So simple but so important; the larger the pore, the larger the oil gland, and the more oily the skin. The smaller the pore, the smaller the oil gland, and the less oily the skin.
It is good to know this for a few reasons. One is that you can easily know your skin type by assessing your pore size. It can be hard to diagnose your own pore size so here are some tips to get started. Below are three photos of upper cheek pores. The first has small pores, the middle has medium pores and the third has large pores. In the cover photo for this blog the woman has very large upper cheek pores.
Look in the mirror and notice the size of your pores on the 1) forehead 2) nose 3) upper cheeks 4) side of face 5) chin. See if you can draw a diagram of your face and label with S, M, L and VL for the different sections.
When you know your pore sizes (and therefor your skin type) you can purchase the correct products and apply them correctly. For example you may have large pores on the nose, upper cheek and chin of your face and medium pores every where else. In this case you have extra oil production on your nose, upper cheeks and chin and so you will be better off to not apply moisturizer there. Why not apply moisturizer there? Because your oil glands are producing enough oil and fatty acids on their own and there is no reason to add more. In fact guess what the only species of bacteria that is involved in the acne process, Propionibacterium acnes, eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner--YOUR OIL. So yes, you are literally feeding the acne. This is why when you have acne you only want to use moisturizer if you need it and you always want products that are oil free and/or non-comedogenic. So in this case you might only apply moisturizer on your forehead and sides of the face and/or you might only apply in the oilier sections every other night. You can play with what works for you.
The goal though is to use as much of the 10% benzoyl peroxide product you can as this is what will kill off the acne and get your skin clear. This product can be drying and so then you can safely use our moisturizers all over.
If you are using the 10% benzoyl peroxide product and are getting clear skin and are NOT getting dry your best bet is to use no moisturizer at all. But if you feel you do want to use a moisturizer our Organic Green Tea Serum Moisturizer will not break you out and is the most acne safe moisturizer I have every found.
This may lead you to ask if you are literally giving yourself acne with the products you put on. Sometimes yes. Though typically it is more a matter of making the acne worse with the products verses giving yourself acne you would never have had.
If you have questions please tune into my Live Q&A on Instagram where you can send me questions any time!