Oily Skin, Age and Gender: These are the 3 main contributing factors that causes enlarged pores.

The oily substance, also called sebum, produced by our bodies, keeps the skin lubricated and waterproof. It’s common to see patients with naturally oily skin, to have larger pores than patients with dry skin. Our skin starts swelling when oil and dirt collects in our skin, therefore the pores will start to look bigger than what it actually is. Large pores should not always be associated with severe acne, as acne is not secondary factor in the appearance of large pores. Sometimes small scars formed after acne, can be wrongly identified as large pores.

Age is the second contributing factor. Our skin loses elasticity as we get older, this can cause the pores to look bigger. Damage done by the sun affects how the pore will appear as it thickens our skin. Therefore skin cells will accumulate around the edges of pores and this will stretch them out. Therefore the pores will appear bigger.

The third factor is gender. It’s well known that men have larger pores than women, in general. Women tend to get more large pores during hormonal stages in their lives.