Beauty Clinic: budget skincare for open pores
Q. I have open pores all over my face. For skincare I only use a seaweed wash, nothing else for fear of making them worse. I use a good primer and foundation but the pores still show through. Can you suggest budget products as I’m a single mother?
A. We think the wash you refer to is The Body Shop Seaweed Cleansing Gel Wash/£8.50 for 125 ml, which should be suitable for your skin; it’s important not to use moisturising cleansers because they can clog the pores further. Gels are fine. You should be scrupulous about cleansing morning and evening to make sure all make up, dust and grime is removed from the pores as it can stretch them and make them look larger. Sleeping with make-up on can block the pores.
However, you really do need to use a moisturiser am/pm every day after cleansing plus a gentle exfoliant twice a week or so. The best way to look after your skin is to keep it clean and supple.
Pores are really tiny holes in the skin. You may not be able to reverse large pores, which are often genetic, but you can help reduce the appearance of them by keeping them clean and unclogged. Your make up will look much better too.
Our skin is covered with tiny hairs (except on the palms of hands and soles of feet) and each hair follicle has a pore at the top on the surface of the skin. Inside the follicle is the sebaceous gland, which produces oil that works its way up to the pore and collects in it. When it combines with dirt, dead skin cells and make up, the pore gets blocked and may form a pimple.
Look for a gentle exfoliator such as Garden of Wisdom Pore Cleaning Powder/£12 for 50g. You can use this on your whole face or just areas of it. This natural formula contains pink kaolin clay, which is gently exfoliating, calcium carbonate, which draws excess oil and dirt out of the pores, soothing and healing zinc oxide plus antibacterial aspen bark, which also acts as a preservative
Diligent cleansing and exfoliating will keep the pores clean and unclogged but if your skin gets dry they can look bigger. So it’s important to use a light moisturiser after washing and patting your skin dry. Cetaphil Moisturising Lotion suits all skin types and won’t block pores; like the rest of the excellent Cetaphil range, it’s a real beauty steal at £8.20 for 236ml.
Another brand we love is Sukin, a natural Australian range of skincare, which has a new range of Oil Balancing products, formulated to purify and deep cleanse the skin. It offers a Purifying Gel Cleanser/£9.99 for 125ml, Pore Refining Facial Scrub/£9.99 for 125ml, plus the Anti-Pollution Facial Masque/£11.95 for 100ml, which helps to reduce the appearance of pores.
Finally, if you feel up for a £15 splurge, do try Erborian Pink Perfect Crème, a primer that provides an instant blurring effect and reduces the appearance of open pores, while giving a flattering pearly glow.
