Cold water closes pores? Four pore myths, cleared up
Pores attract more old wives' tales than almost any other skin topic. Here are the ones dermatologists correct most often.
1. "Steam opens them, cold water shuts them" Pores have no muscles to open and close like doors. Warmth softens sebum; cold just makes skin look briefly tighter.
2. "Some products shrink pores permanently" Pore size is shaped mainly by oil production, age, firmness and genetics. Skincare realistically helps them look smaller by managing oil and dead skin.
3. "Blackheads are dirt" The dark dots on your nose are mostly oxidised sebum, and the even grey dots all over the nose are often sebaceous filaments. Scrubbing hard will not erase them.
4. "Only oily skin has large pores" As skin loses firmness with age, cheek pores can look stretched and teardrop-shaped. That calls for a different approach.
Which pore myth did you believe?
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