Facial Pores

Introduction

What are facial pores?

Pores are tiny hollows on the surface of the skin. They are the openings for hair follicles and sebaceous glands, allowing hair to grow and sebum to reach the skin's surface. On the face, they are particularly noticeable on the nose, forehead and cheeks (R).

East Asians such as the Chinese and the Japanese tend to have the smallest pores and the lowest pore densities compared to other ethnicities (R, R). Hispanics and those of Indian or African descent generally have larger pores than East Asians (R), while Caucasians fall somewhere in between (R).

Men may have more conspicuous pores than women (R, R), though this is disputed (R). Among women, pores become enlarged during ovulation due to fluctuations in hormone levels (R).

Pore size also appears to increase with sebum production levels (R, R). This may be because sebum creates an oily shine on the skin that makes the pores more visible to the naked eye (R). Interestingly however, there is no clear relationship between pore size and acne severity (R, R), despite excessive sebum output being linked to the development of acne (R, R).

Finally, the number, area, depth and volume of pores rises significantly as people age (R, R, R), particularly between the 30s and 40s (R). The pore openings become distorted and elongated over time (R, R, R), and adjacent pores may even connect to form long cavity-like wrinkles (R).

How are facial pores measured?

Dermatologists can assess and grade pores clinically using visual scales (R). Pores can also be examined in 2D by first capturing photographs or videos of the skin surface, which are then analysed using software to quantify the number, density, area, volume, and distribution of facial pores (R). 3D analysis of pores is also possible through optical profilometry of the skin in vivo or of silicone replicas of the skin (R, R).

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B
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