Large Pores
- Skinfinity+
- Jun 18
- 9 min read
Ideally, we would all like to have skin that’s smooth, firm, pliable, and nicely hydrated, with small, nearly-invisible pores. But some of us just have large pores – or pores that are much more visible than we’d like them to be and which contribute to making our skin look uneven in tone. Unfortunately, you can’t get rid of your pores (theyre quite important for you're skin!) but you can keep them clean and shrink them temporarily to make them less obvious.
Treatments:
Radio Frequency
FAQ - LARGE PORES
Why do we get large pores?
The size of your pores is determined by your genes, and if you feel your pores are on the larger side, particularly across your nose and chin and forehead, it is usually because you have oilier skin. When the oil or sebum your skin produces to help keep itself lubricated flows freely out of your pores, all tends to be fine. However your pores can quickly become problematically noticeable when they get blocked with a combination of old dead skin cells and oil, which oxidises into a black plug known as a blackhead.
As so often with skin issues, things tend to get worse as you get older. The skin produces less collagen (the supportive protein that gives skin its structure) over time and that slight slackening means that pores dilate a fraction and appear bigger. So, if you’re getting older and you’ve been wondering whether your pores are larger than they used to be – I’m afraid you’re right. Your pores are slightly enlarging by the year.
What treatments are there for large pores?
There are many treatments that can help reduce large pores. The following list explains your main options:
Botulinum Toxin is famous for freezing facial muscles to reduce wrinkles, but it can also be used both to reduce sweating and to reduce the production of oil in the skin. The practitioner injects the Botox closer to the surface of the skin, rather than into the muscles of the face. This is also known as the 'glass facial' where botulinum toxin is microneedled into the skin for a smoother appearance.
A skin peel can tone and refresh the surface of your skin, making your pores less noticeable. In clinic we offer a wide variety professional-strength acids applied by a practitioner for stronger results along with treating a variety of concerns. You can also benefit from use of consumer strength acids at home.
Hydrofacial can certainly help reduce large pores by degunking them. The whirling vortex of water cleanses your skin while performing a lymph-draining massage on it. The skin is exfoliated to remove old dead skin cells, then an acid to soften blockages in the pores before vacuuming out the softened gunk. Finally, we give your skin a dose of complexion-boosting vitamins, peptides, and moisturising hyaluronic acid, which plumps up your skin and reduces wrinkles. If you’re having a Hydrofacial to shrink your pores for a big event, allow a day or so for your skin to lose any pinkness and settle down afterwards. The glow from Hydrofacial lasts for several days, and the super-clean feeling lasts for a week or so.
Microneedling can be a good way to reduce pore size. This treatment, which is also known as medical needling, uses a dermapen tipped with slender stainless steel needles to create thousands of tiny puncture wounds in your skin. The healing process that takes place as the skin mends itself releases growth factors and creates new collagen and elastin, all of which makes the skin fresher and firmer than before.
Radio Frequency
Radiofrequency (sometimes referred to as ‘RF’) involves heating up the lower layers of the skin (the dermis), at which point the existing collagen contracts. The contraction creates an instant tightening effect, but the blast of heat also makes the skin think it is injured, causing it to throw out growth factors and new collagen to heal the perceived wounds. Radiofrequency can also be used for skin resurfacing by combining it with Microneedling, both treating the skin surface directly to tighten and brighten it, and using the tiny needles to send the radiofrequency energy deeper into the skin, which improves skin texture and reduces the appearance of pores.
What treatments can I use for large pores at home?
You can treat large pores at home by exfoliating, reducing skin oiliness and by increasing collagen production.
Exfoliate
Gentle exfoliation is vital if you want to get rid of the dead skin cells that block the skin’s surface. You can exfoliate your skin either physically or chemically. Physical exfoliation uses a face scrub with small, smooth particles to physically remove dead skin cells. Be gentle with the scrub so that you don’t ruin your skin barrier - use the scrub lightly once or twice a week, and think of it as polishing the surface of your face rather than scrubbing it, because scrubbing can make your pores appear larger. I generally prefer chemical exfoliation using a product based on glycolic acid or salicylic acid. ‘Acid’ tends to sound harsh, but these acids in home strength products gently dissolve the bonds that hold old dead skin cells onto the skin’s surface, removing the debris without you needing to scrub.
Reduce skin oiliness
If your skin is producing too much oil, you can use a salicylic acid cleanser or toner, and retinol-based serums to reduce the production. Clay masks are pretty good at drawing both your skin’s natural oils and any impurities out of your skin. The effect of a mask is to tighten your skin and to reduce the size of your pores temporarily.
Increase collagen production
Try one of the many treatments that increase collagen production such as Microneedling or Radio Frequency treatments. With each of them, you will get an immediate improvement from the slight shrinking of the pores that the treatment causes, followed by a further improvement over the next few months as the new collagen formed deep in the skin is produced and rises to the surface. And that all means smaller, neater, less noticeable pores. Retinol-based products will also speed up the sluggish cell turnover in older skin, improve collagen production, and bring newer, stronger skin cells up to the surface.
Can I use a laser treatment to get rid of large pores?
Yes. Laser treatment can be a great way to clean your pores and shrink their size. Intense pulsed light (IPL), which is not technically laser treatment but is often lumped in with laser treatments on websites, can also do your pores a power of good. Whereas laser uses tightly focused light, intense pulsed light delivers a broad-spectrum blast of light, not unlike the flash from a flashgun.
Various light treatments are available for shrinking pores. Some of these treatments use only laser, while others using both laser and intense pulsed light (IPL).
For example, the Skin Laundry Laser and IPL Facial is a 15-minute treatment that starts with a light dose of laser to vaporize dirt, grime, and bacteria that are clogging your pores. After the laser, the practitioner gives your face a quick blast of intense pulsed light, which helps give your skin a more even tone. The Laser and IPL Facial is a quick treatment that you would need to have regularly for best effect.
Another facial treatment that uses either laser or intense pulsed light is the Skin Matters Facial with IPL or Laser. This facial takes up to two hours and has eight stages, including a cleanse, a light peel, steaming to soften the skin and open pores, and extractions of debris from the pores. The practitioner finishes with a dose of either laser or intense pulsed light — whichever light treatment will benefit your skin most.
The Laser Genesis treatment uses a non-ablative Genesis Nd:YAG laser to generate renewal in the skin, stimulating collagen production, plumping fine lines, and improving pore size and texture. For best effect, practitioners typically recommend a course of several treatments with a few weeks in between each.
How can I tighten the pores on my face naturally?
Practise good skincare with the following list of recommendations. Chances are you already know all these moves, but it’s amazing the number of people who disregard them or simply don’t bother.
Keep your face clean by cleansing it regularly.
Avoid touching your face with dirty hands. (Easier said than done!)
Use a salicylic acid toner which can penetrate into the pores, to help keep them clear.
Exfoliate gently two or three times a week.
Drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated.
Use a hydrating serum twice every day. The hydrating serum plumps up your skin, which has the effect of shrinking your pores.
Use sunscreen to protect your skin. Sun damage makes your skin less firm.
Use a night-time product containing some form of Vitamin A, such as retinol.
Use a clay mask to draw out natural oils and impurities.
Does a clay mask for pores work?
Clay masks are good at drawing both your skin’s natural oils and any impurities out of your skin however the clay also draws out water from your skin. The effect of a mask is to tighten your skin and to reduce the size of your pores temporarily.
Clay masks can be harsh on your skin, stripping so much moisture and oil out of it as to leave it dry and rough. To avoid this unwanted effect, look for a mask that contains kaolin, bentonite or both. Kaolin and bentonite are both types of clay that are good for absorbing oils from the skin without being harsh on it.
Kaolin is sometimes referred to as white clay, although the colour is usually more beige and is formed by the natural decomposition of other clays or of the crystalline rock called feldspar. Bentonite, which is formed by the breakdown of volcanic ash, is typically a mid-grey colour.
You can experiment with different clay masks to find which works best for your skin. If you have combination skin, you may get the best effects by using two or more different masks on different parts of your face. Using two or more masks is called ‘multi-masking’.
When you find a type of clay mask that works for your skin, be sure to use the mask the right way:
Cleanse your skin, and exfoliate if necessary, before applying the mask to it. Your skin should be dry and your hands should be clean.
Use only a small amount of mask – enough for a thin layer covering your face and neck. You may be tempted to slather on the mask, but this doesn’t really help.
Set a timer for the recommended length of time. Leaving the mask on for longer doesn’t help either.
Avoid overusing the mask. Some masks are designed for daily use but even so, your skin may not need daily applications. Other masks are intended for use two or three times a week.
What facial should I use to clear out pores?
There are plenty of facialists and skin clinics that offer deep-cleansing treatments that will really muck out the pores, after which your skin will look fresher and clearer.
Deep cleansing is usually done with gentle steaming, which is not, as is popularly supposed, to dilate the pores (they’re not like flowers, they don’t open up), but to soften the blocked oil that is stuck in them. After that, the softened blackheads are extracted. The facialist either squeezes the blackheads out gently (it’s not comfortable, but it is effective), or vacuums them out with a suction device.
Pore-shrinking tweakments take this to the next level so that your pores will seem vanishingly tiny and you will feel you have given your skin a quick ‘reset’.
Does a Hydrofacial help with large pores?
Hydrofacial can certainly help reduce large pores by degunking them. The Hydrofacial treatment performed with a pen-like device with a whirling vortex of water at its tip and a tube coming out of the other end of it. Using different tips on the device, the practitioner first cleanses your skin and performs a lymph-draining massage. Next, the practitioner exfoliates the skin to get rid of old dead skin cells and applies acids to soften blockages in the pores before vacuuming out the softened gunk. Finally, the practitioner gives your skin a dose of complexion-boosting vitamins, peptides and moisturising hyaluronic acid, which plumps up your skin and reduces wrinkles. If you’re having a Hydrofacial to shrink your pores for a big event, allow a day or so for your skin to lose any pinkness and settle down afterwards. The glow from Hydrofacial lasts for several days, and the super-clean feeling lasts for a week or so.
Can I use a chemical peel for large pores?
Yes, a chemical peel is a great way to freshen up the surface of your skin, remove impurities to help shrink down your pores. You can use consumer grade acid peels at home such as glycolic acid, or have a practitioner perform the peel on you in clinic using professional grade acids – stronger acids will work more quickly and require expert handling for stronger results along with treating a variety of concerns.
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