Rifling through your kitchen drawers to find the best home remedies for pores? Welcome to the club, it’s a ritual pretty much every skin care junkie has.
And there’s no harm in smearing avocado and basil on your face, but there are more effective ways to shrink pores naturally. In fact, there’s a whole host of home remedies for pores that de-gunk, shrink and tighten these evil little craters.
Ready to meet the lineup? Here are the best home remedies for pores!
Clay Masks
- Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay is a deep pore cleansing facial, hair and body mask
- 100% Natural Calcium Bentonite Clay that’s great for facials, body wraps, clay...
- Shrink-wrapped with a non-tear Calcium Bentonite Clay security sticker on the lid
Want a home remedy that both deep cleans and shrinks your pores? Get yourself some clay. Clay masks are an ancient approach to smooth and healthy skin. Over centuries women from all parts of the world have combined local clays with essential oils and other ingredients to maintain healthy, smooth, flawless skin.
And we’re still using them today simply because, well, they work! Your choices are pretty much endless, too. There are a lot of clays available, and each has its specific mineral content and use.
But when it comes to clearing out and tightening pores, we'd recommend Bentonite clay as it’s one of the most absorbent of clays and is able to suck up impurities out of your pores.
Other types, such as Rhassoul clay or French Green clay, is best used by those with excessively oily skin. They contain magnesium oxide, which absorbs excess sebum from the skin. Red clay is also full of iron oxides which brighten the skin and renew cells.
How to use clay masks for pores?
It’s awfully tempting to do because it gives that lovely feeling of squeezing all the crap out of your pores but you should avoid letting clay masks dry on your face, especially if you have dry or sensitive skin
Here’s why: Each mask goes through three phases once applied to the skin. In the first phase, the damp phase, the skin is drawing in the beneficial minerals from the clay. In the second phase, blood flow is increased and capillaries are stimulated as the mask cools and contracts.
In the third phase, the drying phase, the mask is actually drawing moisture out of the skin and this can leave your skin dry and irritated. The mask should be removed before it gets to this point. When you see the mask get lighter in color, but it is still slightly sticky to the touch, rinse it off and pat it dry.
If you want to leave it on longer, simply spritz it with water or a toner 🙂
Oatmeal
Oatmeal isn’t just a heart-healthy breakfast, it also makes a fantastic exfoliator facial mask that tightens pores. You see, oats are highly absorbent and they can draw impurities out of your pores. Extra perk? They also have high silica content which makes them great emollients. That’s part of the reason why oats have long been used as a skin soothing treatment for rashes and irritations.
The result is that you get a great pore clearing mask that doesn’t leave your skin dry and irritated. Rather, your skin will feel hydrated, soft and smooth.
How to use oatmeal for pores?
The best way to use oats for your pores is as a facial mask. Simply cook up a serving of oatmeal and allow to cool until it’s comfortable warm. Apply to the skin and let stand for several minutes before rinsing with cool water. The warmth opens the pores, the absorbent quality of the oatmeal pulls out impurities and the humectant aspect of the oatmeal locks moisture to the skin.
Want to take it up a notch? Mix the oatmeal with yogurt and/or honey for extra benefits!
Oatmeal can also be used as an exfoliator scrub, by grinding a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal into a fine powder (known as colloidal oatmeal) using a blender or food processor. Mix with enough water to create a paste, and gently rub into skin. Let sit for ten minutes, and then rinse with cool water. The scrub reduces the debris found in pores, and allows them to shrink and appear less noticeable.
Yogurt
Yogurt’s a rich, soothing natural source of lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which helps gently exfoliate your skin to minimize pores while removing dead skin cells and getting rid of excess sebum. Extra perks? It also helps lighten dark spots and double duties to prevent fine lines and wrinkles!
Plus, it feel absolutely wonderful on your skin – creamy, soothing and cool. It also makes a really good base for facial masks so feel free to use yogurt instead of water when mixing up clay masks or oatmeal masks!
How to use yogurt for pores?
You can apply just yogurt to your face and leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes but we prefer mixing it with another pore-clearing, pore-tightening ingredient like oatmeal, clay or activated charcoal.
Just make sure the yogurt you get is unflavored and has no added sugar – the more natural and pure, the better!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ah, good old Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). This MacGyver of skin care benefits has become a fixation in most skin care junkie’s kitchen cabinets – and for good reason. You see, this natural astringent is rich in acetic acid, which is both an anti-bacterial and an anti-fungal.
As such, it can help reduce the presence of bacteria on the skin or in the oil glands. The unchecked presence of bacteria can often inflame pores and lead to pimples. ACV balances the pH of skin, allowing it to function properly by not excessively shedding cells, which lessens the clogging of the pores. ACV also serves as a toner for the skin, reducing inflammation, drying up oils and tightening the pores.
How to use ACV for pores?
Apple Cider Vinegar can be irritating to the skin if applied undiluted – this stuff is strong! – so go ahead and dilute it with three parts water to one part vinegar. To apply, dip a cotton ball or cotton pad into this solution and dab it over the skin, avoiding the area around the eyes and lips. Let dry and then apply moisturizer, makeup – whatever you use.
Another way to use ACV is to mix the ACV with honey and oatmeal and apply it as a pore tightening facial mask. Honey also has anti-bacterial qualities, as it contains an enzyme which generates a form of hydrogen peroxide when applied to injured skin. Honey and oatmeal both have humectant properties, sealing moisture against the skin, and can provide a soothing counterpoint to ACV’s acidity. Mix two tablespoons ACV, 1/3 cup of oatmeal and one teaspoon of honey. Leave on for 20 minutes and then wash off with warm water and a washcloth.
Which ACV should I get?
ACV is wonderfully affordable so go for the good stuff – and by good stuff, we mean, apple cider vinegar that’s organic, non-pasteurized, with the “mother” of the vinegar still in the bottle (the sediment at the bottom of the bottle.) It is this sediment that contains the active aspects of the vinegar. Bragg’s ACV is the best!
Baking Soda
Got oily skin with large pores? Baking soda may be the perfect home remedy for you. Use can mix it with water or yogurt and use it as a scrub to address oily or combination skin (don’t use this if you have dry skin) and to reduce the appearance of pores.
The slight coarseness of the baking soda acts as an exfoliant, removing dead cells and cleansing the pores to remove dirt and blackheads.
How to use baking soda for pores?
Use one teaspoon of baking soda mixed with a few drops of water, sufficient to make a smooth paste. Massage it into the skin for fifteen to twenty seconds, and then rinse with cool water and pat dry.
This scrub can be used two or three times per week.
Papaya
Papaya contains papain, an enzyme that breaks down the proteins in dead skin cells, making it an excellent exfoliator. Papaya also promotes collagen production, essential for the elasticity of skin cells, allowing pores to shrink once they are cleansed.
How to use papaya for pores?
Mash or blend fresh papaya into a paste to use as a facial mask or exfoliant. It’s rather runny so you might want to mix it with yogurt or oats to give it a better consistency.
