"Purging"... is it REAL or MYTH.

Jun 2, 2015

Christin B.

I'm always hearing about it from others thatve heard about it.
WHO has actually had experience with it? Like successfully or unsuccessfully. Thanks!!

Jun 2, 2015

Shanae J.

It's real! The only person who comes to mind is a female named Jacqlyn on here! Hopefully she comments on this thread!

Jun 2, 2015

Traci P.

My skin went through a purging phase when I started using a bha exfoliant with my skincare routine. For me it was about 3-4 weeks of continued use and seeing things getting worse before they got any better. Now my skin is very happy and I have only been breaking out a tiny bit around my monthly cycle, compared to before when it was a constant breakout that never really cleared up. So in my opinion the purging phase is real.

Jun 2, 2015

Shelley W.

If you're referring to skin purging...some folks think its a myth my experience is that it does occur. There are even family members in the skin profession that have conflicting opinions on the topic. My personal experience has been this...use a new product...especially those containing powerful active ingredients...my skin will push up all kinds of yuckiness in the first few days of use. After about a week the skin clears up and looks as if nothing ever happened.

Jun 2, 2015

Leslie N.

I defiantly experienced it on Accutane. It was terrible but now my face is near to acne-free.

Jun 2, 2015

Alexis C.

I experienced a bit of purging when I started using my Clarisonic so I definitely think it's real. My skin (mainly my chin) freaked out when I started using the Clarisonic but the breakouts cleared up so quickly as I continued to use it (:

Jun 2, 2015

Sarah N.

I am with Shelley on this. In general, yes it's a real thing in my opinion. However I have many clients who think anytime they breakout with use of a new product it's their skin purging & that's not always the case. Not just any product can cause purging, products with active ingredients can cause purge

Jun 2, 2015

Sarah N.

Imo, products that don't accelerate skin cell turnover (products without active ingredients aha,bha, retinoids) can't cause a true skin purge. a clarisonic would not be able to cause a true purge.

Jun 2, 2015

Kitty K.

I've had my skin purge with use of active ingredients...
AHA's, BHA's especially can create a nice purge. Haven't had any kind of purging when using my Foreo Luna, though.

I would check out this article on skin reactions, it provides some great information on.
http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/skin-care-basics/_/why-products-cause-negative-reactions-on-skin#type

Jun 3, 2015

Christin B.

THANK YOU all soo much. I've never known this and so glad it's true ish! I've been using african black soap and I've been breaking out. So ill read up on all this and see what works :)

Jun 3, 2015

Charlese C.

I completely agree with Shelley and Sarah
I believe its real as so many aestheticians that o know agree that it's real but there are some who claim its a myth... there are so many studies and people who have proven it to be true...

Jun 3, 2015

Kitty K.

@Christin What kind of ABS are you using? I find that solid soaps n bars tend to clog my pores up.. The ingredients used to keep them in that bar form is comedogenic. I have tiny pores but they clog so easily... might be factor to consider.

Jun 3, 2015

Melanie S.

I'd say it does. I started using Ziana for acne on my chest and it got super bad red and broke out about a week into using it before it started to calm down and dissapeR

Jun 3, 2015

M G.

I had this happen when I started Paula's choice chemical exfoliator. I got a bunch of little white heads than about a week or 2 later it went away like nothing.

Jun 3, 2015

Christin B.

I feel silly.. but I don't know what ABS means haha I AM using a bar of African black soap though! ): I was thinking maybe the shea butter in it was breaking me out. but ill definitely wait another week and try it! Its just been bad and kinda painful!

Jun 3, 2015

Kitty K.

ABS=African Black Soap ☺
Shea butter is comedogenic as well, I haven't had any issues with it in my oil cleanser but not too sure in a bar

Jun 3, 2015

Christin B.

Oh gotcha! that makes sense. I've considered getting the tub of soap instead.

Jun 3, 2015

Alma M.

Very interesting thread I like it.Reading all your feed back was great. 

Jun 3, 2015

Nikelle B.

This is a great thread!
it's helping me understand these struggles I've been going through lol
thanks for sharing that link Kitty!

Jun 3, 2015

Kattya M.

Yup I agree with Shannie, I also read that only active ingredients have that purging process and other products might only be irritating the skin until it gets used to it but this fase should not last longer than a couple of days, so if you aren't using any active ingredients and your "purging" keeps going for more than a week you should probably stop.

Jun 3, 2015

Christin B.

Great! thank you girls! I've been using the bar soap for about a week, but nothing is better.
Can anyone suggest something that contains those ingredients? I heard the clinique acne line was good