Large pores: what actually makes them look smaller

About one in five people who take our skin test tick large pores. They're usually on the nose, the inner cheeks and the chin, they catch foundation, and in a phone selfie with the flash on they can look like the whole story of your face. They aren't. Pores are where your skin's oil comes out, and bigger oil glands mean bigger openings. That's why oily and combination skin notice them most.

So the honest goal is "less visible", not "gone".

Why pores look bigger than they are

Three things make a pore look large, and each one has its own fix.

The first is what's inside it. A pore packed with oil and dead skin stretches, and the tip of that plug darkens in the air. Clear it, and the opening looks smaller straight away. This is where a cleansing oil and a BHA come in.

The second is shine. Oil sitting on the surface reflects light around every opening and makes the texture stand out. Niacinamide and a light moisturiser help here, and so does blotting at midday.

The third is firmness. The skin around a pore is held up by collagen, and years of sun break it down. Pores on the cheeks then turn from round dots into little ovals or lines. Sunscreen protects what you have, and a retinoid over many months can help rebuild it.

Blackheads or sebaceous filaments?

The grey dots across most noses are not blackheads. They're sebaceous filaments: a normal lining of oil and skin cells that every pore has, and they turn grey at the tip when air reaches them. Squeeze them and they come out as a thin white thread, and they're back in about a month. That's how they're meant to work.

Real blackheads are darker, slightly raised and fewer. Both kinds respond to a BHA. Neither responds well to squeezing, which mostly leaves red, swollen pores that look bigger for days.

Using a BHA without overdoing it

Salicylic acid, the BHA in COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid, dissolves in oil, so it works inside the pore rather than only on the surface. Start with two nights a week for the first fortnight, then go to every other night if your skin is comfortable. A light tingle is fine. Burning, peeling or a red nose means you're going too fast.

Keep it off the nights you use glycolic acid or retinol. One exfoliating thing per night is plenty.

The clay mask, honestly

A clay mask like the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Pore Mask soaks up surface oil and leaves pores looking cleaner for a day or two. It's a nice weekly treat, on the T-zone only, rinsed off before it cracks. It's not a treatment that changes pores over time, whatever the packaging of other masks may say.

Small tricks that help

• When you use a cleansing oil, massage your nose and chin for a full minute before rinsing. That's when it loosens the plugs.
• Pat sunscreen on in the T-zone instead of rubbing, so it doesn't roll into the pores.
• Carry blotting papers. Lifting oil at 2 pm does more for pores than another layer of powder.
• Rinse your face after the gym or a sweaty commute, not hours later.
• Judge progress in daylight, not under the bathroom bulb or your phone flash.

Longer term: a retinoid

If you're past your mid-twenties and the pores on your cheeks have started to look stretched, a retinoid at night is the slow, real fix. The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane is a gentle start, two nights a week, on nights without your BHA. It takes three months or more. Don't use retinoids if you're pregnant or trying to be.

When to see a dermatologist

If your large pores come with lots of deep, painful spots, a doctor can do more than any routine. The same goes for treatments that physically change pore size, like lasers and microneedling. Those belong in a clinic. Please skip parlour "pore vacuums" and needle extractions; they can break small blood vessels and leave marks.

We sell the products named here, so weigh our picks with that in mind. If oil is your main problem, our oily skin guide goes deeper, and if spots come with the pores, start with the acne routine.