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While everyone has pores, some people find that their pores look larger and more noticeable than average. Sure, you could use makeup to mask your pores and smooth out your complexion, but wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry about giant-looking pores in the first place?
Recently, social media has been dominated by a skincare hack that claims to instantly shrink pores while giving the skin a brighter glow. Referred to as ‘skin icing’, ‘ice facials’, and a number of other names, this trend is all about turning to ice to enhance your complexion and bring about the pore-less appearance you’re seeking. However, does it really work? Can something this simple really shrink pores? Keep reading as VouPre investigates!
What Causes Enlarged Pores?
Before exploring the effects of ice on the pores, let’s first take a look at what causes enlarged pores in the first place. There are actually several contributing factors, and you may well be dealing with more than one of them:
- Clogged pores. When blockages form in the pores, they cause the pore openings to stretch and swell. This makes them look bigger while the blockage itself gives the pores a darker appearance.
- Aging. As you grow older, your skin loses elasticity. As a result, the skin starts to sag, making the pores look droopy and larger.
- Sun damage. Again, this can lead to a loss of elasticity and sagging skin.
- Skin type/hormonal changes. If your skin is producing more sebum than necessary, this will cause your pore openings to expand and look more noticeable.
As you can see, all of the above factors cause your pores to stretch and look larger than normal. However, your genetics will determine what ‘normal’ is for you. The actual size of your pores is dictated by your genes, and this is something that can’t be changed. Therefore, it’s not possible to actually shrink pores, although there’s plenty that you can do to make them look smaller and less obvious!
How Can Ice Help?
So, what will ice do for your pores?
Skin icing is actually an age-old tradition. It’s still popular today, with cryotherapy used for a number of health purposes. When it comes to the skin, the cold temperature imparted by the ice constricts the blood vessels that lie beneath the skin. This makes the skin look tighter, which then makes the pores look smaller. While it won’t shrink pores, it will make them look nearly invisible for a while!
This effect is, unfortunately, temporary. However, skin icing provides a few other benefits to the skin, including:
- Soothes the feeling of inflammation and irritation. It can also calm the look of redness.
- Reduces the appearance of puffiness. This can be particularly useful for the skin around the eyes.
- Helps with makeup application.
While those benefits are enough to persuade people to give this viral hack a try, keep in mind that doing this incorrectly could end up irritating and damaging your skin.
How to Give Yourself an Ice Facial
So, how do you go about safely giving yourself an ice facial?
There are a few different variations out there. Here are a few worth trying:
The Viral Version
The most common way to ice your face starts with wrapping four or five ice cubes in a clean cloth or paper towel. This is to prevent the ice from having direct contact with your skin. Its freezing temperature would only damage your skin barrier, leading to dryness, ice burns, and other issues.
Once your ice cubes are wrapped, gently massage your face with the bundle. Move it in circular motions over different areas of your skin, such as your cheeks, forehead, jawline, chin, and under-eye area. Focus on the areas where your pores look particularly noticeable.
To avoid damaging your skin, you should only ice your face for a few minutes at a time. Don’t do it more than once a day either. While a controlled amount of cold exposure can be good for your skin, too much will have the opposite effect!
Upgrading Your Ice Cubes
One way to elevate your ice facial is to upgrade your ice cubes. Rather than using ice cubes made from water, consider freezing some other skin-loving liquids, too. Here are a few ideas:
- Green tea. It’s packed with unique antioxidants that tackle the appearance of everything from aging to acne.
- Rosehip tea. This has a very high vitamin C content.
- Aloe vera. This botanical is revered for how it lowers the feeling of inflammation in the skin.
Submerging Your Skin
We’ll admit, this method may seem a little wacky at first. However, from Kate Moss to Bella Hadid, it’s one that many famous faces swear by.
All you need to do is fill a large bowl with ice water and ice cubes. Then, dunk your face in! Hold your face in the water for a few seconds before patting your skin dry. You can then continue on with the rest of your skincare routine.
Cooling Skincare Products
If you like the idea of using cold temperatures to temporarily minimize the look of your pores but don’t want to mess around with ice cubes, cooling skincare products are an easy alternative. Although they won’t offer the same extreme as ice, they can sometimes be the safer choice for skin that’s easily reactive or sensitive.
The VouPre BioCool Collection consists of three products that will leave your skin feeling cool and refreshed. Better yet, these formulas also boost hydration, tighten the look of the skin, and soothe the feeling of inflammation, all of which will also help to give you smaller-looking pores.
The Collagen Cooling Set Limited Edition would be another good choice. This set comes with a cooling globe. Store it in the fridge for a couple of hours before rolling it over your face. It provides the same benefits as ice but without any of the hassle!
Other Ways to Minimize the Look of Large Pores
While an ice facial may be a great way to make your pores look smaller, those results are just temporary. If you want to flaunt a pore-less complexion in the long run, there are a few other steps that you’ll need to take:
Keep Your Skin Clean
As we mentioned earlier, as soon as your pores end up even slightly clogged, they’ll immediately become more noticeable. The first step in preventing those blockages from forming is to cleanse your skin twice a day.
If your skin type is oily, go with a foaming cleanser, like the VouPre ClearSuds Foaming Purifier. This one efficiently lifts away excess oil without drying out the skin. Meanwhile, if your skin type is dry or sensitive, pick a moisturizing formula, such as the VouPre Radiance Facial Cleanser.
Regularly Exfoliate
Exfoliation is also essential if you want to keep your pores clear and clog-free. While there are plenty of exfoliators out there to choose from, your best bet would be a gentle formula. This may not seem as exciting initially, but keeping irritation to a minimum is a must. As soon as your skin ends up irritated and inflamed, your pores will only stand out more.
One exfoliator that does an excellent job of making the pores look smaller is the VouPre Deep Renewal Facial Peel. It clears away dead skin cells without causing any harm to the skin’s natural protective barrier.
Use a Clay Mask Once a Week
A clay mask is a great way to back up your exfoliation efforts. Clay binds itself to sebum, making it very useful when you want to pull excess sebum out of your pores. Once you do so, your pore openings won’t have to stretch quite as wide, leaving them looking tighter.
The VouPre Detoxifying Thermal Mask is a clay mask that works beautifully on all skin types. It’s loaded with antioxidants too, which will help to give you tighter-looking skin overall.
Turn to Salicylic Acid
When it comes to keeping the pores clog-free, salicylic acid is a known superstar. This beta-hydroxy acid is oil-soluble, enabling it to cut through grease and purify the complexion.
While salicylic acid is most commonly found in exfoliators, it can be a useful ingredient to have in other skincare products too, especially if you’re hoping for smaller-looking pores. This is why we’ve included it in our Corrective Facial Cream, which can be found in our Thermal Collection. The addition of salicylic acid means that even those with severely oily skin can moisturize to perfection without having to worry about clogged pores.
Add a Derma Roller to Your Skincare Routine
If you’re not familiar with derma rolling, it’s time to get acquainted! Also known as microneedling, this skincare procedure involves rolling tiny needles over your skin. While this may sound uncomfortable, it doesn’t hurt in the slightest, especially when using an at-home derma roller. Instead, all it does is stimulate certain responses in the skin. The result of regular derma rolling is an improvement in many aspects of the complexion, including how tight the skin feels. And, as you know, tighter-looking skin means tighter-looking pores!
If you’d like to give this a try for yourself, you’ll find a derma roller included in the VouPre Aqua Collection. It’s a 0.3mm derma roller, meaning that it’s perfectly safe to use at home yet still significant enough to make a noticeable difference in your complexion. Combine it with the other products in the Aqua Collection, which are designed to hydrate and plump up the feel of the skin, and your face will soon look pore-less.
Summary
Although it’s not possible to actually shrink pores, let alone do so instantly, there’s no denying that skin icing can quickly make your pores look much less noticeable. Yes, the effects are just temporary, but combine them with the other tips that we’ve shared above, and you should be able to maintain invisible-looking pores in the long run too!
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