Help me get rid of my skin pores please...

[Lalunya85]

This has been an issue for years, and sometimes I look at my face and I'm shocked at how large my pores look. Especially on my nose, chin, and cheeks around my nose. Sometimes they turn into blackheads, but more often not.

I've halfheartedly tried:
-hot cloth scrub in the evening
-BB oil cleanser in the evening
-clay cleanser (a cheapie, and it makes my skin really dry)
(I haven't tried any of the above daily and never for a long period of time)

I've read somewhere that clay masks are meant to be good?

I wear make up very rarely, and just put some moisturiser on in the morning and nothing in the evening.

Any ideas where I'm going wrong? Is there anything I can do about this or shall I just accept and move on?

[Reindeerlily]

You need to buy pore filler by nyx. Works a treat.

[Stormwhale]

Following.

[botemp]

Before even tackling the pores you need to get yourself a steady routine first, morning and night. Physical scrubs won't do you any favours and the clay cleanser does not sound like a thing you'd enjoy using on a daily basis so repurpose to the body, give away, or simply dump in the trash if they've been sitting in your bathroom for a while. Your 'blackheads' are more likely to be sebaceous filaments, see the link below for more info.

Basic routine:

AM: Mild cleanser (something like LRP Toleriane dermo cleanser) - Moisturiser - SPF (Biore Watery Essence will probably suit you, look on amazon)
PM: Oil cleanser (that you have, if you wear a lot of makeup follow with the gentle cleanser otherwise a single cleanse should suffice) - Moisturiser (provided your current moisturiser doesn't contain SPF in it, look at LRP Toleriane range again for a moisturiser here)

Once you have that sorted and it's all working for you, you can gradually introduce Paula's Choice Skin perfecting BHA Liquid 2% 1-2x a week (pref. at night) building up to use as necessary (it's probably one of the best out there, you can buy a travel size or sample size first to try, Nip + Fab dragon's blood pads are an alternative but not as effective) unless you are allergic to aspirin- in which case do not use BHA.

A clay mask once a week is great (cattier do great simple ones, choose whichever suits your skin type) and at that point you should have everything to try this technique.

[Lalunya85]

botemp thank you SO much for taking the time to respond in so much detail. I have written everything you've recommended down and will start buying the bits that I don't currently have.

What a great idea to repurpose the clay cleanser as a body scrub

Regarding the Paula's Choice product, I have been browsing their site and they have another product called "RESIST Daily Pore-Refining Treatment With 2% BHA". It sounds very similar to the one you recommended. If you have any idea how this is different it would be great if you could answer. Otherwise, thanks again!

[botemp]

The Resist has some added anti-ageing ingredients (peptides and antioxidants), I can't say for certain but it will probably be a thicker texture (you'll need more of it) and is only 88ml vs. 118ml. I'd recommend the BHA liquid as that's the one that's universally lauded by many as one of the best BHA out there. If you have specific anti-ageing needs I suggest looking into a serum for that rather relying on a BHA product which will have it in nominal amounts and you likely won't be using every day, 2x a day.

[botemp]

Also the BHA liquid has absorption enhancers meaning it will be more effective as it allows for more rapid exfoliation and is specifically formulated for targeting pores.

[Lalunya85]

I have bought the Paula's Choice Liquid now as well as the La Roche cleanser, so thanks for that!

Just to complete your "instructions" regarding skin care routine above: When exfoliating, do you first cleanse and then exfoliate? Or the other way around? Do you have to leave the BHA liquid on for a while or can I "cleanse" it off straight after?

[botemp]

We're talking chemical exfoliation (aka acid toning) here, which would be the BHA. You simply apply on a cotton pad and dab/tap with quick movements over the necessary areas (a bit of wiping is ok too, but I find the tapping more effective).

If you don't like the feeling of it on your face you can wash it off after 20-30mins but the PC evaporates quite quickly with no real residue so you can easily follow up with moisturiser (or serum) without any waiting time. You can apply it to the entire face but BHA can be drying so I restrict it to the areas that are pore prone only.

So with BHA:

AM: LRP Cleanser - Moisturiser - SPF*
PM: Oil Cleanser - BHA - Moisturiser

I'm going to nag here and lecture on the importance of SPF (as you didn't mention purchasing that), since all acid exfoliators make you photosensitive. In order to protect that newly exposed skin they have* to be used in conjunction with SPF. SPF50 in summer, SPF30 minimum in winter. SPF in your moisturiser (no matter what rating it claims to have) won't be sufficient. Acid toning without a proper SPF protection will in fact prematurely age you. It's good practice in general (and WHO advised) to wear daily SPF, it's one of the two proven cosmetics that will delay ageing (the other being Retin-A), inhibit pigmentation (especially post breakouts), and protect you from skin cancer.

Before you protest that it's so uncomfortable to wear and blocks your pores, the Biore Watery Essence is very light and will not block your pores and very popular amongst combo/oily skinned. It's from Japan they know how to do cosmetically elegant SPFs for daily wear really well (the Biore is not recommended for holiday use as it's not sweat and water resistant) and despite being sent from Japan, surprisingly affordable.

SPF rant over just buy the damn sunscreen already.

[Lalunya85]

the only reason I didn't mention spf is because I already have one! I'm using the No7 version and finding it OK, not too heavy. But might try the one you've recommended once this one is finished anyway.

You seem to know a lot about this stuff! I hope you are doing this professionally in some way and earning a nice living from it. I really appreciate all the explanations! I have two kids aged 1 and 2 so especially the morning are mad in ihr house; but I'm going to try my best to stick to the basics from now on and be religious about them. I applied retinol (by LRP) last night for the first time and I read that it was vital to use spf the following morning. So will apply that now.

One thing that's still on my mind is the cleaning vs exfoliating thing, and what should be done first. Given that the exfoliater needs to stay on for quite a while it makes sense to do the cleaning first. But in the link you sent me in your first post the woman advises to use exfoliater first, leave it for half an hour and then apply the oil Cleanser which would such out any dirt and oils that had been 'dislodged' by the exfoliation. So now I'm thinking if I just apply the exfoliater without cleansing after, won't all the stuff it has dislodged just stay on my face all night until I wash it off in the morning??

Clearly I have no understanding of the chemicals process involved here so I'm probably imagining this completely wrongly.

[botemp]

Nope not a professional, I just like to read up on the things going on my face.

I see the confusion now, the link really is a treatment process to do once in a blue moon if you're feeling cloggy, the oil helps loosen things and is left on for twenty minutes and is then washed off. It's easier to do that on a lazy morning. Normal order is cleanser then exfoliater.

BHA is oil soluble so works on a deeper level, it'll slowly dissolve the impurities in your pores overnight so with normal use no issues with it sitting on your face as it chemically broken down. The clay and oil in that technique simply speed up the process and encourage the more stubborn and visible stuff to come out in one go. After which maintenance with BHA should encourage clearer and visibly reduced pores.

[NeonPinkNails]

Watching with interest, my face looks like a slice of Swiss cheese most of the time :( :)