Pores

What Is It?

Our skin is covered in pores, tiny holes dotted everywhere which serve an important job.

Pores allow sweat and oil to escape through your skin, which not only helps cool us down, but keeps our skin healthy and hydrated while getting rid of toxins.

They’re also connected to your hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Our sebaceous gland produces oil and sebum to hydrate and protect the skin. Some people have an overactive sebaceous gland which causes the pore to expand to accommodate the excess sebum which then leads to enlarged pores.

What Causes It?

There are many factors that also contribute to enlarged pore size, including:

• Increased Sebum Production
• Age
• Hair Follicle Size
• Acne
• Use Of Comedogenic Products
• Chronic Sun Exposure
• Genetics
• Hormones

In some cases, enlarged pores are clogged with excess oil, dead skin cells or dirt so they appear to be larger as they are more noticeable.

Enlarged pores can also be caused by the depletion of collagen and elastin in skin as we age. The skin appears less firm and tight, creating the appearance of larger pores.

What Can I Do To Help It?

Unfortunately, pore size is genetically determined, so you can’t actually shrink your pores.

However, following a regular routine with specific products and treatments can minimise their appearance.

Do’s and Don’t’s:

• Avoid comedogenic products
• Use Vitamin B serums to help regulate oil production
• Use Vitamin A/Retinol to help increase cell turnover and normalise the skin
• Use AHAs and BHAs to reduce excess oil and dead skin build-up
• Avoid using products and ingredients that strip the skin of its natural oils, as this causes dehydration and encourages the skin to over-produce excess oil and sebum
• Reduce sun exposure and wear a mineral SPF everyday
• Use water-based products
• Exfoliate regularly, we recommend 1-2 times a week
• Drink plenty of water. Dehydrated skin can overproduce excess oil

Treatments To Try

There are many treatments that can help minimise the appearance of enlarged pores and it's important to create the right treatment plan for your skin type, too. We recommend coming into the clinic to have an in-depth skin consultation. We can look at your skin under our Observ machine to see what the main cause of your enlarged pore may be.

Peels are a great for enlarged pores as they help to remove dead skin cells, increase cell turnover, remove excess oil and stimulate your fibroblasts to create new collagen — which firm and plump the skin. Specifically, BHA and Retinol Peels.
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HydraFacial is great for those concerned with enlarged pores, as it also exfoliates the pores to remove dead skin build up and excess oil while also providing deep hydration.
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Micro-needling is a great advanced option for enlarged pores. Skin Pen Micro-needling causes small micro-injuries to the skin which prompts the skin’s natural wound healing response. As a result, the skin produces collagen and elastin which helps to firm and plump the skin reducing the appearance of large pores.
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