We have all started a new skin care routine thinking it will give us glowy, beautiful skin and ended up with breakouts or unwanted skin changes. Some say wait it out, others say don’t. What is the right answer?
Dr. Angela here and the difference is “purging” your skin vs causing new breakouts. If you have some pores that are already congested, meaning that some of the skin cells don’t detach like they are supposed to, a tiny pimple forms. These look like the small bumps that you might see on your forehead or cheeks. Sometimes these turn into larger pimples and sometimes they just resolve. The process of becoming a pimple and healing on its own takes about 8 weeks. If you are using something that speeds up the process of exfoliation, like Retin-A, retinols, glycolic acid, alpha hydroxyl acids, beta hydroxyl acids or vitamin C, the process of becoming a pimple is accelerated, as well. We know that the skin regenerates itself in about a month. So, existing microcomedones, or small pimples, should either become a real pimple or resolve in about a month. However, it could take a full 8 weeks for those that “blossomed” (ugh) to resolve. So, the bottom line is you should see improvement in 4 weeks and your skin looking noticeably better in 8 weeks.
Skin purging is different from having new breakouts or irritation. If you notice new breakouts in an area of your face that you didn’t see anything before or have more breakouts than before, that’s not just purging. Your skin is likely irritated from the product because inflammation is one of the factors that cause acne. You will see these breakouts much sooner. Within 1-2 weeks, if you notice that you have more acne or acne in different places than before, stop the new product. If you have started a number of products and don’t know which one caused it, stop them all and just use a very gentle cleanser and moisturizer, like Cetaphil until its better. If it doesn’t improve in about a week, consider seeing a Dermatologist.
The other thing that can happen is an allergic reaction. If you see any redness, swelling of the skin or itching, stop the product right away. This should resolve on its own, but just like in the situation above, you should use gentle products and may need to see a Dermatologist if it doesn’t resolve. The caveat with this is that Retin-A and some retinols cause some redness and flaking as part of the exfoliation process. I like to start these products very slowly (use twice a week for a week, three times a week for a week, etc until you build up to every night) to help the skin get acclimated to the product without as much irritation. Always ask if this is expected with the products before you use it.
Feature image borrowed from infoaging.com