Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been religiously using my new cleansers and moisturisers. So why haven’t my pores disappeared, and why am I getting so many new pimples?
Well, you’ll probably be as surprised as me to learn that you can’t make your pores go away – isn’t this what a lot of products claim to do? You can’t get rid of your pores as they are either hair follicles or sweat glands. Luckily though you can reduce the appearance of them, and I’m guessing that is the true claim of the ‘pore refining’ products.
Pores show up when they are darkest and at their largest. If your pores are dark, they are blocked with either dead skin cells, natural skin oils, dirt and/or left-over make-up. The good news is that it’s easy to clean them up by regularly cleansing and gently exfoliating your face… The muslin cloth that comes with the Liz Earle clean and polish does a very good job. I’ve been surprised to see the left-over make-up and dirt that comes off even a clean face. Having a super clean, exfoliated face is the key to refining your pores.
So, when your little one has finished using his muslins you can put them to good use (after a thorough 60º wash!). Try wiping off your normal cleanser with a muslin cloth rather than just washing off. The results are immediately visible and the wiping action exfoliates at the same time.
In terms of spots & pimples, there are two types; the ones caused by blocked pores and the ones that come from beneath your skin. The latter are generally very painful, but they are your body ridding itself of unwanted ‘stuff’. For pimples, blackheads & white heads you’ll be interested to know they come from your pores being blocked (I’m not talking acne here). Even more interestingly, moisturisers are very good at blocking your pores!! Ekk! So watch carefully when you change moisturiser and if you are getting breakouts, firstly try avoiding those areas when you moisture to see if there’s an improvement. Then try introducing a lighter more quickly absorbed moisturiser as it’s entirely possible your skin is already producing enough natural oils to moisturise these areas and that your extra help is doing more harm than good.
Further reading:
Find out which type of toner is best for you. Toners help clean away dirt & some have antiseptic qualities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toner_(skin_care)
If you suffer from breakouts, it can be hard to cover them up, check out this tutorial (I would be inclined to say this is mild acne)
www.channel4.com
