How to Treat Large Facial Pores

By Jane Farrell

When you look in the mirror, do you feel that your skin would look more attractive if you could shrink those large pores? There’s actually a lot you can do to make pores less noticeable. And you can do much of this on your own.

Here’s what the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends:

Use only non-comedogenic skin care products and makeup

The word “non-comedogenic” means the product won’t clog your pores. When pores clog, they expand, which can make your pores look more noticeable.

To avoid clogged pores, look for one of the following terms on everything you apply to your face:

Non-comedogenic

Oil free

Won’t clog pores

If you don’t see one of these terms, don’t use the product. Some other strategies:

Cleanse your face twice a day

Clogged pores or an oily complexion can make pores look larger. Cleansing twice daily can unclog pores, prevent clogged pores, and reduce oiliness. When cleansing your face, you’ll want to:

Use warm water. Hot water can irritate your skin, causing pores to look larger.

Be gentle when washing your facee. Scrubbing can irritate your skin, causing inflammation. When skin is inflamed, pores tend to be more noticeable.

Find a gentle, non-comedogenic cleanser. Again, you want to do everything you can to stop irritating your skin and stop clogging your pores.

Use retinol

If you have oily skin, mild acne, or your skin appears less firm than it once was, pores can look larger. Using a skin care product with retinol or retinyl palmitate may help. For best results, apply the product before going to bed.

Some people find that this type of skin care product irritates their skin. You can prevent this by washing your face and then waiting 30 minutes to apply the product. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you shouldn’t use a product containing retinol or retinyl palmitate.

Protect your face with sunscreen every day

The more sun damaged your skin, the less firmness it has. When skin starts to lose its firmness, pores look more noticeable.

Applying a broad-spectrum, water resistant sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher helps prevent sun-damaged skin. To protect your skin, apply sunscreen every day, even when it’s raining or cold outside. Every time the sun’s rays hit our skin, they can damage our skin. This damage builds up over time.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating may make pores less noticeable. To get the results you want, you need to exfoliate safely to avoid damaging your skin. You can find out how to do this by watching the AAD video on YouTube: How to safely exfoliate at home.

If exfoliating your skin makes you uncomfortable or you aren’t sure this is right for you, a board-certified dermatologist can help. By seeing a dermatologist, you can find out whether exfoliating may help make your pores less noticeable. A dermatologist may also be able to exfoliate your skin during an office visit.

Be gentle with your skin

Scrubbing your face won’t make it any cleaner, but scrubbing can irritate your skin, which can make your pores look larger.

Picking at, squeezing, or digging into your pores can also irritate your skin, making pores look more noticeable.

For these reasons, you want to be very gentle with your skin. Never scrub, rub, pick at, or squeeze the skin on your face.

Treat sagging skin

As we age, our skin loses its firmness and starts to sag. Pores look larger when skin sags. A board-certified dermatologist can examine your skin and tell you what can tighten your skin. Many procedures can be done in a dermatologist’s office and require no downtime. You can find out about the many options for giving your skin a lift from another AAD video, Many ways to firm sagging skin.