What to do for oily skin and larger pores?

Dr. Irwin, thank you for being a voice of truth and reason cutting through all of the marketing ploys! You are immensely helpful! Is there a way to reduce the size of my pores? I am 32 with large pores and oily skin. As the day goes on, my makeup sinks into my pores only to make them shine bigger. Is there anything I can do here?

I truly wish there was a “home run” for large pores, but there are things that help.

  1. Good products –  here’s the link  and also here.  This blog post applies to all oily skin.  
  2. IPL and Thermage treatments do tend to make oily skin dryer for some months, but it’s not permanent;
  3. If you have acne, discuss spironolactone with your dermatologist –  it can have a drying effect on excess oil production.  More info here.  Scroll down to the bottom
  4. Fraxel treatments also seem to shrink pores size some but there’s debate about whether that’s permanent.

Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

Ask me your skincare question!

Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

  • All our content is written and researched by myself.
  • My medical office in Seattle has treated thousands of patients for 15+ years.
  • This site is not affiliated or financially tied to any product, treatment or device.
Ask Me Something
SkinTour Skincare
One of the best investments in your skin is your daily skincare. Why? Because you can prevent many problems with blotchy skin color, lack of glow, texture, some types of acne, and fine lines with good skincare products. You can also correct some of these problems with effective skincare products. Great skincare is often more expensive because quality ingredients are expensive. Some companies spend on research/development which benefits all of us and adds to the cost. Are they worth it? In general - yes! I have handpicked some of what I consider to be the best skin care products, and offer them for sale on SkinTour's shop. This is based on my team and I's testing and research at our clinic. Many of the products are in my own regimen. What could be better than using skin care products a dermatologist uses?!