Starting a new product and suddenly getting more spots is frustrating. Sometimes it’s true “purging,” and sometimes it’s just irritation or clogging. Knowing the difference saves you from quitting good products too soon or sticking with bad ones for too long.
Purging usually happens with ingredients that speed up cell turnover, like certain acids or retinoids. They can bring existing, hidden clogs to the surface faster, causing temporary breakouts in areas where you normally get acne. Over several weeks, things should improve as old blockages clear.
On the other hand, if breakouts appear in completely new areas, are very itchy, red, or come with burning and rough bumps, it may be irritation or an allergic reaction. Heavy, pore-clogging products can also simply cause fresh acne, not purging.
Timing matters. Purging tends to start within a couple of weeks of using an active product and then slowly settles if you continue correctly. If your skin just gets steadily worse with no sign of stabilising, it’s a hint to rethink.
Introduce only one new active product at a time, and start slowly. That way, if something goes wrong, you know the likely culprit. When in doubt, it’s safer to stop and let your skin calm down than to push through severe reactions.