19 years
Some people have a smooth skin (no pores) while others people's faces have LOTS of pores causing the accumulation of dirt which leads to pimples. Is there any way I can have a smooth skin on my face?
Aug 14, 2014
Three factors can contribute to enlarged pores; oily skin, your age and your gender. Individuals with very oily skin tend to have larger pores. With advancing age, our skin loses its elasticity, this can also cause the pores to look larger. Men tend to have larger pores than women, although women can see changes in their pore size with fluctuations in the levels of hormones.
Your pores can become clogged with debris, and when the obstruction forms a solid plug, it will react with environmental oxygen. As a result, a blackhead will appear.. But even if the pores are not clogged they can be a cause for cosmetic concern.
People usually think that visibly open pores are best dealt with by increasing facial cleansing efforts - this in a wrong practice, because facial cleansers, even the ones that contain purifying or exfoliating agents such as glycolic acid, cannot penetrate the pores to a deep enough level, since the pores are an oil-rich medium and can only be penetrated by very specific formulas. On the other hand, skin hydration can improve with cleansing, as the skin becomes slightly more plump making pores less visible, but this is a temporary solution.
Trying to squeeze out the content of the pores is another bad habit, because it does not evacuate the entire contents of the pore and can commonly cause red marks or bruising with lasting brown marks on the skin eventually appearing.
Enlarged pores are often resistant to treatment creams and lotions, but there are a number of non-surgical treatments that can improve their appearance, such as Fractional Laser or the Spectra Peel.
Clay masks can help - they are composed of bentonite, kaolin, zinc or titanium dioxide, and function by extracting water and some oil from the pores. As they dry, they also induce pores contraction, which makes the pores look somewhat smaller. The effect of a clay mask lasts for a few hours at a time. But note that repeated use can cause drying or irritation of the skin which worsens the appearance of the pores. So the ideal frequency of clay mask usage varies according to how dry your skin is.
Exfoliation (using granule "physical exfoliation" or certain chemicals like alpha hyroxy acid or salicylic acid containing products) can help ingredients to seep in and restore smaller pore size. Again this is a short-lived effect.
Retinol derivatives shrink the oil gland and dries the skin out, but once treatment is stopped, pores become more prominent again.
Permamnent shrinkiage of pores is achieved with non-ablative laser treatments which shrink collagen while also increasing collagen production.
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