When pores start to enlarge

Hello?

Everyone’s beauty, Bellevue Clinic

We’re here to greet you again today.

Did you have a good start to this pleasant Monday? The weather feels noticeably mild today. It seems like spring is on the way. With climate change, it can be a little startling how the moment the cold winter wind eases, the air suddenly feels warm. When the weather changes so quickly and becomes mild like this, your body can feel sluggish, and your pores seem to open up more and more. Today, we’ll take a medical look at why pores start to assert themselves so strongly on our faces, and how lasers like Potenza work to manage these stubborn pores.

1. Four underlying causes of enlarged pores

To understand why pores enlarge, it may help to think of pores this way. Pores can be compared to the outlet of an in-skin factory and to the pillars that support the factory building.

① Excess sebum secretion

Whatever it is, if the amount being discharged is large, the outlet becomes wider. The most classic reason pores widen is that too much sebum is being produced. When the sebaceous glands continuously release oil, the pore—the passage through which that oil exits—has no choice but to expand. In other words, it’s similar to widening lanes when traffic on a road increases.

② Reduced elasticity (vertical pores)

If the support gives way like a sinkhole, the opening also collapses downward, and the originally round shape becomes vertical. Pores beginning to sag into a vertical shape can appear as early as the late 20s. When collagen and elastin—the “pillars” that keep skin firm—decrease with aging, round pores stretch downward along the direction of gravity. This is commonly called “vertical pores,” and they are a major factor that makes the overall impression look saggy and older.

③ Accumulation of dead skin cells and waste

If waste piles up too quickly, you need to make the trash bin bigger. And trash needs to be emptied on time to prevent mold from forming. In the skin as well, dead keratin cells that do not shed properly and fine particles from outside cling together with sebum and block the pore opening. Inside, sebum keeps accumulating, increasing the internal volume of the pore. When this hardens, it becomes a black blackhead, and eventually the pore opening becomes permanently expanded.

④ Heat aging

When temperature rises, cohesion loosens. The same thing happens in the skin. The reason pores look larger in the hot summer or when using a sauna is this heat. For every 1 degree increase, sebum secretion increases by about 10%, and thermal energy activates enzymes that break down collagen in the skin, reducing elasticity. Fire is a tool that can cook food deliciously, but it can also become a destructive tool that burns the ingredients if used carelessly. Likewise, thermal energy applied to the skin can become either a savior or a destroyer depending on the variables of “temperature,” “purpose,” and “time.”

※ I’ll clearly organize the medical background of two seemingly contradictory phenomena.

Let’s take a closer look at the principle of “thermal aging.” The context in which I said earlier that “thermal energy breaks down collagen” mainly refers to chronic heat exposure that occurs in everyday environments.

When our skin temperature frequently rises above the normal range to 40–43°C or higher, the following chemical reactions occur in the skin: activation of MMPs (Matrix Metalloproteinases). Heat sharply increases the expression of MMP (collagenase), an enzyme that cuts collagen in the dermis into pieces. In addition, heat interferes with the synthesis of Type I procollagen, the material needed to make new collagen. As the support structure keeps being cut down (broken down) without repair, the skin loses elasticity and becomes thinner. This is the true nature of “thermal aging,” experienced by people exposed to strong summer sunlight, saunas, or hot flames.

If lifting also uses heat, then what is the mechanism? It is “controlled thermal injury.” The heat used by lifting devices such as Potenza, Thermage, and Ulthera is on a different level. This kind of heat is intended for “rebirth through destruction.”

Medical devices used in dermatology momentarily raise the skin temperature to 60–70°C. Such high heat immediately denatures the triple helix structure of aged, loose collagen, causing it to contract. (It is similar to the physical effect of putting pork belly on a grill and seeing it shrink instantly.) From the skin’s perspective, this strong heat is regarded as an “attack.” Then our body declares an emergency and releases powerful regenerative signaling molecules such as Transforming Growth Factor beta.

As a result, fibroblasts that receive this signal begin producing a large amount of much stronger, denser new collagen (neocollagenesis) in response to the command to “repair the damaged area!” The key is the difference in the “threshold.” Ultimately, whether heat destroys or produces collagen depends on how we use the energy threshold that our skin can tolerate.

When doctors tell patients, “Please keep your face cool in the summer,” it is to prevent unnecessary activation of MMP enzymes. On the other hand, when a hospital says, “Please undergo Potenza treatment,” the goal is to give lazy collagen a strong thermal shock and get the factory running again. In other words, the most accurate way to understand it is that “uncontrolled lukewarm heat” becomes a poison, while “strong heat controlled by medical professionals” becomes a medicine.

2. Potenza pore mode is “precision welding” happening inside the skin

Potenza is a laser treatment that uses two tools—micro-needles and radiofrequency (RF) energy—to comprehensively target the various causes of enlarged pores mentioned above.

■ Physical stimulation from tiny needles

The tip of the Potenza laser is fitted with very fine micro-needles. As these needles penetrate the skin and create tiny “injuries,” our body sends a huge number of regenerative cells to the area to heal them. It directly induces a kind of “skin reconstruction project” by the skin itself.

■ The “thermal coagulation zone” created by radiofrequency energy

The radiofrequency energy emitted from the ends of the needles delivers heat deep into the dermis. When this thermal energy reaches the sebaceous glands, it controls excessive activity and makes the oily skin environment more comfortable. Aged collagen exposed to high heat contracts immediately and tightens, and over the following weeks, new collagen is produced to densely fill in the area around the pores.

■ What makes Potenza pore mode different (such as the CP-25 tip)

Potenza is a multipurpose laser that allows various tips to be selected. In pore mode in particular, tips designed to distribute energy broadly and evenly inside the skin are mainly used. This tightens the elasticity between pores and creates results similar to reweaving a torn net or knit fabric into a finer, denser structure.

3. The golden time for pore treatment

In cases such as acne ice pick scars that have gone past the threshold and become completely scar-like, it takes much more effort to return them to their original smooth state. It has now become common knowledge that treating pores is difficult. But that is not the case if treatment begins during the golden time. If you notice it early and come to the clinic quickly, improvement is possible.

When sebum control is not working,

it is a sign that the pores have already started to enlarge.

If pores are visible even right after washing your face,

it is a sign that elasticity is declining.

When these early warning signs appear, early treatment combining Potenza and Juvelook, such as the [Bellevue Tone-Up (GLOW)] program, can block the pathway of pore enlargement and dramatically improve the resolution of skin texture. Potenza pore mode redraws the blueprint inside the skin, creating a smooth and firm texture that feels illuminated. Bellevue will be with you through precise techniques. Thank you.

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If you’re wondering which treatment may be more suitable for you, visit Bellevue Clinic and receive a thorough consultation with our medical professionals. We will accurately diagnose your skin condition and suggest the most effective method.

"Specializing in skin diagnosis" Bellevue Clinic

The Mark-Vu skin diagnostic test can check, all at once, a variety of skin concerns that are difficult to see with the naked eye, including skin texture, pigmentation, pores, wrinkles, skin tone, dark circles, radiance, redness, melanin, sebum, and acne bacteria.

At Bellevue, we scientifically analyze your skin based on this and determine the final treatment if needed. Through detailed consultation, we will strive to provide the most effective treatment for each patient.

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