I'm almost about to go into my third week of my regimine, and I think I'm hitting the purging point. I haven't done anything noticeably different that would affect my skin, and it's starting to break out fairly bad and generally look bad.

I don't use Retin-A (I do use an OTC retinoid, though), but I was looking at their "what to expect" section on their website and it said first couple of weeks a minor, but noticeable improvement - the next couple weeks purging, and then you really start to see improvement. So far it seems to be working out that way with my new regimine.

How do you guys recommend the "purging" cycle? Should I use a stronger cleanser to try to combat my new pimple "friends" or should I just go with the status quo and wait things out? I don't want to irritate my skin or make things worse, but I wouldn't mind a little relief right now.

Any general advice? How long should I expect this to last? Any words of encouragement or uplifting post-purging stories?