What are the best methods to treat severe large pores that existed for many years? (photo)

Your concern about those large pores are shared by many. At 26, your skin still looks pretty sebaceous - still on the oily side - which is normal at your age. No matter what treatment you choose to do, I think the most important part is to retard/ prevent what is causing the open pores in the first place. Even with the best treatment that improves the skin texture, continued excessive sebum secretion will still cause the large pores to reappear.

Consider using a retinoid regularly to control sebum secretion. Retinoids are a medical grade topical medication that can help reduce sebum secretion, which in turn also helps reduce the formation of whiteheads and blackheads. Once the sebum secretion is better controlled, you can step down to less intensive retinols. Incidentally, retinols/ retinoids are good and cost-effective anti-ageing products.

While controlling the sebum secretion, you can consider treatments that can help improve on those existing large pores:

1) Fractional CO2 laser: Long regarded as the gold-standard for minimally invasive skin resurfacing, this laser creates micro-channels on the upper layers of the skin, and our skin's natural response to such an 'injury' is to produce more collagen and a host of other substances to build up/ regenerate our skin matrix. Over a few treatments, the pores gradually become shallower and less obvious.

2) Rejuran: This is one of the newer option of skin rejuvenation. Composed of polynucleotides (PN) derived from salmon cells, and PN being the building blocks of DNA, this actives our skin cells to regenerate and repair. Skin texture, pore size improvements are among the potential benefits of this treatment.

From the resolution of the picture, it's not clear if those 'large pores' are really just pores. Some of them may actually be atrophic acne scars, for which other treatments are available for better results. Do consult a doctor for a better evaluation.

Hi, thank you for your question and photo.

Looking at the photo, some of the large pores may actually be atrophic acne scars. It is best to consult a doctor for an accurate diagnosis before commencing treatment.

Coming back to your question, the primary causes of enlarged pores are ;

1) Excessive sebum : Overactive sebaceous glands produces a lot of oil (sebum), causing oily skin and large pores

2) Decreased elasticity around pores: Lose of elasticity around pores, causing them to look larger

3) Increased hair follicle volume: Pores at the hand of hair follicles can become clogged with sebum, dead skin cells or dirt, causing them to be enlarged.

Based on your photo, your skin looks to be on the oily side. Hence, excessive sebum and increased hair follicle volume are likely to be the causes of your large pores. At age 26, it is unlikely you have decreased elasticity around your pores as that usually occurs in older women.

Management can be divided into home care and clinic procedures. Lets talk about home care first. Since you have oily skin, avoid oil based products and choose water based products instead. Cleanse your face twice a day with a gel based cleanser and exfoliate once or twice a week. Moisturizing daily is also important. Although it may sound counter intuitive, moisturizing after cleansing hydrates and softens the skin and reduce overactivity of the sebum producing sebaceous gland. Regular application of retinoids should also be done as retinoids reduce sebum production. Medical grade topical retinoids are available at your doctor's office.

On top of home care, there are also clinic treatments that you can consider to reduce the size of your pores;

1) Chemical peel: A glycolic acid peel is a great peel for large pores. It deep cleanses pores, removes blackheads, fights acne and smooths out rough skin. All these helps to reduce the look of enlarged pores.

2) Skin lasers or light treatment such as the q switch lasers, long pulse lasers or BBL . These work by stimulating collagen production and reduce activity of the sebaceous glands . After a few sessions, pores may appear smaller and the skin less oily. Carbon dioxide or erbium lasers may also be used to provide a light laser peel of the skin to smoothen out the acne scars, resulting in a smoother complexion .

3) Rejuran Skin Healer: Rejuran Skin Healer is made of salmon derived polynucleotides(PNs) and polydexyribonucleotides (PDRNs) After injection into the skin, these PNs and PDRNs, by virtually of being the building blocks of DNA, stimulates cell regeneration for newer and younger looking skin. Reduction in pores size is one of the benefits of this treatment. Other benefits include improvement in skin texture, smoothing over of fine wrinkles, reducing blemishes and breakouts and improvement in skin elasticity.

It is best to speak to your doctor regarding the appropriate treatment regime for you. Hope this helps!