Here is the second “Ask Fran” video, so thank you to Kevin and Kareoohline for your questions.
Questions
- How do we tell the difference between breakouts and if a product is not agreeing with our skin like a bad reaction?
- How do we know if we’re going through a purging period or if it’s just a bad reaction with our skin?
9 responses ↓
this was a fantastic post! I commented on youtube, but i also wanted to comment here since it appears to be your primary page. I recently broke out all over (my cheeks, chin, and forehead). I thought the culprit was either my oil cleanser (for removing make up), my Biotin supplement (known to inflame acne in some people), or my new liquid foundation. I had been using Biotin for 2 months at a low dosage and had not experienced any reaction, my foundation was 2 weeks old, and my oil cleanser was 7 weeks into use. Your video response helped me come to the decision that it must have been the oil cleanser seeing as it is the ‘only acception to the rule’ of determining cosmetic acne. However, this won’t stop me from monitoring the use of Biotin.
This leads me to another question, for people who wear make up, is there no affective way to remove it without inflaming acne? I realize the best thing to do is to simply not wear make up, but I am one of those people who feel so much more confident with it on!
Thank you for all the amazing advice you always give
so do you still use/recommend the oil cleansing method?
Hi Raven, no I’m not ..I think I mentioned in the video that it clogged up my pores (REALLY badly actually). But that was partially because I used coconut oil, and partially because it was a very humid time of the year in Brisbane
Some people still swear by it, but for me ..I won’t go near an oil based cleanser anymore.
Here are some differences I’ve noticed. Hope this helps!
For me, a breakout caused by irritation (e.g. wrong product for you) or “normal causes” (e.g. body chemistry things, like food allergy, hormones, etc.) is usually more red and swollen than a purging process. Irritation can look like dry red pimply patches (like rosacea), or bigger swollen acne up to cysts. To me, the purging process looks
more like little white heads that aren’t swollen, but probably still come to a head.
The most confusing part for me is telling the difference between comodal (clogged pores) acne, which look like little tiny bumps, and the purging process. I think that when the bumps occur right away after using a new product, you know it’s purging, whereas if it happens a few weeks/months down the line, it’s probably cosmetic/comedal acne (clogged pores, like when Fran did OCM).
And then there’s acne caused by candida, which I heard looks like comedal acne. If anybody has more light to shed on this, I’d be happy to learn!
I do have a breakout every month. Had that all my life, even in the time I was taking the pill. Nothing would prevent that, only now, that I don’t use hormons any more, I do get one big deep pimple at that time instead of a few small directly-under-the-skin thingies. Well, I guess I have to live with that and I found a good spot treatment that helps to eliminate these deep pimples within a few days.
Since I do have dry/combination skin, it’s hard to tell for me if it’s a breakout from purging or from food – these do look the same for me: I get small pimples and/or whiteheads mostly in the oilier parts of my face, but they are not inflamed (as long as I don’t scratch :p)
Cosmetic reaction I can identify rather quick: As Victoria already described I also get small red spots, which looks like whiteheads from the size but not coloration all over my face. They are not inflamed but red and my whole face feels rough (and mostly it goes hand in hand with extreme dryness or oilyness).
Normally I’d have this reaction within the first 4 days of usage. There is only one exception: fragrance. My skin dislikes fragranced products. While my body skin is more forgiving my facil skin gets angry red, shows all signs of discomfort. How fast this reaction will be seen depends on the amount of fragrance used int he product, and how it is used. (There is a difference between a cleanser which you wash down or a cream you keep on). So I can say for me I have to test new cosmetic products for 4 to 5 weeks to be sure that my skin is ok with them on long therm.
Hi Fran! Thanks for answering my question.
Oh and by the way, you did pronounce it right.
Just a reminder about my table I have in this article – http://www.highonhealth.org/how-to-identify-the-root-cause-of-your-acne-just-by-looking-at-your-skin/
That I might actually modify and repost somewhere more obvious, especially after the great comments in this article! Thanks everyone
This is to Nico who says she breaks out every month. I use a supplement called EstroSense by Lorna Vanderhaeghe and I swear it has pretty much cured my acne. In the 2 months I’ve been using it I haven’t had any of the huge cyst-like acne that I’ve been getting for the last year. I also have a very clean diet where I eat mainly whole, unprocessed foods including very little dairy and meat. At the same time I started this supplement I also cut peanuts and soy foods from my diet. So far I’ve had excellent results.
Hey,
Im just wondering if i apply to much proactiv soloution to my face, will this cause cosmetic acne? Particularly after applying the last step (Repairing Lotion) since this is ony my face all day and all night. Iv noticed i have been over using this product and wondering if this could be behind my breakouts.
Thanks
Jase
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