The best large pores treatment in Scottsdale starts with an honest sentence: you can’t close a pore, but you can empty it and rebuild the collagen around it so it looks smaller. Pores look big for three reasons, oil, lost firmness and clogging, and in Arizona the sun drives two of them. I’m Nurse Bea, an Aesthetic Registered Nurse and Licensed Aesthetician, and this is how I work out which one is yours.

Treatments here are done by me or by a certified aesthetic registered nurse who is also a Certified Laser Technician on my team, following my protocol.

Schedule your free consultation — new clients hold their spot with a $50 deposit, credited to treatment or products, or refunded on request. Call (480) 405-0100 · 7054 E Cochise Road B100, Scottsdale, AZ 85253.

What causes large pores?

Oil, loss of firmness and clogging. A 2016 review in Dermatologic Surgery names 3 major clinical causes of enlarged facial pores, namely high sebum excretion, decreased elasticity around pores, and increased hair follicle volume, and in a study of 60 volunteers, sebum output level correlated most with the pore size.

The firmness half is where age and sun come in. The AAD puts it plainly: the more sun damaged your skin, the less firmness it has. When skin starts to lose its firmness, pores look more noticeable. Genetics set your starting point; a review in Cutis lists genetic predisposition, acne, comedogenic xenobiotics, chronic photodamage among the other causes.

In my consultations the picture is usually one of three: oily skin with clogged pores, sun-damaged skin that has lost its support, or, the one most articles miss, dry, dehydrated skin that is flaking around every pore and making each one show.

Can you shrink pores?

Not the pore itself; what you can change is how full it is and how firm the skin around it is, and that is what makes pores look smaller. The AAD’s advice is that there’s actually a lot you can do to make pores less noticeable, and it starts with unclogging: when pores clog, they expand, which can make your pores look more noticeable.

I tell every client this on day one. If a product or a clinic promises to close your pores, that is the moment to keep your money.

Why are the pores on my nose the worst?

Because the nose has the most active oil glands, and most of what you see in them isn’t blackheads. They are sebaceous filaments, which Cleveland Clinic describes as thin, threadlike appendages that line your sebaceous (oil) glands; they look similar to blackheads, but they’re not the same.

That is why pore strips disappoint. You can’t get rid of sebaceous filaments, but you can make them smaller, and if you squeeze them out, your pores will fill up again within 30 days. A retinoid and a salicylic acid cleanser keep them smaller; picking makes the pore wider.

Does the Arizona sun make pores bigger?

Yes, from both directions: it breaks down the collagen that holds pores tight, and it pushes your oil glands to make more oil. In acne patients irradiated with UVA and UVB, sebum level was increased in the first three days by UVA (18.4 –> 37.6 microg/cm2) and UVB (19.1 –> 40.0 microg/cm2), roughly double, before settling back. In the lab, UV-irradiated oil-gland cells increased their lipid production up to 4.1 times of the pre-irradiated level, which is why the authors suggest UVB may directly activate the functions of the sebaceous gland in vivo to produce increased amounts of sebum.

This is what I see in Scottsdale: clients who hike or golf without sunscreen come in oilier and with bigger-looking pores than their skin type explains. It is also why sunscreen is a pore treatment here, not an afterthought. For the collagen side, read can sun damage be reversed?

What home routine helps large pores?

Three things: a retinoid at night, sunscreen every morning, and hydration. Retinoids are the backbone; the Cutis review calls topical retinoids first-line therapies in reversing the aberrant collagen and elastin-associated epidermal and dermal changes that occur with chronological aging and photoaging, and notes that tretinoin, isotretinoin, and tazarotene have shown efficacy in multiple parameters of skin rejuvenation, including facial pores. The same review is honest that part of that effect comes from clearing clogged follicles, which is fine: that is the half you can see.

My routine for pores is the same one I give for wrinkles, so I won’t repeat it here: a pea of tretinoin 0.025% at night, moisturizer, and sunscreen in the morning, step by step in how to use tretinoin. The one addition for pores is a hydrating serum under your moisturizer. In my experience, dehydrated skin shows every pore, and plumping it with hydration makes them visibly less obvious within days, long before the retinoid has done anything.

Two things to stop doing: scrubbing and squeezing. Scrubbing can irritate your skin, which can make your pores look larger, and the AAD’s rule is never scrub, rub, pick at, or squeeze the skin on your face. If you are oily, a salicylic acid step a few nights a week does the exfoliating for you.

Which in-clinic treatment is best for large pores?

It depends on which cause you have, and that is what the consultation is for. The Cutis review lists the in-office options as topical retinoids, chemical peels, oral antiandrogens, lasers, radiofrequency, and ultrasound devices; here is how I use the ones in my clinic.

Your pores look big because…	What I’d suggest	What it does for pores
They’re clogged, and skin is oily or congested	The facial, with a light peel	Clears what’s in the pore; nothing for the collagen around it
Texture and sun damage, pores part of a rough surface	Laser Facial or UltraGlo (Lutronic Ultra)	Resurfaces and remodels collagen; UltraGlo if you’re acne-prone
Lost firmness, early lines, mild texture	Dermapen microneedling, often alternated with laser	Builds collagen around the pore
Pores plus real acne scarring or deep texture	Genius RF or TotalSkin Solution	Radiofrequency microneedling for scars and pores together

None of these is one and done. In a real-world study of 75 patients treated with fractional microneedle radiofrequency for enlarged pores, the improvement rate rose with the increasing number of treatment sessions. I usually alternate microneedling and laser rather than repeat one, because in my clients that gives more change for the same number of visits.

Is a deep-cleansing facial enough?

If your pores are clogged, yes, for a while; if they are stretched by sun damage or age, no. A clearing facial empties the pore and makes the biggest visible difference on day one, which is why it is the first visit for congested skin. It does nothing for the collagen that holds the pore tight, so the result lasts only as long as your home routine keeps the pore clear.

That is the honest answer to the HydraFacial question too. Any good cleansing facial helps big pores look smaller that week; the retinoid, the sunscreen and the collagen treatments are what change them over months.

Can large pores and acne scars be treated together?

Yes, and they usually should be, because they share a cause and a treatment. Enlarged pores, texture and rolling or boxcar scars all come down to lost support in the dermis, and radiofrequency microneedling and laser resurfacing work on all of them at once; see acne scar treatment for how I match the device to the scar.

When pores come with real scarring, TotalSkin Solution, Genius RF and the Ultra laser in one plan, is what I reach for. When they come with clogging and no scars, the facial and your routine are enough to start.

How much does large pore treatment cost in Scottsdale?

The consultation is free, and many pore plans start with skincare alone. The facial is currently $179. Dermapen microneedling is currently $298 at cosmetic depth and $349 at medical depth. The Laser Facial is currently $495 a session and Genius RF is currently $900 a session, less per session when you buy a series, and nobody here works on commission.

New clients hold their spot with a $50 deposit that goes toward treatment or products, or is refunded on request; it’s kept only for a no-show.

Looking for large pore treatment in Scottsdale?

We’re at 7054 E Cochise Road B100, Scottsdale, AZ 85253, on the Paradise Valley side of Scottsdale. We see clients from Phoenix, Arcadia, North Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Cave Creek and Tempe; hours are Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm and weekends 11am to 5pm, by appointment.

Schedule your free consultation or call (480) 405-0100. Not sure where to start? See how a consultation works.

More questions I get about large pores

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Written by Beatrice Moorefield, RN, LE, LSO — aesthetic registered nurse, licensed aesthetician, skin health educator, and founder of Skin With Bea Esthetics, Scottsdale.