Photo courtesy of Beth Studenberg/The Licensing Project
How to Minimize Pores
No matter your age or skin type, you can make a noticeable difference in the way your pores look. The most important thing to know is that pores don’t actually shrink—but they can appear to. When a pore looks big, it’s actually being (temporarily) stretched out, usually by dead skin cells, dirt, and oil on your skin.
Exfoliating—with both physical and chemical exfoliants—is the key to making your skin soft, smooth, clear, and practically poreless-looking, immediately and long-term.
1
CLEANSE AND CLEAR AWAY
Sweeping away what naturally gets stuck in pores—dead skin cells, oil, dirt, makeup—and revealing the fresh, unclogged skin beneath can make an enormous difference in the way your skin looks and feels. Regular exfoliation also keeps pores from getting clogged in the first place.
2
SPLASH-ON TONIC
This gives you both physical and chemical exfoliation, and it deposits skin-friendly ingredients at the same time.
3
TREAT PROBLEM AREAS
Clogged and irritated pores can become breakouts, and breakouts and their aftermath can also cause pores to look enlarged or rough. The benefits of a faithful routine are fewer breakouts—and less-visible pores.
4
DRINK VITAMINS AND COLLAGEN
Just about every skin type can benefit from internal antioxidants and collagen (collagen is the structure in skin that holds pores together); we like to drink ours.
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Antioxidant Drink:
goop Beauty
GOOPGLOW MORNING SKIN SUPERPOWDER
goop, $60/$55 with subscription shop now -
Collagen Drink:
goop Beauty
GOOPGENES
goop, $95 shop now
5
WEAR SUNSCREEN
Collagen breakdown contributes to the way your pores look and function. Wear clean, physical SPF every day (paradoxically, mineral SPF doesn’t clog your pores, but easy-blending, invisible, irritating chemical SPF formulas can). Your pores, not to mention the rest of your skin, will look better for it.
