Can I Shrink My Pores?

There is alot you can do to lessen the appearance of pores, but there is nothing on the market that can actually shrink them. I don't care what they say, it's a lie. Any doc or esthetician worth their salt will tell you the truth. There is alot you can do to help with the appearance though.

First, there is homecare. What you are using at home can make a huge difference. Are you using OTC products, professional products or Rx?

OTC products in my opinion are a waste of time and money. True, over the years we have become more informed consumers and therefore cosmetic companies have tried to keep up. The bottom line is that they are there to make money. Most of their products are designed to last a short amount of time. "Alot goes a little bit", and you need to use a good amount of product to get it to do anything. The other fact is that they need to be able to cover every skin type out there, like blanket coverage. Darker skin types can not use aggressive Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's), where lighter skin types can. Cosmetic retailers do know this (and don't want to pay for a good % of AHA's). They also do not want to pay lawsuits for ruining peoples skin, so they formulate their products accordingly.

Professional Products are stronger and recommend for the individuals specific needs. They contain better grade ingredients, with far better %'s. They are designed to produce results. "A little, goes a long way", I find that in general you are buying professional product less often than OTC. The price point ends up being a little less with professional product. You may pay more up front but you are replacing product every 6-9 months, rather than every couple of weeks. You can ususally get a guarantee on them working because 1) They will actually produce results, 2) Someone with knowledge actually thought about what would work best and customized your homecare routine.

Rx's are good because, obviously you have to have a prescription for them. They are much stronger than OTC and Proffesional Products. My issue is that usually you get "here put this on once or twice a day and you'll be good". The problem is that you are not learning how to take care of the health of your skin. They are widely over used. Both in frequency of use, and long term use. Combined with Professional Products, I think you will get a better overall outcome.

If you can find improvements in what you are using at home that is a good place to start.

The second plan of attack is to consider treatments that are offered by an Esthetician or Doc. Both are going to use varying %'s and forms of AHA's and Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA's).

What you are going to recieve from a skin care practicioner is not as agressive as what you are going to get from a doc. They will be most effective with a series of treatments, usually 3 or 6. You would schedule each of them 1-3 weeks apart, and they would continually get more aggressive with each treatment. You may experience a small amount of down time ( time in which you may not look like you could take the Miss America crown). You may peel, like a sunburn. Or flake, like dry skin. If the person you are seeing knows what they are doing, you WILL see results.

Treatments in a Doc's office are probably going to require less frequency in treatments as they are incredibly more aggressive. Their price point is also incredibly more aggressive as well :) The down time associated with them can be anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. Some are so deep, that even the heat from the oven, or opening your front door into a sunny day, will make you want to cry.

In the end my opinion is, the only wrong way you can go is with OTC products. Whether you want to rely totally on an Esthetician, Dr. or combine their treatments is entirely up to you. Whatever you are considering look at what your trying to achieve for your skin in the end, and the price point you are looking at. Do your research on your aggressive treatment opitons so you know what you are really getting yourself into.