THE PORE MINIMISERS
There is an abundance of pore minimising products on the market and it can be incredibly overwhelming for people who suffer from large pores and even for people who don’t. I think there are a lot of us who often think, what is a pore anyway and how do I know if I need to minimise mine??!
So let me try and explain it in the way that made most sense to me. Everyone has pores, we actually have them all over our body wherever there is skin that grows hair, but pores are mostly talked about on the face because that tends to be where they cause the most grief. Some people can really see the pores on their face and they look like little holes, because essentially that’s what they are. It tends to be genetic whether you have large pores or not, I’m quite lucky to have never really suffered from very noticeable pores. They can, however, become more noticeable when they are blocked or congested which is why cleansing your face daily is so important. Ingredients like salicylic acid can help to reduce the blockage and clear the skin, allowing your pores to do their job.
Very large pores are hard to treat, but there are some pore minimising products out there that if anything just help to smooth the skin’s surface so your makeup doesn’t clog your pores and look uneven. I also like to use these, even though I don’t have very visible pores as they work really well as a skincare/primer hybrid.
There are three that I would recommend and have enjoyed using and they’re all quite different.
The Skyn Iceland Pure Pore Minimizer has a beautiful, creamy texture and is silicone-free so it doesn’t have a greasy feeling on the skin. It can be used under makeup as a primer or in the evening after cleansing and before moisturising. It dries down to quite a matte finish, smells fresh and leaves the skin really smooth.
The Bioderma Sébium Pore Refiner is targeted more at those with combination/oily skin and is advised to be used in the morning under makeup. Like most Bioderma products this is non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic, but it does have quite a strong scent. The formula includes Bioderma’s Fluidactiv® complex which apparently reduces the quantity of sebum produced which is the natural oil our body produces that comes out of your pores and for some, makes you feel oily and greasy throughout the day.
The Body Shop also offer a pore minimiser as part of their Tea Tree range aimed at blemished skin types. This one, compared to the others, has a very strong scent so if you don’t like the scent of tea tree oil you won’t like this. Tea Tree is really great for blemish prone skin though as it’s an antiseptic so will help relieve any redness around the blemish and keep it clean so it doesn’t get any worse. I found this one the most drying out of the three so it would only be suitable for oilier skin types, but it dries down really matte so would work well under makeup in the mornings. It has quite a blurry effect on the skin, helping smooth out any imperfections.
So whether you really suffer from large pores or if you just like using pore minimisers to smooth the skin, I hope you found one in this post that will work for you.
