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PORES, PORES, PORES!
OK so today’s topic is one that I really think needs talking about.
Those annoying little holes we see , all over our face.
I have joined some makeup groups on facebook so I can keep up to date with the latest products and which ones are worth reviewing etc.
I was minding my own business in bed the at 6:35am the other morning, doing the morning facebook scroll, as we do, when I came across another post in one of the makeup groups from a lovely lady.
Her post began with:
“Help, I have pores, how do I get rid of them?”
This was followed up by a picture of her pores zoomed right in on a picture she had taken.
I scrolled through the comments and it was just a sea of people saying “Me too!”, “same here, I hate it!” etc.
There were some people that had commented and said, you can’t completely get rid of pores, these comments had 9-12 replies from people saying “well everyone I follow on Instagram doesn’t have any. I have zoomed in on their pictures and they just don’t have them.
Now let me start by saying this is not the first time I have seen a post like this, nor is it the first time I have spoken about this topic.
This post hurts me to see and I will tell you exactly why;
We are living in a world now where nothing is safe from our own self judgement, not even a tiny part of what makes us human such as pores. Despite what we think, every person on this planet has pores, it’s just some peoples are larger than others.
Those pictures the girls were talking about on Instagram where they had zoomed in as far as possible and couldn’t see any trace of a pore...that’s editing.
It’s sad on both ends of the spectrum, it’s sad that these Instagram models feel the need to edit every single part of their human being out of every picture in order to gain more followers, but it’s also sad that the people seeing those pictures now think that is the norm and that there is something wrong with them because their skin has actual real life texture.
Anyway before I go any further I want you to know that whether you have enlarged pores like me or small tiny pores, pores are just pores. They are little tiny dots on your face that no one is going to notice but you.
Just remember when you are looking in that magnifying mirror up close and personal you are going to notice little things about your skin texture and appearance that no one else on this planet will, because no-one is getting that close and that zoomed in to your skin but you.
OK, so if you still want to continue down this rabbit hole then here goes Alice.
What are pores and how can we shrink them?
Pores are a wall that sits around hair follicles and acts as a tunnel for your oil glands.
Behind the pores lay the sabescus glands (oil glands), it’s through these pores that your skin produces it’s oil which rises to the surface to protect the skin.
That’s why some of us with oilier skin tend to have larger pores because we produce more oil.
So now you see we really do all have pores!
However it is true that some of us have more enlarged pores than others and here are some of the reasons why.
Genetics – Our pore size largely depends on our genetics, if your mum or dad have large pores, it’s more likely than not that you will inherit them just like your nose, eyes or lips so in part...there isn’t much you can do about that.
There are however certain things that will effect the size of our pores through our life but first let me clarify something.
The whole, pores open and close thing is a complete myth!
Pores are not like the mouth of a gold fish, they do not open and close as they do not have muscles surrounding them.
When you go for a facial and you hear them say they are going to steam your face to open your pores, that is not technically true as heat does not open and close the pore it’s self. What they are in fact doing is steaming the oil and dead skin cells inside and around the pores which breaks it down and makes it easier to remove.
So here are a few things that can effect the size of our pores.
1) Oil,
I mentioned this earlier but the more oil our glands produce the more oil and dead skin cells sitting inside those pores, the more they stretch.
Salicylic acid can help reduce the amount of oil you produce stopping it from collecting in your pores and making them appear larger so a skin care routine that includes Salicylic acid will help you produce less oil and help with pores.
OK so here is myth number 2! Blackheads!
We’ve always been led to believe that these little black spots are filled with dirt and bacteria when that isn’t actually the case, The dark part at the top of a blackhead is actually caused by oxidisation, a chemical reaction when the sebum (oil) meets the oxygen, this reaction causes the sebum to darken. So it’s not gross bacteria or dirt, it’s just oils that have reacted with oxygen. The larger a blackhead becomes, the more it stretches out our pores so again a good skin care routine which should include a good exfoliation is key.
If you feel like your pores are getting larger with age then you are probably right, as we start age we begin to lose the elastin in our skin which holds everything together firmly, as this starts to fade along with the ability to dance in high heels, the firmness around our pores goes with it leaving little to no support for the wall of the pores causing them to appear larger.
Skin care products that include Hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid are great for increasing the elastin and firming the surface of our skin.
So there you have it, you can not banish pores all together, they are completely natural but you can reduce the appearance of them by following a good skin care routine, exfoliating, using salicylic acid to reduce the amount of oil you produce and using skin care products that have elastin and firming properties such as Hyaluronic acid and Glycolic acid.
You can also reduce the appearance of pores with makeup but lets be very real and honest, it can reduce the appearance, it won’t erase them.
I will do a post using makeup for enlarged pores in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for that.
Other than that, don’t sweat it (pun intended)
They are just pores, we all have them and they prove you are human!
Much Love & Speak Soon
Xoxoxo
Robyn
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