Pores play a vital role in skin physiology.

The pore is little more than the opening of the hair follicle onto the surface of the skin. Skin pores are not invisible and everyone has them. No method for skin oils to reach the surface, protecting skin from environmental dehydration. Technically speaking, the pore is little more than the opening of the hair follicle onto the surface of the skin. The source of the hair follicle lies deep within the dermis.

Midway up the dermal layer, the sebaceous oil gland empties into the hair follicle. Both skin oil (sebum) and the hair breach the surface through this tiny aperture. Wherever there is a hair, there will be a pore.

Anything that attracts attention or expands the natural shape of pores magnifies their appearance. Coupled with dry skin, pores can look worse than they actually are. But there are definitely ways to unclog pores and amazing makeup products to give the illusion of having almost no pores at all.

Stop using harsh toners or astringents on the affected areas. Genetics may certainly be to blame. Barely visible on those prone to drier skin, individuals with oily, thicker (glabrous) skin tend to have larger looking, more noticeable pores. Sun damage is another cause. As we age, one of the ways sun damage affects the skin is through the enlargement of the pores. 

Most enlarged pores on the face are the result of hereditary factors, more than anything else. Sun damage and aging cause the epidermis to thicken and a rim of cells are more likely to collect around individual pores. While microscopic, these rings exaggerate pore diameter.

Pores may be more visible simply due to lack of good skin grooming and poor exfoliation. Too much surface oil and remnant naturally shed skin cells can collect around the edges of pores, creating the illusion of the pores being larger than they really are. Blackheads and enlarged pores often go hand-in-hand. Blackheads can either expand pores or simply focus attention on them.

But pores can appear larger than life for many reasons, blackheads being but one of them. 'Using these products may have a very temporary 'tightening' effect on pores, but it's extremely short-lived,' she explains.

The alcohol in the products cause the capillaries to dilate and the tiny erectile muscles of the pores to tighten, making pores look temporarily smaller.' In fact, harsh astringents actually encourage oil glands to over-produce oil, leading to an increase in the size of pores.