Make Your Pores Smaller
Enlarged pores are a fact of life for some — like breakups and taxes. But just because it's a fact of life doesn't mean you can't do something about it. While it's not technically possible to permanently reduce the size of pores, you can make them look smaller in appearance with a few tips and tricks. Read on if you want your pores to shrink in fright!
Contents
Steps
Get Facial Care RIght
- Always use an oil-free cleanser and rinse with cold water. An oil-free cleanser will wash away dirt, oil, and makeup without robbing your skin of essential moisture. Cold water closes your pores.
- Use a clay mask. Clay masks tend to strip the skin of oil and water, temporarily making the appearance of your pores smaller. Look for clay masks that contain bentonite and kaolin clay.
- Clay masks can over-dry your face if you use them too often. In conjunction with other facial beauty products, use clay masks once, or at most twice, a week to keep your skin from drying out and reversing the good trend.
- Experiment with clay masks that work in concert with your skin's tolerance. Some clay masks are better suited for sensitive skin, while other masks are better suited for oily skin. Talk to a beautician if you're unsure of which clay mask to buy.
- Try other facial masks. A homemade mask might look something like this: mix two whole eggs, four tablespoons sugar, and a few drops of any acidic liquid (such as vinegar or lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit juice). Spread the goo all over your face and wait 15 minutes. Rinse with icy cold water. The dried mask pulls dirt and oil out of your pores, which allows them to close.
- Try out skin toners. Skin toners do exactly what their name suggests they do: tone, or "even out," your skin. Toners can be used by both men and women, and can be especially helpful if your skin has excess shine during the day from oil buildup. Toners will help eliminate some of the oil and shine, help prevent breakouts, and keep pores from getting clogged, thereby making them appear smaller.
- Use a toner after you cleanse but before you moisturize. Wipe your face dry, then apply a bit of toner — depending on what form of toner you buy, you could spray it on, wipe it on, or rub it on — and then moisturize.
- If your skin is hardy, apply the toner every day to minimize the appearance of pores and reduce excess shine. If your skin is more sensitive, use a toner every other day or every third day to reduce the risk of over-drying.
- Use astringents much like toners. Astringents are much like toners, except they are often stronger and alcohol-based. They cause facial tissue to constrict and tighten, reducing the appearance of pore size. Alcohol- or acetone-based astringents are only recommended for tolerant, oily skin. Astringents like these may be too harsh and drying for sensitive, dry skin.
- Natural astringents can also be found. They include the following:
- Witch Hazel
- Rose Water
- Orange Blossom Water
- Green Tea
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Cucumber
- Elderflower
- Natural astringents can also be found. They include the following:
- Use physical skin exfoliation to clear up clogged pores. Exfoliation means to wipe away the dead layer of skin on top of the epidermis, called the stratum corneum. You can physically exfoliate your skin by wiping a cleanser onto your face with a buff puff (don't wipe too vigorously) or by using a gritty scrub, such as one that has ground-up peach cores in it. Exfoliate at most two times a week.
- Use chemical skin exfoliation for a more targeted approach. For a stronger variant, try chemical peels. Chemical peels are a little stronger than physical exfoliants, so be sure to use sparingly or to ramp up use slowly so that your skin gets used to higher concentrations gradually.
- Tretinoin is a common chemical exfoliant. It's a retinoid, meaning it's related to vitamin A, and it's prescription, meaning you'll have to visit a doctor to get it. It's worth it, however.
- Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) are another class of chemical exfoliant. AHAs can be purchased in the store and used at home for professional-grade chemical exfoliation. Look for AHAs that are glycolic acid-based.
- Beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) are helpful, too. BHAs are oil-soluble where AHAs aren't, meaning they can penetrate deep into oily skin and exfoliate from the inside out. BHAs are suitable for people with especially acne-prone skin.
- Stay out of excessive sunlight. Sun can not only damage your skin, it can also exaggerate the size of your pores. In order to counteract this, wear a gentle, noncomedogenic sunscreen when you plan on spending significant amounts of time outside.
Use Makeup to Conceal Larger Pores
- Don't forget to use a primer underneath your makeup. If you "prime" your skin before it accepts the final layer of makeup, that makeup will tend to look smoother and more even. As many makeup artists are won't to say: "Not to prime is a crime." Be sure you incorporate this into your morning routine for visibly smaller-looking pores.
- If you're already applied makeup but have forgotten the primer, don't fret. You can apply certain primers on top of makeup while still staying at the height of classy. Make sure the primer you're applying on top of your makeup is specifically designed to do so.
- Use a concealer. Concealers are used to make skin a more uniform color, hiding blemishes and deeper pockets of pores. Go for concealers that last for 12+ hours.
- Wash your makeup off every night. What good is your makeup if using it is what's causing your clogged, larger-looking pores? Not very much good, is it? Be sure to wash your makeup off before you go to sleep. Incorporate this into your regular skin-care routine. Remember that clogged pores appear bigger than unclogged pores.
- If you're the type who sometimes skips washing right before bed, grab yourself some makeup remover wipes — or better yet, make yourself some — and stash them close to your bed so that you can use them in a pinch.
Pay Attention to Other Factors
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Water is the lifeblood of your organs: they need it to stay alive and look healthy. Some doctors recommend drinking at least {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of water a day, while others recommend that you drink water whenever you're thirsty or parched. Drinking water — and cutting sugary soft drinks, juices, and energy drinks from your regimen — may help your pores look smaller.
- Pay attention to your diet. Although there hasn't been a proven scientific link yet, many people believe that unhealthy diets can contribute to larger pores. That's because poor diets can contribute to excessive sebum production, which gets caught in pores and keeps them from looking lovely and lithe.
- For a quick fix, apply an ice cube to pores in order to shrink them. We learned earlier that ice can shrink pores by constricting blood vessels and tightening the surrounding skin. If you're in a pinch and need visibly smaller pores for a short period of time, try this trick.
Tips
- Avoid touching your face excessively, oils from your hands transfer to your face and make it extremely oily.
- Never wash your face more than 2 times a day!
- Stay away from liquid foundation, if you do use it wash very very well
- Always wash your face before applying makeup and before you go to bed
- Never pop pimples
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Sources and Citations
- Videos provided by Jennifer Chiu
