What is skin purging? (And is it really as horrific as it sounds?)
By Mahalia Chang / 5 August 2025
So: you’ve tried a new product. A few weeks later, your skin is in bits, red, flaky and covered in spots. This (extremely unpleasant) process is called ‘skin purging.
Despite having an official sounding (and, to be honest, quite horror movie) name, skin purging isn’t technically a medical term. If anything, it’s an Internet expression for something that’s relatively common. Basically, purging occurs when the addition of an active ingredient – more on that later – puts your skin’s turnover rate into overdrive. Unfortunately, this means that acne and irritation also go up a gear.
And while it looks a lot like regular acne, there are a few key differences — not to mention different treatments. If you have your suspicions about your skin’s current freak-out, we’ve asked three expert dermatologists every question you could think of – and some you haven’t even thought of yet.
