Skin concerns

Pores

Sebum and dead cells collecting until pores look wider.

Start here

What it is: Openings that release sebum becoming noticeable. It is not a disease but a matter of how skin looks.
Why it happens: More often than the opening actually widening, it is filled with sebum and keratin, or the skin around it has lost firmness so the opening slackens.
Where to start: This is one of the thinnest evidence bases on this site. Few trials have shown pore size itself shrinking. Read the ingredients and procedures below with that in mind.

There are no numbers and no citations in this box. What has been established, and how far, is below.

Pores are one of the thinnest evidence bases on this site.

Trials showing that pore size itself shrank are rare. Most of the data addresses the things that make pores look wider — sebum, dead cells, loss of elasticity — and those results get quoted as pore improvement.

There is more material on the device side, but as this site's procedure pages keep noting, the control is usually another device.

Evidence level

Moderate evidenceRetinoid⚠ In pregnancy Do not use

Retinol

In a vehicle-controlled trial, 0.4% retinol applied for 24 weeks moved the fine-wrinkle score by −1.64 against −0.08 for vehicle. Thirty-six people, and it was forearms, not faces. In pregnancy, guidance says do not use it.

Moderate evidenceAntioxidant

Niacinamide

In a 12-week split-face study of 50 people, 5% niacinamide reduced fine lines, yellowing, red blotchiness and pigmented spots. The control was not nothing but the same moisturiser, and the manufacturer paid for the trial.

Moderate evidenceAcid

Salicylic acid

Salicylic Acid

Most acne trials used 30% peels performed in a clinic. What Korea allows as an acne functional claim is 0.5%, and only in rinse-off cleansers. There is a sixtyfold gap between those two numbers.

Moderate evidenceOther

Tea tree oil

Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil

In a double-blind trial of 60 people using a 5% gel for 45 days, total lesion count and acne severity improved significantly more than with placebo — 3.55 and 5.75 times more, respectively. It is one trial, and 45 days is short.

Moderate evidenceAcid

Glycolic acid (AHA)

Glycolic Acid

In a 22-week, 74-person, vehicle-controlled double-blind trial, 76% of people using 8% glycolic acid cream improved by at least one grade of photodamage (vehicle: 40%). Thirty years on, we found nothing better for this ingredient. And the same molecule did not protect the skin barrier.

Clinical procedures related to this concern

Procedures are not listed alongside topical ingredients. They are not something you use at home.

Moderate evidenceMicroneedle radiofrequencyDevice-based
Moderate evidenceFractional laser (Fraxel, fractional CO2)Device-based
Moderate evidenceMicroneedling (dermapen, dermaroller)Device-based
Early researchMicrodermabrasionDevice-based
Early researchExosome treatmentDevice-based
Not establishedHydradermabrasionDevice-based