A couple of questions

Is it a purge or breakout?

Purging is a sign that the product is working and you should continue with the treatment as prescribed. After a few weeks of purging, your skin and acne will have noticeably improved. Breaking out is when your skin is reacting because it is sensitive to something in the new product.

How can you tell the difference between a breakout and a purge?

How to tell if it's purging or a breakout

Purging from a productBreakout or reaction from a product
happens where you frequently break outhappens in a new area where you don't break out
disappears faster than a normal pimpletypically takes 8 to 10 days to appear, mature, and shrink

What does a purge Breakout look like?

Skin purging typically looks like tiny red bumps on the skin that are painful to touch. They are often accompanied by whiteheads or blackheads. It can also cause your skin to become flaky. The flare ups caused by purging have a shorter lifespan than a breakout.

Does skin purging look like acne?

And what does skin purging look like? It manifests as what could easily be mistaken as any old breakout: clusters of small, red bumps and little pimples or pustules. (More on skin purging vs. breakouts to come.)

Does purging cause breakouts?

Skin purging occurs because newly introduced skincare ingredients increase the rate at which your skin cells turnover, causing you to shed more dead skin cells than usual. This, in turn, pushes layers of dead skin off and also brings clogged pores to the surface, Chang says, resulting in more breakouts.

Is my skin purging or irritation?

What does it look like? Distinct, acne-like bumps may be purging. However, if you're noticing welts, diffuse redness, or anything resembling a rash, stop what you're doing. Inflammation is a sign of reaction and generally appears as all-over redness rather than individual, blemish-like spots.

Is purging normal with niacinamide?

Though some people do report experiencing irritation and breakouts after using the ingredient, niacinamide is unlikely to cause purging. That's because it doesn't affect the skin in a way that usually triggers purging.

Is skin purging good or bad?

Purging is neither good nor bad. It can happen after using excellent products but, equally, it also frequently occurs when the skin barrier is compromised prior to starting with a product or treatment.