Perfect smooth skin without inflammation – the dream of any girl. But it can be spoiled by dilated pores and their constant “company”: oily sheen, black spots, acne.
Many people spend years trying to get rid of the problem of enlarged pores and its associated consequences. But if you master the principles of basic care for oily skin, as well as choose the right cosmetic procedures, the chance to win in this battle for beauty are great. So, how can you minimize enlarged pores?
Causes of enlarged pores
The pore is a duct through which the sebaceous gland secretes sebum onto the surface of the skin. Mixed with sweat, it turns into an emulsion, sebum. A normal adult may secrete up to 20 grams of this substance per day. But due to the influence of external and internal factors, the body can produce more of it than necessary. This results in oily shine, enlarged pores, and black spots.
Pores, like our appearance, are passed down to us “as a gift” from our parents. So heredity is the main reason for having large pores.
But there are additional causes that can affect the skin and cause copious sebum secretion:
- Independent unprofessional facial cleansing;
- Hormonal changes in the body;
- Improper diet;
- Stress;
- Endocrine and digestive disorders;
- Infectious diseases.
How to narrow pores: cosmetic procedures
Cosmetic procedures play a very important role in the struggle to reduce pores. They will help to remove the dead keratinous layer, brighten the pores and dry out their contents.
If the pores are visibly enlarged, the following procedures can be recommended:
- Facial cleansing (mechanical and ultrasonic). Mechanical cleaning is deeper, performed manually or with special tools: the Uno spoon and Vidal loop. Ultrasonic cleaning is more gentle and painless, makes the skin soft and gentle, but gives a short-term effect.
- IPL. One option is a pulsed light treatment, photo rejuvenation. The laser stimulates metabolic processes in the skin, which leads to the reduction of spider veins, pigmentation and enlarged pores.
- Cryotherapy. It is a procedure, the essence of which is the influence of cold on the skin. It accelerates metabolic processes and stimulates the metabolism in the cells.
- Peelings. For younger skin, fruit and almond peels are suitable, and for more mature skin, carbon laser peels are suitable.
- Mesotherapy. It is an injection method of introducing mesococktails containing useful antioxidants, vitamins and minerals into the skin. The complex of procedures noticeably improves the quality of the skin, making it smooth, relief even, and pores tightened.
How to fight enlarged pores at home
How can I remove enlarged pores without going to a cosmetologist? If the problem is not too pronounced, self-care procedures can cope with it. For example, such as:
- Enzymes. For home beauty treatments, the most suitable treatment is enzyme cleansing. These are substances that dissolve the top keratinized layer of skin, penetrate the pore, removing internal impurities. This makes the pore shrink. Enzymes include enzymes such as papain, trypsin, and bronelain. Using products containing them once a week will allow the skin to be completely renewed in a month. Enzymes are included in serums, peels and masks.
- D’Arsonvalization. This method involves exposure to pulses of electric current using the “D’Arsonval” apparatus. Special facial attachments accelerate the process of cell regeneration and narrowing of pores.
- Exfoliation of the skin. Scrubs should be used preferably once or twice a week. They should be gentle, without coarse particles, otherwise there is a risk of traumatizing the skin. Home peels can help exfoliate the skin and remove dead cells.
- Masks. They can be both moisturizing and sebum-regulating. For example, masks with extracts of aloe, avocado, algae, glycerin, hyaluronic acid and collagen. Masks with natural white clay and charcoal perfectly cleanses the skin and fights sebum.
- Color cosmetics. If you have an urgent need for an important event, it is possible to camouflage the enlarged pores with concealer. Apply it to the problem areas, and then overlay it with foundation and secure the effect with a light powder. However, it is not necessary to do so every day to avoid increased contamination of pores.
Stages of care for skin with large pores
Usually, owners of oily skin, which usually has enlarged pores, try to dry it out in every way. But if you overdo it and over-dry the skin, the keratinous layer grows, and the pore gets clogged.
Sebaceous gland is still active, but the way out is blocked, and as a result, may form comedones. Therefore, it is very important to take an adequate and competent approach to daily care.
To avoid aggravating the pore problem, it is not recommended:
- Perform facial cleansing yourself. When you manually remove the contents of the pore, it becomes gaping and sebum builds up even more actively.
- Aggressive cleansing. A big mistake in taking care of problem skin is to cleanse “to a squeaky clean”. Using aggressive means, you only hurt the skin, not help it. Therefore, all stages of care should be delicate and chosen specifically for your skin type. The gold standard would be to use products with a matting effect. At the same time they will moisturize your skin and normalize the sebum activity during the day, narrowing pores.
- Overlap the shine that appears greasy powder. This further clogs pores. Matting wipes are suitable for combating excessive sebum.
The basic steps for caring for skin with wide pores are as follows:
- Remove your makeup with micellar water or hydrophilic oil. It is better not to skip this preliminary step for more thorough cleansing.
- Washing. The cleansing gels and foams should contain salicylic acid, probiotics, thermal water, but they should not contain parabens and alcohol. Preferably, the label should say “for oily skin”.
- Toner with a matting effect. The toner helps to complete the cleansing stage and restore the pH level.
- Moisturizing. Oily skin should be moisturized, so it is good if the cream contains glycolic and hyaluronic acids. The texture of the product should be light (serums, fluids and emulsions).
- A cream with matting effect. It is the final stage of moisturizing. The cream will reduce oily shine and regulate the sebum secretion.