The Multivitamin Beauty Complex from Swisse is a favourite of mine.
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Although there aren’t any hardline products to avoid when going through a purging period, Kelly insists that slow and steady is the best approach. “Going overboard and changing everything all at once, or adding several new active ingredients won’t feel good for your skin.”
And as tempting as it may be to counteract the redness with an abundance of flashy ointments, “You want to ensure the products and ingredients that you are adding are actually suited to you”. This is where the expert knowledge of a friendly neighbourhood facialist can help in understanding the action of each product and ingredient, to ensure you know what to expect of your skin.
Can I prevent skin purging?
Unfortunately for any skincare enthusiast out there, skin purging is sometimes unavoidable. There are, however, a number of steps you can put in place to decrease the likelihood of a purge. Firstly, understand what you are using and why.
“Be cautious of the other ingredients or products you are using in conjunction with the new product. You don’t want to be mixing too many actives to begin with,” Kelly advises. “If you’re adding something new, build up the use slowly, start with every second or third day for around two weeks before moving to daily use.”
And, not to sound like a broken record, but slow and steady! Also, Kelly states, “Pimples don’t necessarily mean bad news, they can also mean your skin is getting rid of the bad stuff!” So be patient, be gentle with yourself and don’t throw out those products too quickly.
For more skincare tips and advice, head to Kelly’s page here.
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