Why are my pores so huge these days?

You could try with a home-made toner. Lemon juice is very good for tightening the pores. You could mix that in with kiwi juice, again home-made, if you have a juicer, and ginger. Then make sure you add an equal amount of water to dilute the mixture. Apply this with a cotton ball and leave for 15 minutes before rinsing it off. When I have trouble with either big pores or general blemishes, this works very well. Someone told me that papaya juice also works as a pore minimizer, but I have not tried that myself.

The causative factors behind large pores are commonly misunderstood. Your pores may have become enlarged for several reasons, and they include:

• Age. Older skin is less elastic, and pores often appear larger as we age. 
• Sun damage. Sun damage causes the skin to lose elasticity faster, again leading to larger pores. 
• Hormonal changes. Men generally have larger pores than women, but many women have larger pores right before their menstrual periods and also, changes like pregnancy and the menopause can lead to enlarged pores.

If I were you, I would work on changing my skincare regime by using a gentle cleanser and not scrubbing to vigorously. You can try either Retin-A or retinol, which is available over the counter, to minimize pores and to contribute to a healthier, younger and more blemish-free complexion. 

You could try these things to shrink your pores:

- Do not underestimate the importance of a clean face. However, that does not mean you need to go wash it more than twice a day, something that can in fact increase sebum production, leading to even larger pores! Pores often become enlarged because they are filled with sebum, dirt, and dead skin cells. Wash twice a day and no more using a gentle soap free cleanser. Another thing to remember is that using dirty towels to dry your face afterward is a bad idea. Either use paper towels or a clean face towel every time. Pat your skin dry instead of rubbing it.

- Exfoliate twice a week using a gentle exfoliator. This will remove dead skin cells and other unwanted elements from your skin. You can also look into dry brushing for your skin. This is a product-free exfoliating method that many people say works very well for their skin.

- Steam with tea tree oil, to cleanse your pores on a deeper level.

- Use a moisturizer that does not cause pimples. Salicylic acid is a very useful ingredient to have in any facial cream you use. You could also look for retinol.

The main factors behind large pores are oily skin, being older, and being male, along with genetic factors. That is, if you come from a large-pored family you are more likely to end up with large pores yourself as well. Shrinking pores is not, in fact, possible. That does not mean there is nothing you can do to make your pores LOOK smaller, however. It is true that clogged pores often appear larger, but be careful not to fall into the over-cleansing trap so many people have fallen into before: if you cleanse too much, your skin gets the message that more sebum is needed, and your skin will react by producing more. In turn, this will make your skin olier and your pores more clogged than before. Because of that, you need to work with a gentle cleanser, that's oil free but also not drying. There is absolutely no evidence that cleansing the face more than twice a day does anyone with any skin type any good whatsoever. I know you will want to do it anyway. Just remember that it doesn't work, and make sure not to cleanse more than twice a day. If you follow this advice, at least you will not be adding to an existing problem!

Yeah, if I had large and noticeable pores, I'd look into starting a salicylic acid cleanser. That stuff is like the gold standard for dealing with oil, blackheads and large pores and though I wouldn't put it on my face if I didn't have those issues (which I don't, except the odd pimple now and then) I'd not hesitate to do it if I did have those issues. That, a good exfoliator, and a good toner, yeah, should make your pores look smaller. You can't actually make 'em BE smaller, that's a myth, but they can look smaller alright. The right skin care should have you looking much fresher within a matter of weeks. 

I used to have pretty huge pores too, interestingly on my forehead and cheeks only, not on my nose where most people seem to complain about huge pores. I changed two things about my skin care. First, I started adding a toner. Second, I started splashing icy cold water on my face as the grand finish to my face washes. My pores are now much less noticeable. I do have some pore minimizer that I got when things were really bad, but I have not used it in months now... just toner, moisturizer, primer, and then BB cream. Simple things can make all the difference!

There are SO MANY options if you want to reduce the size of your pores. Use Biore's pore penetrating charcoal bar for instance, which unclogs things and really helps. The deep cleaning pore strips are also really good, but you should not use only them and nothing else for your pores. They are just deep maintenance. If you want to go the extra mile, why not look into getting a Clarisonic? It has really helped me. And primer. I have really had luck with the Peter Thomas Roth pore putty, which makes your pores disappear and gets rid of oil at the same time.

Do you mind if I add my problem here? As the winter started and my skin got drier, I switched over to a new moisturizer. I also got a few other new skincare products at the same time. Well, the dryness is gone and I was really happy at first, but I am now noticing pronounced pores on my cheeks as well as the area between my eyebrows, or above my nose. I have never had this issue before. Could it be that I need to adjust to the new products, should I stop using them altogether, or is there some other possible cause of my suddenly enlarged pores?

I bought a whole kit to cosmetically remove pores from Benefit a while back. It is really cool, and the packaging is the most beautiful I have ever seen. If you want to make it look like you have no pores, that is possible. If you want to actually shrink your pores, everything I have rad indicates that this is simply not possible, so I have given up trying and am focusing on how to look good with makeup on instead. My pores aren't the size of a small country, mind you. I'm probably the only one who is bothered by them. I keep telling myself that. People have pores, and sometimes they get bigger with age. Just the way it is.

So... weird question perhaps but am I the only person who's skin goes through seasonal changes, including larger pores in winter compared to summer? Not sure what causes it but it's the same story every year so I'm guessing it's normal and all I do is slap on some extra makeup and call it a day. There's actually been some really good tips here so I'll try some of them out now my pores are looking larger. Lemon juice, yeah, I'll definitely give that a shot and perhaps look into some of those products as well. Thanks for starting this thread!

Well, I have had luck with Skinceuticals vitamin C serum. I did not even get it to get rid of large pores as such, more to improve the overall health of my skin, but it worked wonders. I have been using it approximately one month now and have seen improvements in fine lines, skin texture and also the pores have decreased in size very much. Those people with large pores who are not already using vitamin C serum I think you should try it for sure!