BHA Question

[JJones]

Hey just a question on the use of BHA-

I had been using this product on and off when my skin was really bad (blemish prone) but never really persisted with it because wasn't sure if it was making it worse.
Recently my skin cleared up quite dramatically and stayed that way but i still had very uneven (lumpy) skin around the jaw. I thought i may re-introduce the BHA to see if it could help with this but now appear to be on the verge of breaking out again.
I have heard before about skin 'purging' during initial stages of use of BHA but not sure whether this is accurate?
Any recommendations/advice greatly appreciated!

[missyjean]

Oh I have had pretty severe acne since I was 14. Some products loosen up the gunk but make you breakout as all this gunk is coming to the surface. SN BHA kind of did that to me too,but it was only mild whitehead stuff and it didn't persist for more than 1-2 weeks(Can't remember lol).

So yes,it MAY cause some skin purging which then causes a few eruptions.However,if you're getting any deep lumps from using anything new or it persists...I'd maybe try something else.

My skin is a lot better from using her BHA after the initial break out.

[superwahz]

I agree with Missyjean. I don't use BHA at the moment, but I've heard it can have a purging effect on the skin. I'm assuming that's because it unclogs the pores. Do you have problems with blackheads and pimples that sit under the skin and you can't feel, but take forever to come out? If so, I'd guess that's what's going on... If your skin seems to be handling it well otherwise, you might want to give it a few more days to see if the breakout comes out and then clears up.

Of course, the above only applies if it isn't irritating your skin. If you start to notice itching, peeling, or a red rash, I'd give the BHA a rest. Maybe alternating days of use could help clear your pores while giving your skin a bit of time to adjust? Of course, that might just prolong the purging period I guess. Skincare is such an individual thing, results in much trial and error!!

[beancurd]

Sorry for reviving this fairly old thread. But I've been using BHA for about a week now, first few days nothing happened, but like 2 days ago my skin started to break out. I'm not sure if BHA was the thing that caused it, since I've been fairly stressed about school work recently(and I've had acne problems since the longest time anyways). Butttttttt, this is the worst state my skin has been since a long time. The last time I had something as bad as this was like 3-4 years ago, when I was still a teen.

So is it normal to experience this kind of "purging" thing using the BHA toner? Just worried because AHA's description warns about such an effect, but no such warning was listed on BHA's description(except for this one person's review).

[meadowbird]

As far as I can tell it's kind of a debated theory. I don't know the science of it, but purging of *existing* pimples, blackheads, clogged pores ect makes sense to me. I'm pretty sure BHA penetrates deeper than AHA but the whole thing about scouring bacteria from the deep layers of the skin, like it's dormant there, I don't really get. I'm not sure the skin really works like that? When I first started using BHA I had an irritated pimple type thing, just a small one, that wouldn't heal and I'd had it for about 5 months. The BHA cleared that up completely (and yes the pimple got much worse and bigger before it got better), but where the skin was smooth and normal, big cystic pimples were forming ect. I gave it three weeks and there were no signs of this improving so I stopped using it full face. I use it now on existing blemishes when they pop up. Three weeks was all I could take, maybe it would have taken 6 months and I would have had perfect skin.. guess I'll never know!

The other thing is I remember reading a lot about using BHA with Benzoyl Peroxide ( I do NOT recommend the use of BP ever!), due to the fact that the BHA penetrated the pore deeply and acted as a carrier for the BP to act right at the root of the problem. This makes me wonder if using a natural antibacterial *something* along with BHA might help?

Sorry for reviving this fairly old thread. But I've been using BHA for about a week now, first few days nothing happened, but like 2 days ago my skin started to break out. I'm not sure if BHA was the thing that caused it, since I've been fairly stressed about school work recently(and I've had acne problems since the longest time anyways). Butttttttt, this is the worst state my skin has been since a long time. The last time I had something as bad as this was like 3-4 years ago, when I was still a teen.

So is it normal to experience this kind of "purging" thing using the BHA toner? Just worried because AHA's description warns about such an effect, but no such warning was listed on BHA's description(except for this one person's review).

[frckls]

Ah I've been meaning to ask this question, too. I've been using BHA for a week, and both my cheeks where a month ago some rough patch of (suspected to be) whiteheads under the skin appeared, now there are eruptions of acne. The rest of the skin where I don't have acne is very smooth and hydrated, but those area with acne looks so severe after 4 days using BHA.

I wonder if this is purging or I don't do well with BHA?
This is the worst state my skin ever get, EVER.

[beancurd]

Well, the acnes(white head? not that good with these terminologies, sorry) that developed were quite swollen and painful at first. But now, they're flatter, dry and doesn't hurt that much. Still obvious, but better. Unfortunately, I have to stop using it for this coming 2 weeks because I left it at my other apartment, so I won't be able to update the condition of my skin after the purge(?) ._.