How To Shrink Pores On Your Face?
Large pores are very common with oily skin, but not only with oily skin, many dry skins have large pores as well.
There is no such skin disease as “large pores” in the textbooks of skin diseases. Large pores are just a “pore phenomenon”. This phenomenon will continue to change with temperature, humidity, and skin conditions.
For example, skin pores shrink after taking a shower.
After using the facial mask, the skin pores have shrunk.
The quality of sleep is very good, and the skin condition seems better than usual when I wake up in the morning, and my pores are also shrinking.
The opposite of: The pores in summer seem to be larger than in winter, and the face is oilier. (Every time the temperature rises by 1℃, the amount of sebum secretion will fluctuate by 10%).
After staying up late, the skin condition seems to be worse, and the pores look bigger?
So don’t think that just using a few bottles of serum, cream can shrink pores.
Many people know that too much oil leads to enlarged pores.
But they don’t know why too much oil can cause enlarged pores.
The current popular explanation is that the skin is very oily. Excessive oil can’t be drained out and it will enlarge the pores.
Enlarged pores are indeed related to oily skin. From the perspective of sebum production, oily skin does easily lead to enlarged pores. Because our pores not only have hairs, but also sebaceous glands, which continuously secrete sebum. If there is too much sebum secretion, the pores that are the openings of the sebaceous glands will be enlarged.
However, in real life, large pores are not a patent for oily skin. Many dry skins also suffer from large pores. Therefore, the poor flow of oil and the enlargement of pores are not the only cause of enlarged pores.
Then I found a paper on Google Scholar—“Facial skin pores: a multiethnic study”.
This paper was published by the L’Oréal Research Center in 2015 on the authoritative website–Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology.
The research of this thesis lasted for many years, comparing and studying more than 2500 people, covering large pores of multiple races.
The scientifically defined pores, that is, the pores from which hair grows, are about 50 microns in diameter on the face. Its size is impossible to see with the naked eye and can only be seen with magnifying equipment such as a skin light microscope.
Let’s take a look at the normal pores of the skin under a light microscope.
The size of the pores under the microscope is the pores that have grown from hair in the picture above.
If the human eye wants to be able to see the pores, the diameter of the pores must be at least 250 microns, which means that your pores need to be enlarged by 5 times.
After a series of verification studies and experiments, this paper concludes that the phenomenon of enlarged pores that we see is not pores, but inflammatory scars, which are miniature atrophic scars.
Anti-inflammatory is an essential part of skin care routine.
There are 2 reasons for enlarged pores:
1. Inflammation scar
Oily skin easily leads to enlarged pores. The real reason is that the sebaceous glands are overactive. Excessive oil will penetrate the dermis to varying degrees and become inflammatory factors, causing inflammation in the dermis, leading to inflammatory scars, that is, “large pores.”
2. Skin aging
The dermis of our skin is composed of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid to construct the 3-dimensional structure of the skin, thus making the skin plump and firm.
As people age, the synthesis of these substances gradually decreases, while the loss increases so that the supporting structure of the skin becomes poor, and the sebaceous glands have no external support and expand outward, forming large pores.
Therefore, many people do not have large pores when they are young. As they age, the pores gradually become more obvious.
How To Minimize Pores？
It is very difficult to rely on skin care products to shrink the pores. After the pores become enlarged, it is difficult to restore them.
The only way to shrink pores is to go to the hospital for aesthetic medicine.
Aesthetic medicine changes the skin condition, and skin care products maintain the skin condition.
Common medical aesthetic items used to shrink pores are as follows:
Fractional laser
The fractional laser mainly punches fine pores on the skin through the laser, forming three areas of thermal exfoliation, thermal coagulation, and thermal effect in the skin layer, thereby stimulating the proliferation of collagen in the dermis layer. Allows the skin to repair itself to achieve the purpose of reducing pores, rejuvenating skin, and removing stains.
The fractional laser is divided into ablative fractional laser and non-ablative fractional laser.
The non-ablative fractional laser does not damage the epidermis, but only acts on the dermis. It does not scab after surgery and recovers quickly (the recovery period is generally one month). But the effect is not as good as the ablative fractional laser.
The effect of ablative fractional laser is remarkable. However, since it acts on both the epidermal layer and the dermal layer, it will produce a scab and the recovery time will be longer. Generally, it takes 2-3 months to fully recover, so you must consider clearly when choosing a project.
Skin condition after fractional laser. The surface of the skin appears faintly red. The skin seems to have been punched with a pinhole, which is caused by the laser penetrating the epidermis.
Fractional lasers can not achieve perfect results all at once.
Generally speaking, ablative will be done 3-5 times, once every 3 months.
Non- ablative will be done more than 5 times, once a month.
Post-operative photos after dot matrix laser.
After reading this paper by L’Oreal, I went to the hospital to do a fractional laser (It cost me half a month’s salary). After I finished it, I found that the pores were not reduced, but lightened. From the appearance, it used to be a pinhole, but now it is a small hole that can be seen to the bottom.
Microneedle Therapy System (MTS)
For aging-type enlarged pores, Microneedle Therapy System (MTS) is recommended.
MTS is inserted into the face through a fine needle, forming countless tiny pores in the skin of the face. These pore channels can also increase the permeability of the skin in a short time and enhance the skin’s absorption of effective active ingredients.
At this time, it is matched with stem cell essence, 60% peptide essence, and regeneration introduction essence to promote skin’s wound repair mechanism, stimulate collagen regeneration, and minimize pores.
Glycolic peeling
Glycolic peeling and the use of skin care products containing alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) are two concepts because the concentration of AHA in them is very different. Medical institutions generally use very high concentrations of alpha hydroxy acid (20%-70%), while the content of alpha hydroxy acid in skin care products is below 10%.
High concentration alpha hydroxy acid can promote the metabolism and renewal of the epidermis, make the drainage channel of the sebum more smooth, and reduce the possibility of clogged pores. At the same time, it can stimulate the production of collagen in the dermis, minimize pores.
How To Prevent Large Pores?
Although to minimize the size of the pores you have to do aesthetic medicine. However, these items are like surgery on the skin and are not recommended as daily skin care.
The focus is to prevent enlarged pores, develop good living habits, correct skin care methods, and healthy eating.
1. Reduce sebum production
Reducing the secretion of sebum from the source should develop good living habits and healthy diet.
Eat fewer sweets. Excessive intake of sweets will lead to high blood sugar. To lower blood sugar, the human body will produce a lot of insulin, but too high insulin will produce a lot of 5α-reductase.
Too much 5α-reductase will produce a large amount of dihydrotestosterone(DHT), and DHT will stimulate the sebaceous glands to secrete large amounts of sebum.
At the same time, sugar will also combine with facial collagen, causing facial collagen to lose its original elasticity and function, resulting in dull, loose skin and enlarged pores.
Don’t stay up late. Staying up late will stimulate the body to produce a lot of androgens, thereby stimulating the sebaceous glands to produce a lot of sebum.
Staying up late accelerates the aging of the human body and leads to the loss of collagen. Most of the new skin cells are produced at night. The stem cells of the human body lack the normal routine of work and rest, and senescence will appear prematurely.
Supplement zinc. You can go to the drugstore to buy zinc supplements or eat more foods containing zinc. Such as beef, fish, walnuts, milk, eggplant, pumpkin, beans.
Use oil-control skin care products. Such as niacinamide and retinol.
Niacinamide not only has a good effect of inhibiting the production of sebum but also has a whitening function. However, niacinamide will decompose into niacin. Niacin has a strong irritation to some people and is not suitable for everyone.
The following skin care products are good oil control products.
Ingredients: Pitera, 5% Niacinamide, Inositol, Panthenol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Hexyldecanol, Phytosterol/Octyldodecanol Lauroyl Glutamate.
Pitera: Strong oil control, slight whitening.
Laminaria Saccharina Extract: Anti-aging, anti-oxidation, accelerate the metabolism of oxidized glycosylated protein in the skin.
Phytosterol/octyldodecanol lauroyl glutamate: A ceramide-like ingredient that can strengthen the skin barrier.
Inositol: Strong moisturizing, stimulate the epidermal water retention mechanism, improve the integrity of the skin barrier, and increase skin luster.
Panthenol: Also called vitamin B5, it is an excellent moisturizer. It can increase the content of hyaluronic acid in the skin, which is similar to the composition of the sebaceous membrane, can strengthen the skin barrier, and improve a series of skin problems caused by the decline of the water-locking mechanism.
Ascorbyl Glucoside: anti-oxidation.
Hexyldecanol: Reduce the production of melanin and whiten.
Ingredients: Pitera, 5% Niacinamide, Inositol, Panthenol, 0.5% Undecylenoyl Phenylalanine, Hexyldecanol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Vitamin E, Various Plant extracts, Titanium Dioxide, Mica.
Pitera: Strong oil control, slight whitening.
Inositol, Panthenol: Moisturizes and repairs the skin barrier.
Undecylenoyl Phenylalanine： Reduce the production of melanin and whiten. It can work synergistically with nicotinamide.
Hexyldecanol: Reduce the production of melanin and whiten
Vitamin C glucoside and vitamin E: anti-oxidation.
SK-II GENOPTCS AURA ESSENCE contains boron nitride, titanium dioxide, and mica, which make the face look a little white.
PROX by OLAY Dermatological Even Tone Spot Fading Treatment contains 5% concentration of Niacinamide, 1% concentration of Laminaria Saccharina Extract, 1% concentration of Undecylenoyl Phenylalanine, Allantoin, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate.
Nicotinamide: Reduce sebum production and whiten.
Undecylenoyl Phenylalanine: Reduce the production of melanin and whiten.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate and Allantoin: Excellent anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredients.
Panthenol: Moisturizing.
Laminaria Saccharina Extract: Anti-aging, anti-oxidant.
Ingredients: Niacinamide 10% , Zinc 1%
The high concentration of nicotinamide and zinc greatly enhances the oil control ability, but the whitening effect is very slight.
The upper limit of the whitening concentration of nicotinamide is 5%, but The Ordinary is added to 10%, the irritation is greatly increased, but the effect is not increased.
Retinol can not only control oil but also improve collagen and elastin in the dermis. The combination of retinol and niacinamide complement each other and promote each other’s effects.
2. Prevent light aging
The most important work to prevent photoaging is sun protection.
Ultraviolet rays contain UVA and UVB.
UVB disrupts the ordering of DNA in cells.
UVA will promote the formation of oxygen free radicals (ROS), destroying the integrity of the DNA chain.
Both of these attacks will make the skin lose its ability to repair itself and accelerate skin aging.
The skin is irradiated by ultraviolet rays, the epidermal cells will be damaged, the skin’s ability to hold water will drop sharply, and its moisturizing function will be destroyed. The skin will dry easily and produce fine lines, even burns, inflammation, sunburn, etc.
The best way to prevent sun protection is to use sun protection clothing, sun protection umbrella, and sun protection hat. These sun protection methods will not cause extra burden on the skin, and the sun protection effect is the best.
The next best way to sunscreen is to use sunscreen.
If the ultraviolet rays are too strong, a combination of multiple sun protection methods is required.
3. Slow down skin aging
Even if you are very rich, you cannot resist aging. Although we cannot resist aging, we can do our best to delay aging.
In addition to developing good habits, healthy eating, and sun protection, you can use anti-aging products to delay aging.
For example, skin care products containing Pro-XylaneTM and Retinol, as well as products with anti-inflammatory effects.
Pro-XylaneTM strengthens the junction between the dermis and epidermis, promotes the growth of elastin and collagen, and fills the shriveled skin.
L’Oréal Paris Skincare Revitalift Triple Power Intensive Skin Revitalizer contains 6% Pro-XylaneTM and 2% Vitamin C, which is anti-aging and antioxidant to make up for the lack of anti-inflammatory
Pro-XylaneTM fills the skin during the day and tightens the skin with retinol at night.
Retinol can thicken the dermis, stimulate the growth of collagen, and prevent the rapid breakdown of collagen.
Retinol can promote the metabolism of the stratum corneum and prevent hyperkeratosis of epidermal cells, thereby preventing the formation of acne.
Retinol can also inhibit the activity of tyrosinase, reduce melanin production, and have whitening effects.
This cream is the highest concentration of several Neutrogena Retinol Cream. But it uses Myrtus Communis and Hyaluronic Acid to reduce the skin irritation of retinol and enhance the effectiveness of retinol.
Helena Rubinstein Re-Plasty Age Recovery (BLACK) contains 30% Pro-XylaneTM and 4% extract of European Lingonberry, which is rich in vitamin C and contains bioflavonoids that stabilize vitamin C.
This cream has a strong anti-aging and anti-inflammatory ability.
Its disadvantage is that it is too expensive.
SkinCeuticals Correct H.A. Intensifier Serum is also an excellent anti-aging serum.
It contains 10% Pro-XylaneTM, although the concentration is not as good as Helena Rubinstein, the price is much cheaper.
Caprylyl Salicylic Acid: Gently exfoliates and helps the absorption of other active ingredients.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate and Purple Rice Extract: Anti-inflammatory.
Hyaluronic Acid: Strong moisturizing. And when purple rice extract is used in combination with dipotassium glycyrrhizinate, it can enhance the effect of hyaluronic acid.
However, due to the ingredients containing octanoylsalicylic acid, cyclohexasiloxane, and a higher content of alcohol, it is not recommended for dry skin, patients with alcohol allergies, and pregnant women.
If the anti-inflammatory ability of the skin care products you use is insufficient, you can add a powerful anti-inflammatory serum to your skin care.
The best anti-inflammatory skin care product belongs to Phyto-C Superheal Olive Gel. Its main anti-inflammatory ingredient is olive leaf extract.
It also adds a variety of amino acids and zinc gluconate, which has a good oil control function.
This gel is more suitable for oily skin.
Skinceuticals Phyto Corrective’s moisturizing effect is better, the skin feels a little sticky, and it is more suitable for dry skin.
The main ingredients of Skinceuticals Phyto Corrective are patented cucumber extract, olive oil extract, rosemary extract, and the anti-inflammatory effect is weaker than that of Phyto-C Olive Gel.