What makes my pores look so big?
There are a lot of factors that cause our pores to appear large. Kaisa Marshall, Medical Aesthetician and skincare expert for Skin NV, filled us in on some of the reasons why:
1. Sun damage: Where do your pores look the largest? I’m betting the areas that receive the most sun: your nose and cheek area. If you are not wearing a PHYSICAL block sunscreen, now’s the time to start!
2. Clogged pores = large pores. Some make-up, moisturizers and chemical sunscreens smother your pores and make them look bigger. Regular exfoliation helps. Just make sure you are not damaging the skin with harsh scrubs or manual exfoliates like “buff puffs”. Chemical exfoliation cleansers and treatment products with glycolic and salicylic acid work well, as do regular light chemical peels, and using Retinoids.
3. Too many extractions. Wait, I’m not contradicting myself! The new theory is little to no extractions after 30. That’s when our Collagen and Elastin production slows dramatically. Our skins loses the ability to “snap back”. Combine that with too much sun and after doing extractions your poor little pores just lay there, open to clog up again and get even larger!
4. Aging. As we lose volume due to the aging process(see #3), the pores appear larger or scarring we thought was “gone” suddenly appears. Replacing lost volume with dermal fillers not only makes you look younger it makes scarring and pores look better too. Fraxel is also a great treatment for building the collagen needed to make the pores look better.
My favorite new procedure for helping large pores and scarring is our Biofacial. We use a Microneedling pen followed by either a growth factor serum or your own plasma to stimulate collagen production. There is only a 1-2 day downtime and significant results can be seen in 4-6 weeks. We have some amazing before and after pictures – be sure to take a look at them in our office or on our website!