Archive for category: Aesthetics

What is skin purging?

Before we dive into explaining skin purging vs. skin breakouts and how to tell the difference, you need to understand what skin purging actually is.

Skin purging is effectively your usual skin replenishment process sped up. It happens as a reaction to certain active ingredients in skin care products and, whilst it can be unsettling, it’s not a bad thing! The new active ingredient encourages faster skin cell turnover and your skin starts to shed the dead skin cells more rapidly than usual. Ultimately this is good news: you’ll end up revealing fresher, younger-looking skin.

The thing is that during this process, potentially spot-inducing parts of the skin recycling process get drawn to the surface too. Sebum, build-up, and flakes all rise to the surface. As is likely to happen when there’s a party of these guys going on, pimples and spots breakout. Your skin is purging itself. It’s getting clean. But in the process, you’ve got to go via a messier stage.

Knowing if something is a skin purge or breakout can be tricky, not least because a purge can look very like a breakout at first glance. It’s characterized by blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, and… you get the idea. Just to make things really spectacular, it may also be accompanied by dry skin too.

Skin purging is often caused by chemical exfoliants and ingredients such as niacinamide (vitamin B3). We are using niacinamide in our night cream, and if we thought it would leave you with breakouts we obviously wouldn’t use it!

However, whilst niacinamide may cause a purge in some people, ultimately it reduces inflammation and minimizes pore size over time. But in the short term, that means it needs to do some clearing out!

Anything that loosens up deep-level congestion in the skin has the potential to cause a purge.

How can you tell if it’s a skin purge or breakout?

It’s one thing knowing that you’ve got to go through some short-term pain (the pimples) for some long-term gain (calm, clear, youthful-looking skin). It’s another feeling like you’re suddenly 15 again and heading for breakout hell. So when it comes to skin purging vs. skin breakouts, how do you know what’s what?

The first and easiest question to ask yourself is: are you using a new skincare product or doing something different with your skincare routine? If the answer is ‘yes’ then a purge is likely. However, many people think that the purge equals a breakout and therefore think their skin is reactive to this new product, and as such end up chucking it out. That’s a mistake with purging. You want to get to the other side!

Secondly, purging has some tell-tale signs that can help you feel confident that you’re not heading down breakout alley. Purges tend to be quite short-lived, or at least relatively so. They tend to clear up quite quickly without you really doing anything at all. The spots will also be occurring in the same old places you’ve always been prone to them. If you’re having a reaction to a new product then typically you’ll find that any spots that appear aren’t in the usual places.

It is really quite common for the introduction of a new product or new element of your routine to lead to some degree of purging. You can actually take it as good news; you can see that the product is doing something. The risk of purging is also why sometimes it can be good to introduce new skincare products gradually, allowing your skin to adjust over time.

How long will a skin purge last?

It is recommended unless you are clearly experiencing irritation, that it’s worth giving any new skincare product a month to see if it is working for you and to see if your skin will adjust. You need consistency, across a full cycle of skin replenishment, to see if it is working. A month is long enough for this full cycle, and all dead skin cells will definitely be shed at this time.

Some people find that it may take up to six weeks for their skin to fully adjust, but others find it takes considerably less time.

For more expert takes on your skin, consult our dermatologists!

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat here on our website.

Beauty trends come and go, but clean, healthy, beautiful skin is always in. The New Year reminds us that it’s time to reevaluate our skincare routines and set new goals.

Do your skin a favor and start these skincare resolutions now!

Moisturize both morning and night
Moisturized skin is happy skin. When you moisturize in the morning, you rehydrate and plump the skin which helps your foundation look flawless. When you moisturize at night, you restore the moisture your skin has lost throughout the day so your skin can repair itself overnight.

Regardless of your skin type (oily, combination, or dry), it’s important to stay moisturized! Keeping skin moisturized not only encourages healthy cell turnover but helps fight the signs of aging.

Wear sunscreen every single day
You might get tired of hearing it, but we’ll never stop saying it: wear sunscreen every day! This is the number one most important thing you can do for your skin. Rain or shine, apply SPF to your face, neck, and décoletté. Make it part of your routine with a tinted moisturizer or primer with SPF. Don’t stop there! All areas of exposed skin, including the forearms and the backs of your hands, need to be covered as well.

Exfoliate regularly
What good is masking and moisturizing if your products can’t effectively absorb? Clear away dead skin cells and help along cell turnover to reveal fresh, radiant skin. This will help your skincare products absorb and help your makeup blend seamlessly.

Remove makeup every single night
Overnight your skin repairs itself, and makeup left on the skin doesn’t help the process. Avoid clogged pores and premature aging by developing a nightly skincare routine. If the routine doesn’t come naturally to you, try removing your makeup right when you get home. Keep a backup bottle of makeup remover and cotton pads at your bedside just in case.

Clean out your skincare stash
Most of you reading this are thinking of your massive skincare stockpile. Unfortunately, skincare products do not last forever! Check the label on your products for an icon of a small jar with a number inside. This number represents the number of months your products are good after opening.

A massive skincare collection means lots of unused products. Go through your skincare once every six months, keeping your favorites and must-haves and passing on the products that don’t work for you.

Make regular cleanings easier by writing the date you opened each item directly on the tube or jar with a permanent marker. In the future, you will thank yourself.

Mask at least once a week
Masking regularly can create serious changes in the skin. Mask after cleansing one to three times every week to see a difference. While you wait for the mask to work its magic, put up your feet and relax. Wash your makeup brushes.

We know, we know, washing makeup brushes is no fun, but it’s so important to rid your brushes of bacteria. Taking care of your brushes will also help them last longer. When cared for, makeup brushes can last for years and years, saving you money.

Commit to washing your most-used brushes once a week. Run the head of the brush under warm water, add a drop of baby shampoo to your palm, swirl the brush into the soap and rinse the brush head underwater once more. Repeat until the water runs clear and your brushes look good as new.

Between washes, you can keep your bristles clean with Brush Cleanser, a spray-on formula designed to kill bacteria while conditioning bristles.

Wear skin-healthy makeup
Skincare and makeup go together! When you work so hard to keep your skin balanced, don’t undo it with pore-clogging makeup. Mineral makeup is talc-free and non-comedogenic, so it won’t clog your pores, settle into fine lines or irritate the skin.

Address your skin concerns
Enough is enough, it’s time to face your skin concerns head-on. One of the amazing things about the world of skincare is that new, innovative ingredients and products are being created every day, so all of those pesky skin issues, from hyperpigmentation to wrinkles, can be treated.

See a skin care specialist
Support your at-home skincare regimen with regular trips to a dermatologist. They have a wealth of knowledge to help set you on a path for success, not to mention access to professional-level exfoliants and peels. A series of professional treatments paired with a solid home care routine might just give your skin the boost it needs.

Schedule a consultation with our skin experts! Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat here on our website.