How to unclog and cleanse the skin pores?
By: Mehwish Sheikh
Tags: Large Pores, Skin Care Tips, Skin, Skincare, Skin Treatment

Tired of playing “pore count” in your mirror? Here are some tips to cleanse the skin pores and reduce their appearance in the short and long term.

Who has never spent long minutes observing the pores of their face in a magnifying mirror? Whether they bother us or not, these microscopic cavities are an integral part of the structure of the skin and cannot be erased with a wave of a magic wand. However, thanks to a few specific skincare products and makeup tips, their appearance can be greatly minimized. We tell you everything.

What are pores and what are they used for?

Pores are very small openings on the surface of the skin. They are most of the time invisible to the naked eye but they can become more noticeable, especially on the face, an area rich in sebaceous glands, when they are blocked by a sebum plug (the famous black point that annoys us so much. ) or dilated due to natural aging of the skin, stress, pollution or too superficial make-up removal.

Skin pores are essential for regulating body temperature and allowing the natural flow of sebum, the substance produced by the sebaceous glands which help protect the skin. They should therefore not be seen as enemies but rather as companions to be tamed (and to be called to order from time to time). Contrary to what we sometimes hear, it is not possible to “tighten” the pores of the skin (as we cannot “close” them either), their size is determined genetically. On the other hand, provided you set up an appropriate beauty routine, it is possible to minimize their appearance.

How to treat large pores?

In your bathroom, you can adopt new habits to reduce excess sebum, sweep away dead cells and stimulate the production of collagen, a protein that helps support the structure of pores and moderate their sagging over time. . In order to thoroughly cleanse the skin and thus avoid sebum plugs which make the pores more visible, it is important to carry out a thorough make-up removal and cleansing of the face. The most effective technique is that of double cleaning, which consists of clearing the space in two steps: removing makeup residue and pollution particles with milk, oil, or balm, and purifying the pores with a cleansing gel or foam. Once a week, to complete the cleansing and help regulate the sebaceous glands, you can also leave a mask with pink or white clay (both less drying than the famous green clay) for a few minutes.

To treat the skin pores from the inside, you can also integrate an exfoliating lotion based on fruit acids or plant extracts in your “beautiful skin” routine. By removing dead cells from the surface of the epidermis, these active ingredients will prevent them from clogging the skin pores and ending up forming black spots. Depending on the formula chosen, this type of product can be used once or twice a week as every day. Finally, to give a little boost to the production of collagen, a serum based on vitamin C, bakuchiol, or niacinamide can also be applied before your usual moisturizer. In addition to preventing the loss of firmness, these star-active ingredients will act on other issues such as the uniformity and radiance of the skin. Enough to forget the pores that are a little too attractive!

How to make pores less visible with makeup?

If an adapted skin care routine will give good results in the long term, to camouflage the face pores instantly, we can count on make-up and in particular on smoothing foundations and other products that blur imperfections. These products, real “Photoshop wands”, fill pores and smooth out small irregularities in the skin thanks to the presence of polymeric silicones, including the famous (and controversial) dimethicone. In order to avoid this ingredient, which is often accused of being comedogenic, some brands use silica, agave extract, or oily esters of plant origin, notably derived from coconut oil, to give a velvety finish to the skin.

The filling foundation is applied after the moisturizer, on the areas where the pores are most visible, that is to say, the chin, the nose, the forehead, and sometimes even the top of the cheekbones. It can be used on its own, as the first step in your complexion makeup routine and even, depending on the formulas, in small touches to mattify areas of shine at any time of the day.