Beauty Myth-busting: Shrinking Pores? ~ Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™
Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets

6/8/10

Beauty Myth-busting: Shrinking Pores?

If you’ve ever read on bottles of potions claiming to shrink pores, it’s marketing fluff. Pores will not reduce in size, period. You can, however, minimize the appearance of large pores. Stay away from silicone-filled primers (if the finish of the product feels smooth, velvety and “coated”, it has some type of silicone). It’ll look pretty for now, but the silicone will build up in your pores over time. Once the residue oxidizes with dead skin cells, it will appear dark, resulting in blackheads. Using a good mineral foundation can be beneficial (my fave is Mineral Basics Complete Cover Concealer). When your skin appears flawless, you’ll be less inclined to fuss over the pores. Less fuss equals less picking at your skin, which results in healthier skin. A good mineral powder will also protect your skin from environmental elements.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, keeping your skin hydrated from the inside-out is the key to having smaller-looking pores- drink at least 8 glasses of water each day and try eating flaxseed or flaxseed oil daily. Our pores become overactive with producing oil when skin is dehydrated. Keeping skin hydrated and nourished from the inside out improves the condition of your skin over time, resulting in less overactive pores. Also, keep in mind that pores are there for a reason, they play a vital part in relieving our skin of toxins in our body. There’s no need to wear an “oil-controlling” or “pore-minimizing” lotion during the night; allow your pores to expel impurities while you sleep.

9 comments:

MilknCookiie said...

Erk, I didn't know about the consequences with the silicone based primers. Does it help if you do peelings and/or scrubbing regularly?

★ Cookiie

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi Cookiie,

Oh yeah, silicone primers+large pores=bad news. You know, my skin is too thin to utilize peels and conventional exfoliations. I recommend that you gently exfoliate weekly and minimize the usage of harsh exfoliating agents (some peels can be very harsh).

Farmgirl

wig4usc said...

You know what, I've been having such issues w/ my face the past couple of weeks. I thought it was hormonal, its on my cheeks, close to my nose - where my pores are bigger!! And I've been using a silicone based primer! Duh...I bet this is the problem! I'm losing the primer and let's see if it gets better! Thanks for that!

Kelly said...

What are your thoughts on the Oil Cleansing Method? Have you looked into it...or do you currently use it?

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi ladies!

wig4usc, I'm sure you'll see an improvement from breakouts once you stop using primers. I dare say it's one of the worst makeup invention of recent years, in my humble opinion, of course ;).

Kelly, I swear by the oil cleansing method! My favorite is the Bioelements Sensitive Skin Cleanser. It contains gentle botanical oils, as opposed to other cleansing oils out there (many utilize mineral oil and synthetic oils). You can also massage on a plant oil (olive, jojoba, coconut etc) and cleanse with a regular cleanser after. How do you currently utilize the OCM?

Farmgirl

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Kelly,

You can read about my current skincare routine here:

http://brilliantfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2010/03/skincare-routine-snapshot-what-works.html

Farmgirl

Unknown said...

Thanks for the great information. I am happy to have found your blog. :-)

Ale said...

do you know if you can use Emu Oil with the OCM? thanks

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi Ale,

Yes, you definitely can! Emu oil is my favorite oil so I know how expensive it can get, compared to other oils. That would be the only hindrance. Otherwise, bathing my skin in the richness of Emu oil is also a fantasy of mine :D

Farmgirl