Can you shrink pores?
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The straight answer is no, you can’t. However, you can make them look less apparent - almost negligible in fact, with good skincare and eating habits. Just these steps will make your skin look smooth and almost poreless.
- Drink water
If I had a penny for every woman who wanted great skin but didn’t drink water, I’d be a millionaire many times over. Whenever someone asks me for a wonder serum or cream, I ask “But do you drink enough water?” And more often than not, the answer is always no. I used to have apparent pores because I had very oily skin in my 20s. But the moment I got into the habit of drinking enough water they reduced by 50%. Drink a minimum of three litres, or more if you want really beautiful, luminous skin. I drink a litre and a half of warm water as soon as I wake up, and then two or three litres during the day. - Exfoliate gently
Pores are more apparent when there’s gunk stuck inside. But instead of going overboard with grainy scrubs look for a chemical exfoliator. Read this post on the best exfoliators. If blackheads are specifically your problem, make sure that your exfoliator has a BHA (salicylic acid) in it. BHA helps unclogs pores deeply, thereby reducing their appearance. - Add an antioxidant
Just like some people get pigmentation or wrinkles as they grow older, pores are also a sign of environmental damage and ageing. Use an antioxidant serum to protect your skin getting damaged by free radicals in the environment. Here are all the posts that I did on vitamin C serums, which are my favourite to reduce pores. - Eat antioxidants too
For the next one month eat a big bowl of raw salad everyday. Make sure that it has all colours - green, red, yellow, orange, purple - so there are all types of phytonutrients and antioxidants in it. Within a month you'll find that your skin is less pigmented, more luminous, moist, and even your pores look smaller. - Wear sunscreen
For heavens sake, no amount of good skincare will work of you’re undoing the damage by not protecting your skin against the sun. - Get a laser
This step is not necessary at all, but if you do want to make your pores look even small, or if huge pores are a big problem, ask your dermatologist for a laser. They stimulate collagen in your skin which makes it plump and more elastic, thereby reducing the appearance of pores.