What Are Enlarged Pores?

I hate my pores. Even if I have them unclogged with microderm abrasion, blackheads will continue to form. But however unaesthetic my pores may be, whether large or tight, they play a vital role in skin physiology: if you had no pores, your hair wouldn't have what to grow out of. The skin oil that keeps the skin PH-balanced and healthy would also have no way of reaching the surface. Basically, a pore is the opening of the follicle onto the surface of the skin. It helps the sebaceous oil reach the top layer of the skin, once this is released in the hair follicle by the sebaceous glands. In other words, the pore is that small opening through which both skin oil (also known as sebum) and the hair reach the surface of the skin. * In some cases, genetics bares the blame, since people with oily skin (also hereditary) tend to have larger looking pores. * Large pores are also the result of sun damage to our skin. * Aging makes our skin thicker. The rims of cells tend to collect around single pores, making them look bigger than they actually are. As you age, you also lose collagen. In other words, your skin loses elasticity and the size of your pores increases (since there is not enough collagen to keep them tight). This is why treatments that stimulate collagen growth are effective in reducing pore size. * Poor skin hygiene leads to sebum and dirt to collect around the edges of pores, creating the visual illusion that they are larger than they really are. * Blackheads (or clogged pores) tend to expand pores or simply draw attention to them. * Enlarged pores begin with inappropriate exfoliation of cells. Instead of dead cells being shed, they become microscopic plugs. But the glands keep on doing their job - producing sebum. The oil cannot reach the surface and it starts accumulating inside the pore, enlarging its diameter and causing blackheads.