When left on overnight, cosmetics can combine with dirt, oil, and bacteria left over from the day and clog up your pores. This can make them look larger the next day when you wake up.
Pores can become clogged with excess oil, dead skin, or dirt, or they can appear more prominent as a result of too much sun exposure. Other factors that can influence pores becoming clogged include genetics and hormones.
During the day as you're upright, the dermal fluid moves towards your legs, but overnight, when your body is horizontal during sleep, dermal fluid settles back. This swells up your facial skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, like pumping water back into a raisin or rehydrating a shriveled, dried sponge.
Years of sun exposure can make pores appear larger. Sun damage can thicken the skin, which leads to bigger pores. Prolonged sun exposure can also remove collagen, elastin and water from your skin, which causes the tissue beneath your skin to shrink and pull at the edges of your pores, making them sag and look bigger.
A Glowing Complexion
Your body boosts blood flow to the skin while you snooze, which means you wake to a healthy glow. Skimp on sleep and your complexion can look drab, ashen, or lifeless. “Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in blood flow to the skin surrounding your face,” Breus says.
Apply a facial pore cleanser with salicylic acid nightly. "It's a beta hydroxy acid that has increased solubility in oil and can travel deep within pores," Dr. Feely says. You can also talk to your dermatologist about a stronger in-office chemical peel to further clear out pores.
The bad news is that pore size is genetically determined, so you can't actually shrink pores. However, some products and treatments can minimize the appearance of pores, but none of them are permanent solutions. Pore-minimizing products work by stimulating and plumping the collagen that surrounds pores.
The Skin-Compromising Consequences
Every squeeze session causes visible skin damage, especially if it's a daily occurrence. “Squeezing, picking, pulling, prodding—all of that can stretch the elastic around the pores, which makes them wider and larger, and they won't bounce back into shape.
Retinol helps with blackheads and whiteheads and evens skin tones. Studies show that applying retinol cream reduces pore size and keeps them cleaner, emptying the impurities that otherwise give an oversized appearance. Retinol is most effective when used as night cream.
A good Vitamin C serum can help fade discolorations, even out skin tone, shrink pores, and make dull skin more bouncy and radiant.
“Since cold water tightens your pores, bacteria and debris can get trapped and won't clear out as easily as using warm water,” explains Knapp. She recommends washing your face with lukewarm water first as a way to remove any makeup and pollutants from the day.
How does it help to shrink large pores? Niacinamide has been found to help balance sebum (oil) excretion rate and also improve elasticity to tighten up the skin around pores, making them look smaller. And it's gentle so even extra-sensitive skin types can reap its benefits without the risk of irritation!
Hyaluronic acid serum tightens skin and minimizes pores so they shrink and become invisible over time. Smaller pores mean fewer clogs and breakouts.
The answer to this question is yes. Microneedling with PRP can help shrink pore size and promote a smoother complexion. The procedure combined with the regenerative powers of PRP causes faster skin cell turnover and new collagen to form. Over time, this can reduce the size of your pores.
According to dermatologist Dr Jaishree Sharad, ice cannot affect the opening or closing of skin pores.
Laser Treatments
Several treatments are available at Dermatology and Laser Centre. Fractional ablative laser skin resurfacing decreases the appearance of pores and acne scars. For enlarged pores, Dr. Gallacher uses the Vbeam laser as well as fractionated CO2 lasers.
Look for a product made with retinol or alpha hydroxy acids like glycolic acid. Prescription topical retinoids are also used to treat large pores. Pore strips may also do the trick. They help remove the uppermost portion of the blackhead, leaving the pore opening clear.
1. Cleanse every night. Your skin may be fine with skipping an AM wash, or sticking to just water or a very quick wipe with cleansing (aka micellar) water. But when it comes to your PM routine, cleaning off the slurry of makeup, sunscreen, dirt, oil, and bacteria teeming in your pores is a must.
A warm room causes pores to contract and expand. Once sweat gets in, pores can become clogged and prone to blackheads and breakouts. They'll also become more visible in the morning, said Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank, director of the Fifth Avenue Dermatology Surgery and Laser Center in New York City.
You may be using unnecessary products. "Some people may just not be genetically predisposed to breakouts or may produce less [oil],” says Batra. If that sounds like you, you may actually find your skin looks better when you ditch your cleanser.
Overall, the study concluded that intradermal low molecular weight hyaluronic acid fillers do in fact have the potential to reduce pore size — and that's in addition to improving the skin's overall texture and radiance. What's more, they also found the the injections to be safe!