[tattoobarbie]

I have large pores on my nose and when I wear foundation it looks like I have blackheads or something on the sides of my nose. I have been reading up on pore refiners, masks, scrubs, treatments from high end to low end and would like some feedback from people. So far I'm leaning towards Burt's Bees pore mask, but money is tight lately so I will probably only get one shot at buying a pore product. Help!

[bmichlig]

A few things are going on with visible pores.

Firstly, don't worry about how they look so much. We've come to desire and expect magazine page skin - smooth, poreless, gleaming - and most skins just aren't that way anyhow, and not much will really get you to THAT level of "perfection."

Secondly, visible pores are largely hereditary, like the color of your skin, hair, eyes, freckles, etc.

Now, to diminish the appearance, you want to keep the pore itself free of clogging debris. To exfoliate INSIDE the pore, look for the ingredient salicylic acid. Often acen products contain this ingredient. It is oil soluble, so it works inside the pore to dissolve oil and dead skin build up, which can block the pore and stretch it out, making it look large.

Secondly, you'll want to do surface exfoliation to smooth the edges of the pore. Retinoids are great (rx or otc), as are ahas like glycolic acid. Enzymes work great and are gentler for many people because they only dissolve dead cells, leaving healthy cells in tact. Manual exfoliation with a scrub or mask helps too. And a traditional clay mask like Queen Helene Mint Julep or Aztec Secret will temporarily shrink the appearance of pores by drying the surface of the skin and making the opening to the pore look smaller.

So there is lots you can do, and it really isn't all about a single magical product.

Lastly, wear sunscreen daily - UV exposure damages skin and collagen and makes the surface of the skin sag, which makes pores look bigger, too.

hth -
-b.

[tattoobarbie]

wow, lots of good info! thanx!

[ColdDayInHell]

Originally Posted by bmichlig

A few things are going on with visible pores.

Firstly, don't worry about how they look so much. We've come to desire and expect magazine page skin - smooth, poreless, gleaming - and most skins just aren't that way anyhow, and not much will really get you to THAT level of "perfection."

Secondly, visible pores are largely hereditary, like the color of your skin, hair, eyes, freckles, etc.

Now, to diminish the appearance, you want to keep the pore itself free of clogging debris. To exfoliate INSIDE the pore, look for the ingredient salicylic acid. Often acen products contain this ingredient. It is oil soluble, so it works inside the pore to dissolve oil and dead skin build up, which can block the pore and stretch it out, making it look large.

Secondly, you'll want to do surface exfoliation to smooth the edges of the pore. Retinoids are great (rx or otc), as are ahas like glycolic acid. Enzymes work great and are gentler for many people because they only dissolve dead cells, leaving healthy cells in tact. Manual exfoliation with a scrub or mask helps too. And a traditional clay mask like Queen Helene Mint Julep or Aztec Secret will temporarily shrink the appearance of pores by drying the surface of the skin and making the opening to the pore look smaller.

So there is lots you can do, and it really isn't all about a single magical product.

Lastly, wear sunscreen daily - UV exposure damages skin and collagen and makes the surface of the skin sag, which makes pores look bigger, too.

hth -
-b.

Excellent post! I couldn't agree more.