Is it really possible to “shrink your pores?”
If Regina George’s thoughts are constantly spinning around in your head, you may be on the lookout for anything that can help make your skin pore-less and flawless. But unfortunately, the age-old idea that you can shrink pores using anything from a splash of ice-cold water to an egg-white mask is a rumour juicy enough to rival those found in the ‘burn book’ themselves.
Each pore on the surface of the skin is actually an opening to a canal called a follicle. The follicle also contains a hair and an oil gland (sebaceous gland).
Individual pore size is determined genetically and generally correlates with skin type, (eg generally oilier skin = larger pores) and unfortunately, you can’t make pores physically smaller or open and close them.
Pores are more noticeable on parts of the face, like the T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) where the sebaceous glands are bigger and more oil in produced. Several other factors can also affect pore size. Dead skin cells and trapped sebum can fill pores to the max accentuating their size. Excess sun exposure from UV rays also breaks down the collagen that supports the structure of the skin keeping the pores tight resulting in larger looking pores. Similarly, the collagen loss that comes aging can also increase the appearance of pore size. And lastly, picking at or squeezing pimples can cause trauma to the skin, which may lead to scarring permanently widening the pores. However, there are certain things you can do to minimize the appearance of your pores which can help give your complexion a major boost.
The best way to minimise pores is to keep them a clear as possible. Try to stick to noncomedogenic products and makeup and avoid clogging ingredients like petrolatum and mineral oil. Regular gentle cleansing can also help to keep the skin clean and free of excess oils and particles which may clog up over time. However, by far the best way to keep your pores as clear as possible is using a gentle, regular chemical exfoliant.
While the word chemical may sound scary, chemical exfoliants are actually one of the gentler ways to exfoliate. Scrubs and other physical exfoliation methods such as facial cloths, brushes and tools are often very easily overdone and can over exfoliate the skin resulting in an impaired barrier and inflammation. Facial scrubs are also often larger in molecular size relying on the mechanical motion of scrubbing to remove dead skin cells on the surface, meaning that they can also sometimes miss particles trapped deeper in the pores. Chemical exfoliants, instead of mechanically removing skin cells gently dissolve the chemical bonds holding the cells together and can often penetrate deeper inside the pores to help unclog them.
One of our favourite chemical exfoliants is Ultraceuticals Pore Refiner – a powerful blend of AHA, BHA, Willow Bark Extract and Niacinamide to refine the appearance of large pores, smooths skin's texture and improve overall skin luminosity and radiance. These ingredients also help to reduce surface sebum and exfoliate the dead cell build-up in the follicle decreasing breakouts and helping to fade pigmentation.
In Clinic, Skin Needling is one of our most effective treatments to reduce enlarged pores. This treatment while sounding scary is anything but! It involves using a pen-like device to make thousands of tiny holes in the skin efficiently stimulating the skins wound healing response to increase collagen + elastin production to tighten and refine the skins texture. We can also infuse specialised serums into these micro channels which enhance this process further and helps deliver powerful ingredients easily to the deeper layers of the skin. Our top pick for enlarged pore sufferers includes our MG-CLR serum, containing Antimicrobial peptides and bio-compatible extracts to help clear problematic breakouts and enhance the visible complexion of skin troubled by acne, blackheads/comedones or open pores and oily skin. As well as our MG-RAS serum a powerful blend of antioxidants, vitamins, peptides and botanical extracts renowned for their anti-ageing effects including Retinaldehyde, which is considered the most active form of retinoid (Vitamin A) without a prescription to stimulate maximised collagen synthesis.
If you’d like more expert advise on how to reduce enlarged pores and attain skin even Regina George could be jealous of, we’d love to see you! Give us a call on 9477 4332 or book your free skin consultation online today!
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