How to Reduce Pores

What Are Pores?

Your face has several pores that dilate as you age. Your pores are pretty tiny when you are a kid, as your sebaceous glands are underdeveloped. That’s the reason babies and children have such gorgeous skin. But with adolescence, your hormones tend to go wild, and your pores enlarge to accommodate the increased oil production. They often clog, and lead to blackheads and white-head breakouts.

And with age, your pores continue to expand. Oil, sweat, makeup, dirt and dead skin cells also make matters worse.

Use sunscreen everyday: Use a good sunscreen/sunblock cream every day of the year. With too much sun exposure, the support structures around your pores become damaged and dilate. This in turn leads to larger pores.

Reduce Your Pores:

Step 1

Cleanse. Proper cleansing keeps your pores clean by removing dirt and oil from the surface of the skin.
 

Step2
Exfoliate. Approximately every three weeks, new cells surface from the lowest layer of the skin. Sometimes old cells stick around longer than they should. Exfoliation helps the natural process along by giving those cells little extra push. Try exfoliating by using a face scrub, every other day for oilier skin and once a week for sensitive skin.

Step3
Tone. If you have normal-to-oily skin, use an alcohol-free toner that has glycolic acid as well as Witch Hazel. This will create the shrunken-pores effect you’re after.

Step4
Steam. Everyone’s favorite--a herbal face steam. If using fresh herbs, pour boiling water over herbs (rosemary, sage, or comfrey), let cool for a few seconds, then get ready to enjoy!

Sit about 18-inches away from the bowl and drape a towel over your head.  Take time to close your eyes, breathe deep and enjoy this soothing treatment. Steam for no more than five to eight minutes. Follow with an mask (Step 5).

Step5
Deep Cleaning. Once a week use a clay-based tightening mask.