Blackheads, visibly filled
Congested pores
Oil and dead cells stretching the opening. Clears with proper extraction and salicylic-based treatment, and this is the fastest-improving version.
Open Pores and Skin Texture
You lean into the bathroom mirror and the nose and cheeks look like orange peel. The good news: pores can be made considerably less visible, and smoother, more even skin is one of the most rewarding results the Wimpole Street team delivers.
At a glance
- Affects Nose, cheeks, forehead, chin
- Treated at Wimpole Street, London
- Course 4 to 6 sessions
- Downtime None to 48 hours
Price from
From £105
What it is and why it happens
Pore size is set by your genes, and pores stay the same size whatever the temperature. The exciting part is how visible they are, because that responds wonderfully to treatment.
Three things make a pore look larger. Congestion, where oil and dead cells fill it and stretch the opening. Loss of collagen around the pore rim, which lets it gape rather than staying taut. And oil production, since oilier skin has larger pore openings and a shinier surface that catches light.
All three are treatable. Congestion clears, collagen rebuilds, oil production reduces.
Texture is the related complaint and usually the same causes. Skin that feels rough or bumpy rather than smooth, most obviously on the cheeks and forehead.
Regents Park Aesthetics treats both at our Wimpole Street clinic.
Know your type
Which type is yours?
Pores look larger with age
Gaping pores with laxity
Collagen around the pore rim has declined so it no longer holds taut. Needs collagen stimulation rather than cleansing, and this is where microneedling earns its place.
Shiny by midday, pores prominent
Oily skin with large pores
Higher oil production, which enlarges openings and catches light.
Skin feels uneven to touch
Rough or bumpy texture
Surface irregularity from congestion, sun damage or mild scarring. Peels and microneedling both work, and CO2 laser does most where sun damage has roughened it.
How we assess and treat
We look at where the pores are prominent, because the nose and central cheeks behave differently from the jaw.
We press gently to see whether the opening is filled or empty. A filled pore is congestion and clears quickly. An empty pore that still looks large is a collagen problem and needs a course.
We ask how oily the skin gets through the day, because oil production changes the plan.
Then we talk through the result you can look forward to: pores that look substantially smaller and skin that feels smoother to the touch, with the whole plan agreed before you book a course.
Your options
Which treatment for your type of texture?
As a guide, this is how we typically match each type to a treatment. Your own plan is always confirmed at consultation, and where a specialist doctor would serve you best, your clinician points you to the right one.
Type
Recommended treatment
Why
Rough or bumpy texture
Resurfacing evens the surface where the problem is texture, not pores
Treatments that address it
| SkinPen Microneedling Rebuilds collagen around the pore rim so it holds taut rather than gaping. The most directly useful treatment for pores that have enlarged with age. Four to six sessions from £250. | HydraFacial Vacuum extraction clears congestion without squeezing, which immediately reduces how filled and stretched pores look. No downtime. From £110. | Chemical Peels Salicylic-based formulations get into the pore and clear it, improving both congestion and surface texture across a course. From £120. | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
| £250 | £105 | £120 | |
| Somewhat | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | No | Somewhat | |
| No | Somewhat | Somewhat | |
| 4 to 6 | 4 to 6 weekly cycle | 4 to 6 | |
| 24 to 48 hours | None | 24 to 48 hours | |
| Explore SkinPen Microneedling | Explore HydraFacial | Explore Chemical Peels |
SkinPen Microneedling
Rebuilds collagen around the pore rim so it holds taut rather than gaping. The most directly useful treatment for pores that have enlarged with age. Four to six sessions from £250.
- £250
- Somewhat
- Yes
- No
- 4 to 6
- 24 to 48 hours
HydraFacial
Vacuum extraction clears congestion without squeezing, which immediately reduces how filled and stretched pores look. No downtime. From £110.
- £105
- Yes
- No
- Somewhat
- 4 to 6 weekly cycle
- None
Chemical Peels
Salicylic-based formulations get into the pore and clear it, improving both congestion and surface texture across a course. From £120.
- £120
- Yes
- Somewhat
- Somewhat
- 4 to 6
- 24 to 48 hours
Before and after
Texture and pores
Cheek, after Morpheus8
Surface texture and pore size after radiofrequency microneedling. Clinical image supplied by InMode. Individual results may vary.
Congestion and blackheads
Nose, after one Deluxe
One HydraFacial Deluxe with the ReGen GF+ booster and Red LED. This is the extraction result. Clinical image supplied by Hydrafacial. Individual results may vary.
Can you treat it at home?
Salicylic acid is the most useful single ingredient, because it is oil-soluble and gets inside the pore where water-soluble acids do not reach.
Retinol improves pore appearance over months by increasing turnover and supporting collagen around the rim. A well-evidenced step you can take at home.
Niacinamide gently reduces oil production and improves how pores look with consistent use.
Sunscreen daily, because collagen loss from ultraviolet is a direct cause of pores gaping with age.
Skip pore strips, which lift only the top of a blackhead and can stretch the opening, and leave harsh scrubs on the shelf, since irritation increases oil. Gentle, consistent care does far more.
Questions, answered
Frequently Asked Questions
Considerably. Pore size itself is genetic, and how visible pores are improves substantially with treatment, which is what you see in the mirror.
Pores have no muscle, so their size stays the same. Steam is still useful, because it softens what is inside them before extraction.
Congestion filling and stretching the opening, collagen loss around the rim letting them gape, and higher oil production. All three are treatable.
Microneedling for pores that have enlarged with age, and HydraFacial and peels for congestion.
HydraFacial from £110, peels from £120, microneedling from £250.
Four to six for most of these, then maintenance.
They lift the top of a blackhead and leave the rest, and repeated use can stretch the opening, so a HydraFacial extraction is the better choice.
It is the most useful single ingredient, because it is oil-soluble and gets inside the pore where water-soluble acids cannot reach.
Yes, over months, by increasing turnover and building collagen around the pore rim. It is a well-evidenced home treatment.
Microneedling, HydraFacial and correctly chosen peels suit most skin tones after a skin check.
Regents Park Aesthetics
Feel like yourself, on a good day.
A medically led clinic where every plan starts with an assessment and every injectable is placed by a medical professional, so the result looks like you on your best day.
Address19 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8GE
Telephone020 7580 4813