What Are Enlarged Pores and What to Do About Them

With the rise of social media selfies and a greater emphasis on the appearance of flawless skin (thanks to all those filters and easy-to-use photo editing apps), it’s becoming increasingly common to believe visible pores are a problem. In reality, pores are a natural aspect of healthy skin and we shouldn’t strive to be “pore-free”—it’s impossible after all. However, enlarged pores do occur and they can certainly cause aesthetic concerns. Discover what factors can impact pore size and how your skin care routine can support pore health while minimizing the appearance of enlarged pores when they do crop up.

What Are Enlarged Pores?

Before we launch into the top factors impacting pore size, it might be useful to clarify what “enlarged pores” means. Know that there is no threshold that determines your pores are officially “enlarged.” Instead, your natural pore size is the baseline. It can be difficult to know for sure what may be normal or enlarged for you if your pores have been bothering you for some time, so seeking the advice of a dermatologist or treatment professional may help to clarify.

They may note treatments for skin concerns that could be causing your pores to be more visible, even if they aren’t necessarily enlarged.

Regarding what causes large pores, generally speaking, there are just a handful of factors, but the following five tend to have the most impact and will determine what aesthetic treatment may be best for you.

The Top 5 Causes of Large Pores

Genetics: Our genetics are a key factor in determining our natural pore size. Considering what parents’ skin concerns are can offer a fairly accurate snapshot of how your skin may develop, including pore size. That being said, if your pores are genetically larger, there tend to be other factors that coincide with genetics to affect their appearance, such as your skin’s oil production level.
Hormones: Testosterone plays a key role in skin health, causing increased activity in the sebaceous glands that leads to higher sebum (oil) production and typically larger pores. While sebum can be a good thing for supporting skin’s natural hydration levels and protecting the lipid barrier, thereby delaying some of the most common signs of aging, it can also mean that these pores are more likely to get clogged due to the combination of oily skin and naturally larger pores.
Skin Type: Simply put, oily skin produces excess sebum, which often leads to a buildup of oil, skin cells, and other debris within the pores. As a result, pores tend to expand to accommodate the excess buildup, causing them to appear more pronounced. This is particularly true when blockages oxidize and appear black within the pores.
Sun Exposure: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—the sun is not your skin’s friend. Without proper protection, cumulative sun exposure allows the sun’s UV rays to accelerate collagen and elastin degradation, causing a decline in skin’s elasticity. As skin becomes looser, duller, and less plump, pores become more visible.
Aging Skin: Over time, our skin’s natural collagen and elastin production levels decline and pores naturally begin to stretch and sag at their edges. This causes the appearance of enlarged pores in combination with a duller skin tone and decreased elasticity. While the above four factors can exacerbate the impact aging can have on pore size, this factor is one we have no control over without intervention.

Tips to Help Minimize the Appearance of Enlarged Pores

Knowing which one of the above-listed factors is most contributing to your pore problem is an important step to finding the right treatment to support your skin health, but a reality check might also be in order. Signing up for a treatment plan isn’t like waving a magic wand, because it might just be that your skin has naturally larger pores—and that’s a good thing! Pores do a lot of heavy lifting to maintain skin health after all. With the right skin care regimen, you can clean and firm up skin, helping to return pores to their natural size.

In addition to utilizing quality skin care that supports skin’s natural collagen and elastin production levels and healthy skin cell renewal, as well as ensuring you properly apply—and reapply—sunscreen year-round, there are two key aesthetic treatments that could help you to reduce the appearance of enlarged pores: facial rejuvenation and skin resurfacing treatments.

Facial Rejuvenation Treatments to Deep-Clean Pores

Facial rejuvenation treatments via Venus Glow™ offer a three-in-one approach to deep-clean pores and stimulate skin health for those experiencing oily skin, blackheads, or a loss in skin hydration resulting in enlarged pores. Featuring a vacuum, rotating tip, and two ultra-fine jet streams of purified water, Venus Glow™ treatments begin by gently pulling skin upward, utilizing gentle suction and the jet streams to open up and deep-clean pores, flushing out dirt, debris, and excess sebum. At the same time, the rotating tip micro-massages skin while evenly spreading the purified water. Using this three-in-one approach, facial rejuvenation treatments improve the appearance of enlarged pores by removing impurities, improving skin hydration, and increasing circulation in the treated area, which helps to promote healthy skin cell renewal for an overall improvement in skin texture and tone. Venus Glow™ treatments may be used alone or as a complementary treatment to any customized pore-refining aesthetic treatment plan.

Skin Resurfacing Treatments to Shrink Enlarged Pores

For patients experiencing enlarged pores as a result of collagen and elastin degradation—whether that be due to sun exposure or age—skin resurfacing treatments utilizing advanced NanoFractional Radio Frequency (RF) technology may offer an effective non-surgical aesthetic solution to improve and support skin elasticity. Offering your treatment provider optimal control to customize treatments to suit your unique needs, these skin resurfacing treatments utilize tiny pins that deliver thermal (heat) energy deep below the skin’s surface. Through the creation of tiny micro-dermal wounds and heat delivery, treatments spur skin’s natural collagen and elastin production levels alongside healthy skin cell renewal to effectively repair skin. The result is naturally healthier, firmer-looking skin and a visible improvement in the appearance of enlarged pores.

The Bottom Line for Treating Enlarged Pores

The best approach to minimizing the appearance of enlarged pores is to seek out an aesthetic treatment plan that is customized to meet your skin’s needs and incorporates long-term skin care essentials alongside aesthetic treatments for optimal results. Find your perfect plan today by locating a certified treatment professional near you using the search field below.

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Venus Bliss™ is cleared by the FDA and licensed by Health Canada for non-invasive lipolysis of the abdomen and flanks in individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or less, with the diode laser applicators. The (MP)² applicator is cleared by the FDA for temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite, and licensed by Health Canada for temporary increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, and temporary cellulite reduction. Venus Bliss™ has CE Mark as a non-invasive medical aesthetic device enabling a comprehensive approach leading to body contouring, addressing fat reduction, skin tightening, circumference reduction, and cellulite reduction.

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Venus Legacy™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV with the OctiPolar™ and DiamondPolar™ applicators, and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite with the 4D Body (LB2) and 4D Face (LF2) applicators. It is licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for the temporary increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, temporary cellulite reduction, and temporary wrinkle reduction.

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Venus Freeze™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. It is licensed by Health Canada for temporary skin tightening, and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite on the abdomen and flanks, using the DiamondPolar™ and OctiPolar™ applicators. The DiamondPolar™ applicator on Venus Freeze™ has CE Mark for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides, and the increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, and cellulite reduction with the OctiPolar™ applicator.

Venus Swan™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides, and licensed by Health Canada for the non-invasive treatment of cellulite reduction, skin tightening, and temporary reduction in the appearance of stretch marks.