- Hi, everyone, welcome back to our YouTube channel.
Today, we're gonna be talking pores,
'cause we know that enlarged pores are often a concern
that people come up against.
So let's talk about how we can refine pores,
and just make them look as flat and gorgeous as possible.
And also, what's reality? That's important too.
First thing I wanna say is that pores are totally normal.
If you didn't have pores, you'd have a problem.
Some people's pores are flatter than others,
some people have more enlarged pores, more visible pores.
That's very, very normal.
Often oilier skin types will have more enlarged pores
just because of the amount of oil that's going through them.
So if you're watching this
and you've got more enlarged pores,
or they don't look like your best friend,
or your sister's pores, that's 'cause everyone's different.
Everyone's skin is different and it's okay.
You're allowed to have visible pores.
We do live in a very filtered world.
Everyone on social media looks
like they have absolutely flawless, poreless skin
and they don't, because in reality,
you can probably see their pores
when you're up close to them.
So don't be hard on yourself before we get into this video.
But now, let's get into what are pores?
So our pores are tiny little openings that allow oil
and sweat to flow through.
It's also where our little hair follicles sit.
The sebum that's actually secreted
from our pores is really important
in maintaining skin lubrication, homeostasis,
and also defending our skin from environmental aggressors.
If you don't know what homeostasis is,
it's basically a defence from our body to acclimatise
to the environment around us.
It's like, when it gets hot and you sweat,
that's like a form of homeostasis.
Several factors can influence the size
and appearance of our pores.
This can include our genetics,
so we might be more genetically disposed
to having larger pores, it might run in our family.
Age, our skin loses elasticity,
or it can become thickened as we age,
and also intrinsic and an extrinsic ageing factors
can influence our pores as well.
And as I mentioned before, skin type.
So if you're an oily skin type, you'll often find
that you are someone that is constantly battling
with enlarged pores, and that's totally normal
for your skin type.
A marketing gripe that I have
is that often products are marketed to shrink pores,
which just isn't possible.
Pores don't have a muscle.
Yes, they're impacted by skin elasticity
as I mentioned earlier, but they can't shrink.
They can't change size as a muscle can
and they can't contract like a muscle can,
but we can refine them by addressing some of those factors
that I mentioned earlier.
So here are some things
that you can do to refine your pores.
Salicylic acid for starters, is your best friend.
Honestly, if blackheads, congestion, or enlarge pores
are a concern for you,
you need to have a salicylic acid in your routine.
It's an oil soluble beta hydroxy acid.
I would suggest mixing that in your routine with niacinamide
or using them in conjunction with each other.
I personally love to recommend mixing a pump
of ASAP Super B Complex with a pump of ASAPs Radiant Serum.
I've recommended this duo for literally,
probably almost a decade now for more acne prone skin types,
but it's great for refining the appearance of pores.
Next up is retinol.
Now, we know that the ageing process can affect
the appearance of pores due to the changes
in skin elasticity and more laxity in the skin.
So introducing something like retinol
that's going to encourage collagen production can also help
to refine the appearance of pores.
And bonus, retinol also helps
to control sebum production as well.
So retinol's definitely a must in almost everyone's routine.
But there's a caveat,
you can't use it with your salicylic acid.
So you might wanna use those on alternating nights.
Next up is a pretty obvious one
if we're preventing ageing, SPF.
You need to be wearing your SPF every single day
if you wanna prevent those early signs of ageing.
UV exposure contributes to about 80% of our skin ageing.
So to prevent that collagen degradation
and the skin laxity that comes with UV damage,
you need to be slapping on your SPF.
If you're not already double cleansing,
this is my next tip for you, you need to be.
So if you haven't double cleansed before,
essentially you wanna use an oil cleanser,
or a balm cleanser as your first cleanser.
That'll clear away makeup, oil, dirt, debris, sunscreen
that's sitting on the surface of the skin
so that you can then go in with your second cleanser.
That might be a gel cleanser, a cream cleanser,
a milk cleanser, whatever you use already,
you could use that as your second cleanse.
And that's just gonna make sure
that your skin is properly cleaned
so those oils can pass freely through your pores.
Then if all of that fails,
go to a dermal therapist for some professional treatments.
They can recommend different kinds of peels and lasers
that can also help to refine the appearance of pores.
Another thing to help with reducing the appearance
of your pores is to stop touching them.
Stop picking up them,
stop thinking you're gonna squeeze something out.
If you want to get some professional extractions done,
again, go and see a dermal therapist,
but you're only gonna be generating inflammation
in the skin and introducing more bacteria to the area,
which probably will lead to a blackhead or a pimple.
So leave your skin alone.
We have done a video about blackheads up here
if you wanna watch that, but don't touch.
So in summary, yes, you can refine the appearance
of your pores, but that doesn't mean
that everybody's gonna have the same pore appearance.
So you may not end up with completely flawless,
filtered skin after using these products
or taking on these suggestions,
but it's probably gonna get your skin
into the best place that it can be.
If you have any other questions about pores,
let us know in the comments.
Otherwise, make sure you subscribe, hit the bell button,
and we'll see you next time
on Adore Beauty's YouTube channel.