Beauty Book : Enlarged Pores

Beauty Book : Your Questions

i just got an email from Siying yesterday, here’s her question :

“previously u recommended quite a few brands of exfoliators on your blog! may i enquire do u still use facial cleansers/foams, together with exfoliators or choose either one to use daily? i have been using both daily and together (not one in the day and the other in the night), and kind of notice my pores getting bigger and bigger :( will it be because i sort of cleanse too much, thus causing the enlarging of pores? :(“

firstly hun, trust me, you’re not the only one who has an issue with enlarged pores. i’ve been having a love-hate relationship with my skin ever since i could remember. (more hate than love really) so i’ll try my best to answer your question.

i did some googling and enlarged pores are caused by TWO main things, age and genetics. some people are born with insanely smooth porcelain skin (Really, it’s so unfair) so if you were born with less than perfect skin, like me, well, don’t start pulling at your hair cos there are ways to work around it!

excessive sun exposure can also cause enlarged pores, cos it thickens the skin, thus making pores look more visible. so if you think this is a possible cause, get a good sunblock!

i don’t think “over-cleansing” causes enlarged pores. i use the ginvera green tea marvel gel on a daily basis like you do. sometimes i use a cleanser before, sometimes after. BUT, there’s one very important step you need to remember!

USE A TONER.

i use The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner.

toners help clean up any traces of impurities left behind from exfoliation and also aids with oil control. 2-3 times a week, i use the Tea Tree Mask after exfoliating, followed by toner and then the rest of the regime.

Neutrogena’s deep cleansing foam does do a pretty good job, i use it myself too! especially when washing off makeup. if your skin allows, i’d recommend using an apricot scrub too. most claim to be gentle enough for daily use. a brand like St Ives is great, but if you don’t want to spend too much, Beauty Formulas has an apricot scrub for less than $5 if i’m not wrong!

another product from The Body Shop that i absolutely love is the Vitamin C skin boost.

it’s a bit pricey at $36.90 for a small bottle, but it works wonders. i use it every night now and also before applying makeup! it gives me a velvety base and make up application is a dream!

if you don’t mind splurging a little, these are also some worthy investments.

they cost $32.90 and $24.90 respectively.

so they say, beauty comes with a price.

if you want to try something different tho, here’s something else i have used and found effective.

Silver Powder from Mario Badescu

it retails for US$12 online, but if i’m not wrong, we should be able to get Mario Badescu products here in Singapore at Sephora stores! (Which i have yet to explore) make sure you avoid sitting in front of a fan when you use this tho, or you will get powder particles flying all over the place and into your eyes!

don’t know if i actually answered your question Siying, so feel free to let me know how else i can help! :)

i’d love to hear from all of you, tell me if you find the entries helpful or interesting.

and if you want me to answer your questions, which can be about anything, relationships, beauty, food, clubbing… leave me comments or send your questions to me at : jeanine@jeaninegabrielle.com i’ll do my best to answer all questions! :)

love, jean