Enlarged Pores

Definition

Pores play a vital role in skin physiology. It has an important role in our skin after all, without them we’d have nowhere for hair to grow out of, no method for skin oils to reach the surface, protecting skin from environmental dehydration.

Pores are actually tiny openings in our skin that provide a way for the oil glands underneath to lubricate and protect the surface of your skin.

Causes

Pores enlarge during puberty, when oil glands in your skin begin to increase the amount of oil that they pump through your pores. The pores get bigger so that they can handle the increased output. And they stay enlarged until somewhere around menopause, when they shrink into the perfect, totally unnoticeable size that you've always wanted.

Sun damage is another cause. As we age, one of the ways sun damage affects the skin is through the enlargement of the pores. Sun damage and aging cause the epidermis to thicken and a rim of cells are more likely to collect around individual pores. While microscopic, these rings exaggerate pore diameter.

Symptoms

The important symptoms of enlarged pores are as:-

• Blackheads
• Oily skin
• Skin sagging

Treatment

Facials are good for deep-pore cleansing and they are very soothing. Another great feature of a facial is that you can have safely extracted the nasty blackheads. Microdermabrasion is procedure that will help you with your skin problems it lessens the appearance of pores by roughening up skin, therefore loosening the dead skin that clogs pores. You should know that if you have spider veins it would not be good for them. Therefore, you should be very careful with the procedure.

Do not apply foundation to any areas where pores are enlarged. Foundation just seems to magnify their look. Use neutral powder directly to any areas where pores appear enlarged. The powder will diffuse the look of the pores.

Look for gels and tinted creams formulated to smooth the appearance of pores. Just put the product directly on areas that are bothering you. Let it set and lightly apply powder over it. Clinique's Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector has a creamy feeling, and it's completely invisible on the skin. Perricone's Pore Refinining Concealer contains glycolic acid and antioxidants in a tinted base.

Lasers do a great job of shrinking enlarged pores. A number of the non-ablative lasers are quite effective at improving enlarged pores. The other characteristics of your skin will dictate which lasers are best for you. Often, a combination of lasers works best.