How To Shrink Pores

Each of our pores contain a sebaceous oil gland, which produces the skin's natural oil - sebum. If your sebaceous glands are having a grand time and overproducing sebum, this causes large pores, which can lead to oily skin. Although sebum acts as a natural moisturiser for the skin, all this excess production can be a big nuisance.

On a nitty-gritty level, when dirt, makeup or oil build up on the skin’s surface, these impurities can easily sink into our pores and get lodged in there. This clog then effectively stretches the skin around the pore, and so, pores appear larger. So if you have naturally oilier skin, your excessive sebum is more likely to weigh down pores causing you to notice them more.

Where you live or work can impact what you see in the mirror, too. Drying air conditioning, extreme heat or even sun damage can be culprits in making pores seem enlarged. When skin gets dehydrated, the oil glands can kick things up a gear to compensate, which, not unlike over-watering your plants, can be problematic.