Your concern
Enlarged pores
They do not open and close: they can be made less visible, which is different.
It should be said at once, because no treatment makes sense without knowing it: pores have no muscles and do not open or close. Cold water does not close them, steam does not open them. What changes is how noticeable they are, and that is where real work is possible.
Three factors make them more visible. Content: a follicle full of sebum and keratin looks wider, which is why treating comedones reduces the appearance of pores. Sebum production: the higher it is, the more dilated the opening, which is why the problem concentrates in the central face. Loss of elasticity with age or sun damage: the tissue around the follicle no longer supports it and the opening looks elongated, often teardrop-shaped on the cheeks.
The practical consequence is that the objective must be stated honestly: there is no treatment that eliminates them, and this is a field in which promises abound. There are pathways that make them less evident by acting on those three levers. And there is one preventive measure worth more than many treatments, because it acts on the third: sun protection, which slows the loss of elasticity of the tissue around the follicle.
Cold water and steam neither open nor close them
This is the first point to settle, because many pointless routines revolve around this idea. A pore is the opening of a follicle: it has no contractile structure and does not respond to temperature. Steam softens the contents and cold water temporarily reduces redness, but neither changes the calibre. What does change it, within limits, is reducing the contents, regulating sebum and preserving the elasticity of the surrounding tissue — and the last of these is defended above all with sun protection, not with a morning gesture.
How it shows
- Visible follicular openings on the nose, cheeks and forehead
- More marked appearance in oily areas
- Elongated or teardrop shape on the cheeks with age
- An irregular skin surface to the touch
- Make-up settling into the openings
- Frequent association with comedones
How we proceed
- 1Dermatological visit: assessment of site, sebum and elasticity
- 2Treatment of comedones, the most immediate lever
- 3A pathway for seborrhoea when it is the prevailing factor
- 4Assessment of treatments acting on skin texture
- 5Sun protection as a long-term preventive measure
Available treatments
- Dermatology visit
- Chemical peel
- Microneedling
- Scheduled follow-up
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Frequently asked questions
Can they be eliminated permanently?+
No, and anyone promising that is selling an expectation they cannot meet. Follicles are part of the structure of the skin and their openings remain: what can be achieved is making them less evident, by improving surface texture and reducing the contents. That is a real and appreciable result, but it must be judged on that, not on disappearance.
Do scrubs help?+
Frequent or aggressive mechanical scrubbing tends to make things worse: it irritates, damages the barrier and stimulates sebum production, one of the factors making pores visible. The useful exfoliation is chemical, set according to skin type and tolerance, because it acts on turnover inside the follicle instead of wearing down the surface.
Why do they look different on the cheeks?+
Because there it is mainly the loss of elasticity of the tissue surrounding the follicle that comes into play, tending to give the opening an elongated, teardrop shape. On the nose and central face the sebaceous factor prevails and the shape stays rounder. It is a useful distinction because it indicates which lever to work on in that specific area.
Related reading
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