Reduce the appearance of enlarged pores.
Open pores
We all have millions of pores on our skin, each pore contains a hair follicle and sebaceous gland. The sebaceous glands produce sebum, which moisturises our skin and helps keep it waterproof.
Sometimes pores can look ‘open’, particularly on the nose, cheeks, and forehead, however, pores do not open and close.
What is commonly referred to as ‘open pores’ is an appearance of pores looking enlarged. Pores can look enlarged due to the pores becoming clogged with oil, debris, bacteria, or dead skin cells.
Blackheads
Similarly, blackheads may form when a pore becomes clogged. Dead skin cells, sebum, bacteria, and debris can collect in the opening of a pore, which produces a comedo. When part of the comedo is exposed to oxygen the clog becomes oxidized, causing it to look black; hence the name, blackhead.
Treatments
Skin that has a tendency to have enlarged pores or blackheads are treated in the same way:
- reducing the sebum production in the pores
- cleaning of the trapped debris, bacteria,sebum, and dead skin cells
What treatments are available?
CO2 Fractional Laser Treatments resurface the skin and help reduce the noticeability of open pores.
Laser treatments and Chemical Peels reduce the amount of sebum produced by the pores and remove the dead skin cells causing clogging of the pores.
Microneedling reduces sebum production and increases collagen production to reduce the appearance of enlarged pores.
Home Skin Care is also helpful to reduce sebum production and promote the continual reduction of debris on the skin between treatments.
CO2 Fractional Laser Treatment
CO2 Laser treatments require some downtime, but the results do not compromise. Excellent for treating wrinkles, scarring, dull skin, pigmentation, sebaceous hyperplasia, lax skin and open pores.
CO2 lasers emits a beam of Carbon Dioxide laser light that is absorbed by water molecules within the targeted skin tissue. The energy from the laser light heats up and vaporizes the water in the cells causing the cells to break apart.
Resulting in
- epidermal ablation: the removal of a fraction of the outermost layer of the skin, achieving resurfacing of the skin.
- thermal energy delivery: which stimulates the production of collagen, a protein that helps maintain skin’s firmness and elasticity.
Co2 laser treatments are commonly used for treating issues on the face, it can also be used to rejuvenate the neck, chest, hands and most body areas.
Full face treatment £250
Find out more here.
Laser Treatment
Laser treatments have been shown to effectively reduce open pores and blackheads in 4 distinct ways:
- Decreases sebum production
- Reduces blockages in pores
- Speeds up the healing process
- Kill propionibacterium
Laser treatments take between 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the treatment area, and work best when performed every 2 weeks.
Down time: none
Full face £75
You can find out more about this treatment here.
Chemical Peels
We have a number of peels suitable for treating skin with open pores and blackheads:
Azelan peel contains azelaic acid and salicylic acid, with antibacterial and oil-regulating properties. Blackheads and dilated, blocked pores may develop as a result of a keratinisation disorder. This peel helps to normalise the keratinisation process, reducing blackheads and open pores.
The Salicylic acid peels are very efficient at breaking down sebaceous oil and dead skin cells that collect in dilated pores. Salicylic acid penetrates the pores in the skin, helping to regulate oil production and sebaceous secretion. These peels also have the added benefit of having an anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effect on the skin.
Chemical peels can be performed every 2 weeks.
Downtime: dry skin for up to 5 days.
You can find out more about chemical peels here.
Microneedling
Microneedling causes thousands of micro-injuries in the skin which reset and reboot the skins’ cellular function. This tricks the skin into normalising the sebaceous glands’ function, stopping overactive sebum production, which reduces the appearance of open pores and blackheads.
This treatment can be performed every 4-8 weeks.
Microneedling can leave redness lasting 24 hours, and bronzing and flaking for up to 3 days.
Full Face £175
You can find out more information about microneedling here.
Blackheads Extraction
Comedone extractions professionally remove blackheads, white heads and milia from your skin.
Improving the complexion and reducing blockages of sebum to decrease pore size.
from £70
More information here.
Home Care
Skin care starts at home, and our Acne Prone skin care kit has all the products you need to reduce open pores and blackheads.£174.95
More information can be found here.
Patient results and treatment experiences may vary.
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