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Key Takeaways
- Pores are small openings in your skin that help moisturize your skin and regulate temperature.
- While you permanently shrink or get rid of pores completely, you can prevent them from getting larger by keeping them clean.
- You may be able to prevent acne by using exfoliating treatments, cleansing your skin twice per day, and using acne medication, if necessary.
Pores are small openings in the skin that move oil (sebum), sweat, and toxins to the skin’s surface. When your pores get clogged, they can appear larger and cause acne.
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What Causes Enlarged Pores?
A pore is a small opening in the skin through which oil and sweat pass from glands to the surface of the skin. Pores help regulate your body temperature and are essential for keeping your skin healthy and hydrated. Pores are naturally visible to the eye, but sometimes they can become enlarged.
A few things can cause enlarged pores, including:
- High sebum production: Sebum is an oil naturally produced by the sebaceous gland that helps keep the skin supple, moisturized, and healthy. When the sebaceous gland produces too much oil, it can make the pore appear larger.
- Decreased elasticity: Skin that has lost elasticity through sun exposure or aging can make pores look more noticeable.
- The size of the hair follicle: Pores contain hair follicles; when the hair follicle is large, the pore can appear large as well.
- Acne: Chronic acne can cause the pores to enlarge over time.
- Skin care routine: Over-exfoliating, harsh skin care products, and skin care products that clog the pores can also contribute to enlarged pores.
- Genetics: Genetics determines the initial size of your pores, and some people have naturally larger pores than others.
Although you can’t do anything to make naturally large pores smaller, you can prevent enlarged pores by following a healthy skincare routine, using acne products as needed, and avoiding harsh or clogging skincare products.
Can You Get Rid of Pores?
Your pores perform a necessary function and are essential for healthy skin. You can’t get rid of them, permanently shrink them, or stop them from producing sebum.
You may be able to reduce the visible size of pores, however, by keeping them clean with non-comedogenic skincare products (products that won’t clog your pores). Cleansing your face twice per day, gently exfoliating, and protecting your skin from the sun can also help.
How Clogged Pores Cause Acne
Acne is a disorder of the pilosebaceous unit, which includes the pore, oil glands, and oil duct.
Pores naturally help remove oil, dead skin cells, and other debris, but sometimes oil and dead cells become trapped in the hair follicle, causing acne breakouts.
All acne blemishes begin as a pore blockage, including blackheads, small pimples, and large, inflamed breakouts. Acne treatments can help keep your pores clear.
Two Types of Skin Pores
You have two kids of pores:
- Oil pores: This type of pore is connected to an oil gland. You have these over the entire surface of your skin, except for the skin on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. These pores allow sebum to reach the surface and lubricate the skin. When people talk about having large pores or blocked pores, they are typically referring to the oil pores because they can be large enough to be seen.
- Sweat pores: You also have tiny sweat pores all over your entire skin. Sweat pores allow for sweat to travel from the sudoriferous glands (sweat glands) to the surface of the skin, helping you maintain your body temperature through evaporative cooling. You typically can’t see sweat pores with the naked eye. When overactive, these pores can cause hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating).
Sweat pores can also become blocked, although this won’t cause an acne blemish. Instead, heat rash or “prickly heat” develops.