PORE ENLARGEMENT : HOW DO I CLOSE MY PORES ?

Enlarged pore is a very common problem
that bothers many, many people.

While hoping you are the rare, lucky ones,
we are obligated to tell you more about
'closing' pores, for the sake of majority.

A variety of rumors about big pores has been told.

Some say there is no way you can reduce pore size.
Some say you can, but chances are pores grow back.

While at the same time, mud masks and cold water
are also said to be very effective to 'close' pores.

First of all, we want to debunk the 'theory' of closing and opening of pores :

Pores do not just open and close like doors,

because they don't have muscular attachment.

The correct terms would be 'tightening' of pores and 'loosening' of pores.

Cold water does prevent your pores from secreting excess sebum,

which can reduce the superficial appearance of large pores.

How does pore size increase ?

Pore size is mainly determined by genetics,

however, it is also affected by sebaceous glands.

Skin with active sebaceous glands appears to have larger pores,

which explains why the pores at the T-zone looked bigger.

Pore size increases with aging and also UV exposure.

How can I reduce pore size ?

If you're looking for pore minimizing products, you will come across products like these :
Clay masks, Charcoal mask, toner, gel, cleanser ......

Unfortunately, many of these only serve as prevention of pore enlargement,
which defies the purpose of tightening the already-large pores on your face.
Due to the fact that skin is a very personal feature that differs from individual
to individual, it is also very hard to determine which type of products really
helps diminish enlarged pores. What works for others may not work on you.

We're here to help!

Trust no marketing gimmicks! "Back To Basics" is the only resolution you need
when you have no idea which product works the best. All you need to know is
the active ingredient that does the magic —— that really treats enlarged pores :

S a l i c y l i c A c i d !

What is Salicylic Acid ?

Also a type of beta hydroxyl acid (BHA),
salicyclic acid is a multifunctional active ingredients.

Dermatologists have been prescribing this as an effective chemical exfoliant.
In the case of pore enlargement, as salicylic acid is hydrophobic (oil-soluble),
it has the ability to penetrate into the pore lining, and exfoliate the inner pore effectively.
Hence, it can also unclog pores, and reduce blackheads and whiteheads.

Note that BHA has to work in an acidic medium.

Salicylic acid is also proved to be an anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory.
It also has effective anti-microbial properties.
These beneficial properties are effective in fighting acne and breakouts.
We will further explain these properties in our future posts about acne.

Effective products that
contain Salicylic Acid :

It wasn't an easy task to find an effective BHA-based products,
due to the fact that most of them in the market are either having
too much harmful alcohol or not having a functional acidic medium.
Also, some BHA products are cleansers (aka rinse-off products),
which doesn't allow enough time for BHA to carry out its function.

Here are some effective BHA exfoliants that we recommend :

PAULA'S CHOICE Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid

This effective exfoliant is as light as water-based toner.
Having no fragrance, it has no obvious smell at all.

To begin using this product, our advice is to use it 2 times a week
to ensure 2% isn't too strong and allow time for skin to adapt.
We encourage the usage of this products only during night time
even though the product claims that it's safe to be use at daytime.
We also encourage using cotton pad to apply this product
so that you do not over-apply it on certain area of your face.

ORIGINS Out of Trouble 10 Minute Mask (0.5% BHA)

This 'rescue' mask has a pleasant Chinese medicine scent, which we really adore.

It was sheer pleasure to put on its chilling snow-white mask paste on the face
and allow its miracle to happen. With 0.5% BHA, this formula is much more gentle.

This product has also camphor as its ingredients.
Hence, precaution has to be taken to avoid putting it on eye area and broken skin.
Camphor produces cooling effect and is common in products such as Vicks VapoRub.

B O T T O M L I N E :

Want to treat any pore enlargement?
Scientific studies approve salicylic acid!

FOR THE SCIENCE BUFF : MORE ABOUT SALICYLIC ACID

Although in cosmetics BHA is commonly and specifically referred to salicylic acid,
people may easily think that salicylic acid is equivalent of BHA.
The term BHA is used to describe
an organic compound that has a carboxylic acid functional group (-COOH) and
hydroxy functional group (-OH) separated by two carbon atoms.

Hence, there are different BHAs other than salicylic acid.

Salicylic acid is a naturally-occurring compound,
functioning as plant hormone in plants.
This organic acid is also a derivative of the famous medicine
known as aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), which is used to treat pain and fever.

Being in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines,
salicylic acid has many beneficial properties.
Despite all of its goodness, some people are still hypersensitive
towards salicylic acid and its related derivatives.