Pores
Since photoshop and image enhancing apps have become popular we have become obsessed with the NO PORES LOOK! I get asked daily to get rid of pores. My answer is ALWAYS “YOU CANNOT”! I can certainly offer treatments to minimise and refine the pores but I cannot get rid of them for you.
Pores are NORMAL! Open and enlarged pores are genetically linked to your skin type. If you have inherited oily skin, you are bound to have open pores. The oilier your skin is, the larger the pore. Count yourself lucky if you have oily skin because this is going to preserve your youthfulness. If you have no open pores, this means your skin is dry and you are not producing oil to lubricate and protect the skin. This can make your skin prone to premature fine lines, wrinkles, crepey skin, flakey skin and more.
Minimising the appearance of pores.
To minimise the look of the open pores we need to address your skin care routine. If you are stripping the skin with harsh cleansers and overuse of AHAs then you are encouraging your natural oil to pump more to compensate and this in turn will exasperate the look of the open pores. If you are not using a correct moisturiser then your skin has no moisture protective causing dehydration. An oily skin that is dehydrated means your natural oil will pump excessively to compensate and again exasperate the look of the open pore.
Vivace, microneedling with RF treatment is my number one choice to minimise enlarge pores along with the right skin care program.
Not all pores are the same.
(1) If you zoom in to see your open pores close up, check if the follicle orifice (the opening) is perfectly round. If they are perfectly round it’s easier to treat.
This skin is oily or very oily and perhaps it has been mishandled with the wrong products and treatments. This can be rectified to minimise the appearance of the enlarged pores. If you are a mature person and have noticed that your pores are becoming more noticeable and more enlarged, this is indicative of a post-oily skin. Perhaps you had used toners in the past that had witch-hazel or some kind of astringents. You were told that you can close pores with toners and astringents but the truth is you can’t! What does happen with astringents is that it irritates the skin causing swelling that looks like your pores have shrunk. This is absolutely temporary and a long-term side effect of this constant habit causes the follicle to lose its collagen and elastin causing them to collapse and reveal even larger pores. Again this is mishandled skin.
Vivace microneedling with RF is the perfect treatment to stimulate collagen and elastin to tighten and minimise the appearance of old and new open pores. In our clinical experience we have also noticed in reduction of excessive sebum production.
(2) When you zoom in and you see the follicle orifice have jagged edges this means the pores that you are seeing are scarred.
Perhaps you had blackheads and you have squeezed them and or you have picked and scratched. You cannot get rid of scars with products. The only way to minimise the appearance of scars is by having clinical skin treatments. There are lots of options on the market and most have a downtime of minimum of 5 days and over.
Alternatively we can offer series of VIVACE advanced microneedling Radio Frequency treatment with hardly any downtime to minimize the appearance of acne scars. Sterile 36 needles with a small .3mm diameter, gold plated and insulated except the end point 0.4mm, delivers bi-polar energy to the dermis without damaging the epidermis.
This minimal invasive RF thermal energy creates fractional electrocoagulation in the dermis, which facilitates a natural, wound healing process. Wound healing mechanism promotes the remodeling of collagen, elastin and wound contraction, which enhances skin laxity. This process is the key to scar revision, reduction of pore size, reduction of wrinkles and fine lines, improve skin texture, reduce distended capillaries and improve skin tone and tightening.