No need to worry: in this article we explain why your skin depends on pores, hand you ten helpful tips against large pores to try at home, and reveal how a professional facial treatment in Berlin can support your skincare routine.
Pores – what exactly are they?
The word ‘pore’ derives from the Greek term póros and means roughly ‘opening’, ‘passage’ or ‘way’. The term already had its present-day meaning in ancient Latin medical language: porī (pores) referred to ‘small skin openings’ or ‘sweat holes’. The roughly 300,000 pores in your skin are therefore very small openings formed by the ducts of sebaceous and sweat glands or hair roots.
They have important jobs: pores excrete sebum, transport pollutants out of the body, and so support your skin’s self-cleaning function. Sebum, by the way, is not a negative waste product but the body’s own protection and care program: it coats the skin with an oily acid mantle that, thanks to its pH value, shields you from germs, bacteria, viruses, fungi and environmental influences, while also ensuring adequate skin moisture. Pores also regulate your body temperature via secreted sweat – a vital function. In addition, these tiny openings play an important role in skin metabolism: both oxygen supply and the absorption of skincare products happen via pores.
That’s why it’s important to care for pores and keep them clean, so that the excretion of sweat and sebum runs smoothly – and unsightly blackheads don’t form. By the way, pores can neither open nor close. Warm water makes facial cleansing easier by softening your skin, allowing impurities to be removed more easily. However, this change in skin surface has no effect on pore size.
How enlarged pores develop
Your pores don’t naturally enlarge overnight. It’s a gradual process attributable to various causes. Genetics is the main factor determining your complexion. Take a look around your circle of friends: your loved ones’ skin is as individual as their personalities. Some people tend toward oily skin with larger pores, while others have dry, cracked skin. This basic skin structure is hereditary – the right care therefore builds on your individual skin type.
The same applies to the size of your pores. This, too, is hereditary and depends on your body’s own sebum production. Fundamentally, the ‘combination skin’ and ‘oily skin’ types are always associated with enlarged pores, since they secrete more sebum. Determine your skin type in this article.
If your sebaceous glands produce too much sebum and it mixes with (dirt) particles such as dead skin flakes, your pores become clogged. As a result, the sebum can no longer drain as usual, backs up, and dark blackheads form, which stretch the pores. Visually, you perceive this as enlargement. If impurities aren’t treated in time, this can result in permanently enlarged pores on the face, because: your skin loses elasticity through the normal aging process and environmental influences. Lacking firmness then means that enlarged pores no longer shrink back.
Source: Angela Roma/pexels
Follicular filaments (sebaceous filaments) can also be responsible for (visually) enlarged pores on the face. Follicular filaments are hair-like structures that form from deposits of sebum and skin flakes, and channel the flow of sebum within the pores. Unlike blackheads, they don’t clog the pores – in fact, they’re an essential part of the skin cycle. When the sebum comes into contact with oxygen, it oxidizes and darkens. This makes the pores noticeably more conspicuous and visually enlarged. If you also try to squeeze out the follicular filaments, the pores become inflamed and actually enlarge through pimple formation. Effective UV filters and antioxidants help prevent sebaceous filaments. By the way: after extraction, follicular filaments automatically refill after about 30 days – so this is something you need to work on consistently.
Changes in sebum production and enlarged pores can also be caused by hormonal fluctuations due to pregnancy, menopause, or taking the birth control pill. An unhealthy lifestyle also contributes to pore contamination and clogging: lack of sleep, insufficient UV protection, and tobacco and alcohol consumption are pure poison for the skin. Rule number 1 for treating enlarged pores on the face: eat your greens (= pay attention to a healthy diet), live healthily, and protect your skin with sunscreen (every day!).
Ten valuable tips against large pores: how to refine your complexion
Enlarged pores are primarily a cosmetic issue. If they bother you, fortunately they can be treated well. But which remedies actually help against enlarged pores? We’ve gathered ten helpful tips and tricks for you to shrink large pores at home too.
1. Shrinking large pores: clay mask
‘Clay masks’ – masks based on healing clay or clay earth – are particularly well suited to treating large pores. They absorb excess sebum and so prevent the formation of unwanted blackheads or pimples. By the way, some clay masks have an astringent (firming) effect, causing the skin – pores included – to contract for a while after use. Your complexion and pores are refined this way, and your face takes on a more even appearance.
Source: Monstera/pexels
2. Pore strips against enlarged pores
The name says it all: peel-off products like pore strips ensure that your enlarged pores get thoroughly cleaned out. The small strips are applied precisely to the affected area of your face. Let them work according to the product instructions, then peel them off. Although the adhesive strips are mainly supposed to work against blackheads, they primarily remove follicular filaments – i.e. oxidized and excess sebum – for about 30 days. Compared to a clay mask, however, pore strips are considerably more aggressive: on sensitive skin they can cause irritation and redness – and in the worst case throw the skin barrier out of balance, since they also pull off skin flakes along with them. By the way, permanent hair removal methods such as waxing have a similar effect – so you kill two birds with one stone.
Source: Anna Shvets/pexels
3. Refining pores: pay attention to good sun protection!
The absolute basic of any skincare routine: UV protection! This isn’t only important during your next beach vacation, but every day: UV radiation is present at all times and everywhere, even when the sun isn’t shining. Besides irreparable skin damage, direct sunlight also causes enlarged pores: it briefly widens the openings of the sebaceous glands, which visually stretches them. In the long term, UV radiation damages the elastin and collagen fibers, leading to premature skin aging and sagging. So the motto is: cream, cream, cream! Read more about stressed summer skin in this article.
4. Shrinking large pores: using the right active ingredients
Want to treat large pores? Then the right skincare is essential. It’s important to know the most common active ingredients and use them in a targeted way. This gives you an optimal skincare routine that (visually) shrinks your pores. Here you’ll find skincare highlights to include in your care routine. Caution: don’t expect a miracle cure from promising creams and serums: good active ingredients can indeed reduce your pores to their original size – but they won’t make them disappear.
Proven agents for refining pores are active ingredients like niacinamide, retinol and hyaluronic acid. Serums with these ingredients have been shown to improve your skin’s firmness and supply it with sufficient moisture, which prevents overproduction of sebum. Our tip against large pores is also BHA: salicylic acid peels are lipophilic – meaning they dissolve fat. BHA penetrates deep into the pores, frees them of built-up sebum and dirt, and so regulates sebum production.
Witch hazel water, a distillate from the witch hazel shrub, is also an insider tip in the fight against unwanted enlarged pores. Its anti-inflammatory effect tackles excess sebum and little pimples, reducing pore size and making your skin instantly more even. Zinc and tea tree oil cosmetics can also refine large pores.
Source: cottonbro/pexels
5. Enlarged pores: visual retouching with makeup and the like
Our SOS tip against enlarged pores: if you need something quick, the right makeup lets you specifically retouch, or ‘cover up’, large pores.
A good primer creates an even appearance by essentially filling in the pores. When buying one, be sure your primer contains no silicones: this ingredient isn’t breathable, clogs your pores, and so worsens your actual problem. After the base, you can apply a BB cream or foundation, which makes your complexion look even more even. Important: don’t forget to thoroughly cleanse your skin in the evening!
6. Enlarged pores on the face: don’t forget to remove your makeup!
If you forget to remove your makeup once, that’s of course no big deal. Regularly skipping makeup removal, however, can disrupt skin regeneration. Why? Your skin is especially active during sleep and forms new cells. Residue from environmental influences and makeup can hinder or slow down this process. Old makeup also blocks the flow of sebum, which in turn contributes to clogged – and thus enlarged – pores.
You don’t use makeup? Even then, a thorough facial care routine should be part of your evening ritual. Similar to forgotten makeup, dust particles and dead skin flakes affect sebum production and can negatively influence nighttime regeneration. Cleanse your skin with a gentle cleansing gel – ideally with salicylic acid – that gently removes excess skin cells and sebum. Then apply a serum with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, and care for your face with a retinol cream.
Source: Andrea Piacquadio/pexels
7. Shrinking large pores: steam bath cleansing
Dark blackheads highlight your large pores in particular. A facial steam bath lets you counteract them gently while refining enlarged pores at the same time. The warm steam opens your pores, allowing impurities and sebum to loosen and drain away.
Here’s how: pour about a liter of steaming water over a handful of chamomile flowers in a bowl. As with an inhalation, hold your face over the steam for ten to fifteen minutes, with your head covered by a towel. Breathe in and out calmly and enjoy the pleasant warmth settling on your skin. Afterward, wash your face lukewarm with a mild cleansing gel.
8. Cucumber mask against enlarged pores
A popular home remedy for shrinking large pores is the cucumber mask: it has a cooling, cleansing and firming effect – ideal for oily and large-pored skin. To make it, slice a cucumber and place the slices on your freshly cleansed face. Don’t skip the eye area. After 20 to 30 minutes, the cucumber slices will have had their full effect.
Alternatively, you can use just cucumber juice: squeeze the cucumber slices through a sieve and spread the juice on your face with a cotton pad. Twenty minutes later, wash it off again with cool water.
Source: Angela Roma/pexels
9. Treating large pores with apple cider vinegar
Naturally cloudy apple cider vinegar is another proven home remedy for shrinking pores. It’s said not only to kill bacteria but also to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Be careful not to apply the vinegar too concentrated, as this can easily cause skin irritation. Mix the apple cider vinegar with water in a ratio of 1:3 and dab your problem areas with a cotton pad. After letting it sit for twenty minutes, the water-vinegar mixture should be washed off with cool water.
10. Shrinking large pores: baking powder peel
You read that right: first aid for large pores is sitting in your baking supplies! The small baking powder granules, used correctly, act as an effective peel: they remove dead skin cells, environmental dirt and excess sebum, thoroughly cleaning out the pores. Two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of baking powder give you exactly the right ratio for a light paste you can apply to your face. After massaging it in thoroughly, simply wash it off and apply your facial care!
Professional facial treatment against enlarged pores at Sanft & Schön in Berlin
You’ll of course achieve effective, lasting results most reliably with a professional facial treatment at our beauty studio Sanft & Schön in Berlin. We offer effective pore reduction through microneedling, Aquafacial treatment and microdermabrasion. These are proven, highly effective treatments that cleanse your skin, supply it with moisture, and stimulate collagen production.
Shrinking large pores with microneedling
Microneedling refers to a cosmetic procedure in which extremely fine needles glide over the skin’s surface. This creates tiny perforations that boost blood circulation in the skin and stimulate it to form elastin, hyaluronic acid and collagen. The treatment also stimulates cell regeneration. This way, enlarged pores are refined for the long term.
Shrinking large pores with an Aquafacial
The Aquafacial is a treatment method made up of several individual steps: using a minimally invasive method, old skin cells are gently removed. Afterward, an AHA solution is applied to your skin, which softens deposits in your pores and so prepares them for deep cleansing. Thanks to the vacuum effect, sebum deposits, blackheads and dirt are drawn out of the pores. In the final step, your skin is supplied with moisturizing active ingredients. The result: smaller pores and a radiant complexion. Visit us for an Aquafacial treatment in Berlin Mitte.
Microdermabrasion: goodbye, enlarged pores!
Microdermabrasion originally comes from surgery and was developed to remove scar tissue. It’s wonderfully suited to effectively refining your complexion and shrinking pores back to their original size. Using a polishing device with a diamond tip, we gently remove the topmost layer of skin, so that dead cells are specifically removed. This all happens completely pain-free and leaves behind fresh, radiant skin without large pores. See for yourself at a microdermabrasion treatment in Berlin Mitte
Want to take on large pores for good? See our services for yourself and book your appointment today. We’re happy to advise you in detail and look forward to your visit!