Where did you get the glycerin from? If you got a bottle from a pharmacy it can be very Irritating, caused me itching and cysts when I never had any. The stuff you get from pharmacies is not intended for cosmetic use and anyhow, if you don't dilute it enough it can be very Irritating. I know it sounds weird, I can't find any sources to confirm this but Ive done this before because I was worried about creams clogging my pores. Literally within 6h of applying I got two swollen itchy cysts and I never ever have them, ever. Ditch it.

2 hours ago, Iwikiwi said:

Where did you get the glycerin from? If you got a bottle from a pharmacy it can be very Irritating, caused me itching and cysts when I never had any. The stuff you get from pharmacies is not intended for cosmetic use and anyhow, if you don't dilute it enough it can be very Irritating. I know it sounds weird, I can't find any sources to confirm this but Ive done this before because I was worried about creams clogging my pores. Literally within 6h of applying I got two swollen itchy cysts and I never ever have them, ever. Ditch it.

I got the glycerin from a health store. It said it was 100% pure and from a vegetable source so I thought it would be ok.

I've been searching but haven't found any evidence to suggest glycerin could cause acne, quite the contrary, so I thought how can this be happening?

It's reassuring to know that I'm not the only one to have this reaction.

Can you buy better grade glycerin for cosmetic use? Where would I buy it from? Will it still cause breakouts, in your experience?

I think it's a safer better to buy something like a glycerine and rose water toner in a health store. Sorry I'm not muvh help, I can't explain it but I remember it very well cause at the time I had very clear but dry skin and wanted to go out in the evening got bored, made myself a glycerine concoction and I was all happy as can be then looked in the mirror cause I felt itchy and I was like.......damn. Haha!
The correct answer to your question should have been... It could be either of the products... I just based me answer on what happened to me. And to be honest glycerine doesn't bother me at all in formulations, in fact all my skincare has it as one of the main ingredients! Go figure...
It'll be really hard for you to figure out what's going on of you introduce and test two things at once, so go easy. Also, don't always assume just cause the ingredient is meant to be safe on the chart, that it will b. It never works for me. The chart is a good starting point, but not 100 accurate. I still remember my hemp and safflower oil fiasco that ruined my face for a year. And they're meant to be completely non comodegenic.

3 hours ago, Iwikiwi said:

I think it's a safer better to buy something like a glycerine and rose water toner in a health store. Sorry I'm not muvh help, I can't explain it but I remember it very well cause at the time I had very clear but dry skin and wanted to go out in the evening got bored, made myself a glycerine concoction and I was all happy as can be then looked in the mirror cause I felt itchy and I was like.......damn. Haha!
The correct answer to your question should have been... It could be either of the products... I just based me answer on what happened to me. And to be honest glycerine doesn't bother me at all in formulations, in fact all my skincare has it as one of the main ingredients! Go figure...
It'll be really hard for you to figure out what's going on of you introduce and test two things at once, so go easy. Also, don't always assume just cause the ingredient is meant to be safe on the chart, that it will b. It never works for me. The chart is a good starting point, but not 100 accurate. I still remember my hemp and safflower oil fiasco that ruined my face for a year. And they're meant to be completely non comodegenic.

I've just checked the glycerin bottle again and I forgot to mention it says it's suitable for dry skin conditions so it is for cosmetic use. I have never broken out from a product containing glycerin before so I never had any suspicion I could be allergic to it.

I'm going to give it a couple of weeks and try it again, just to double check. It could have been Paula's sunscreen.

I broke out from hemp seed oil. I attempted ocm and using it as a moisturizer thinking it couldn't clog my pores and it did.

On 6/5/2016 at 3:31 PM, hopingforamiracle said:

I've just checked the glycerin bottle again and I forgot to mention it says it's suitable for dry skin conditions so it is for cosmetic use. I have never broken out from a product containing glycerin before so I never had any suspicion I could be allergic to it.

I'm going to give it a couple of weeks and try it again, just to double check. It could have been Paula's sunscreen.

I broke out from hemp seed oil. I attempted ocm and using it as a moisturizer thinking it couldn't clog my pores and it did.

I actually agree with you that some of Paula's sunscreens can block the pores. So i'm not sure if it is that or the glycerin.

But I think you should just buy another sunscreen, there is one from kiss my face called oatmeal protein.

2 hours ago, Alex9945 said:

I actually agree with you that some of Paula's sunscreens can block the pores. So i'm not sure if it is that or the glycerin.

But I think you should just buy another sunscreen, there is one from kiss my face called oatmeal protein.

What is it in the sunscreen that blocks the pores? It has to be the active ingredients surely because I've checked through the ingredients with my comedogenic list and there isn't anything that should cause a problem.

Oh wait, I get it now. Chemical sunscreens are more likely to be problematic for acne and rosacea prone skin compared to physical sunscreens. It's odd that it just so happens that this particular sunscreen I tried is actually a physical sunscreen rather than chemical. I've checked my regular sunscreen which I didn't really have any issues with apart from the white cast and ingredients list and that is chemical. I've also sampled a few other of Paula's sunscreens and didn't have any acne with them and they were chemical also.

I'm pretty sure it can't have been Paula's Choice that is causing my current breakout. I'm getting new acne EVERY DAY and I've gone back to my old regime completely. It has to be the glycerin. It's messed up my skin.

12 minutes ago, hopingforamiracle said:

What is it in the sunscreen that blocks the pores? It has to be the active ingredients surely because I've checked through the ingredients with my comedogenic list and there isn't anything that should cause a problem.

Not sure about sunscreens, they are always difficult to figure out because of all those ingredients.

I just remember i used hydralight sunscreen from Paulas Choice, which made me break out.

21 hours ago, Alex9945 said:

Not sure about sunscreens, they are always difficult to figure out because of all those ingredients.

I just remember i used hydralight sunscreen from Paulas Choice, which made me break out.

You know, having sampled almost all of Paula's products that are relevant to my skin type/conditions, I am extremely disappointed. I have only a small few left to test before I make my final verdict but the products for me have been average and certainly not worth the price tag. The only products that I have been somewhat impressed by is the skin balancing range but I have yet to test them over a longer period to see if they would eventually cause any problems.

1 hour ago, hopingforamiracle said:

You know, having sampled almost all of Paula's products that are relevant to my skin type/conditions, I am extremely disappointed. I have only a small few left to test before I make my final verdict but the products for me have been average and certainly not worth the price tag. The only products that I have been somewhat impressed by is the skin balancing range but I have yet to test them over a longer period to see if they would eventually cause any problems.

I used a lot of money on paulas choice, because i read so many good things, but for me they irritate my skin too much.

Exuviance make some better suncreens, for instance exuviance essenstial daily defense fluid.

Instead of buying alot of products from paulas choice, stay to something simple. Cleanser, benozyl peroxide at night, moisturizer and spf at daytime. Another really good thing i always say is to do lactic acid peels 25% or 40%, that you can buy on eBay. Do them weekly and you will get amazing results

Im sad to hear your not impressed with Paula's Choice I e just started using her spf 50 fluid and kinda worried about the pore clogging...
I have to say I've used her skin balancing moisture gel for over a month with no trouble.
It would help if the comodegenocity test was 100 accurate however it seems like it's a very individual matter...

9 hours ago, Iwikiwi said:

Im sad to hear your not impressed with Paula's Choice I e just started using her spf 50 fluid and kinda worried about the pore clogging...
I have to say I've used her skin balancing moisture gel for over a month with no trouble.
It would help if the comodegenocity test was 100 accurate however it seems like it's a very individual matter...

I bought like 7-8 products from her, which I was told by them would be really good for my skin.

It messed my skin up really really bad. I tried using the sunscreen without any products, and i'm quite sure that was the worst product of them. So now i also say to people - you don't need toners, boosters and all that crap they want you to use. They might have some good products, but for my case PC messed my skin up badly.

15 hours ago, Alex9945 said:

I bought like 7-8 products from her, which I was told by them would be really good for my skin.

It messed my skin up really really bad. I tried using the sunscreen without any products, and i'm quite sure that was the worst product of them. So now i also say to people - you don't need toners, boosters and all that crap they want you to use. They might have some good products, but for my case PC messed my skin up badly.

thats interesting... I actually got a breakout of bumps last night I wonder if it's the culprit.. I Def trust opinions of people here more than the opinion of someone who's trying to sell me stuff.. I'll patch test it for a while to make sure

I am STILL breaking out. The breakouts I got on my cheeks (which hardly ever breakout) have sort of dried up now from the BP I use daily, so it's not as bad as it was but I'm still getting breakouts on my t zone.

Acne makes me neurotic. I literally will scour the internet for HOURS researching for new solutions I haven't yet tried, or trying to find out if anyone has had the same negative experience from using product. When it comes to glycerin however, I can find very little info.

This recent breakout has been the worst I've had in months. It didn't appear to occur immediately following application as it does when I have a bad reaction or allergy, nor did it come on gradually as the breakouts I had with Paula's Choice BHAs. Also, unlike the BHA breakouts, these were big cystic pimples, not small inflamed whiteheads. I just woke up one day with cystic acne that has continued to erupt days after I went back to my usual regimen. It was the day after I used one of Paula's sunscreens but probably also a week since I had started moisturizing with a mixture of glycerin and water. I don't think it would have been Paula's sunscreen. If a product disagrees with me in such a bad way, I breakout within hours after applying it and then the BP clears it up within a few days. I never keep breaking out after stopping a product if you know what I mean. The spots that the product initially caused will be all I have to deal with. That's why I think this has something to do with the glycerin. I know glycerin draws moisture from its surroundings. That's why I mixed it with water and left it to dry on my skin so the water would be absorbed. I don't live in a humid climate and I did my research and knew that if I used undiluted glycerin, it would draw the moisture from deep within my skin to the surface leaving it dehydrated. My skin didn't look dehydrated in the least while I used the glycerin and water moisturizer but then perhaps it wouldn't. Maybe all I was seeing was the surface (which looked fine) while deep down the glycerin was doing damage. I'm no expert when it comes to skin but I wonder if perhaps it was the glycerin drying out my skin which led to deep cystic pimples.

Does anyone have any insight to offer?

UPDATE: Glycerin WASN'T to blame for my breakout after all!

I think it was a result of coming off Remeron (for those that don't know it's an antidepressant) that was responsible since my acne cleared within a couple of weeks of daily BP use. However, I started to break out all over AGAIN a week later on my cheeks as before where I don't normally get acne. My face is a total mess. I thought how can this be? I had stopped using glycerin and any other "new" products and had gone back to my usual regimen. Then I realized, both times I broke out was within a week of cutting my Remeron dose in half (I'm tapering off of them altogether). It's strange because I never got acne when I started them and with each increment. 

My face is ruined. I'm using BP daily but I'm breaking out still really bad. BP has been my best friend the past few years and I have continued using it throughout. How can I be breaking out this badly?