Must-Use Pore Cleansing Face Wash

Pore cleansing face washes from Freeman Beauty, The Body Shop & DHC clear pores and prevent blemishes.

Pores are at the root of all sorts of evils: they cause us to break out in ugly fits of acne if their clogged with debris, if they’re too small they throw our skin into dehydration mode because not enough sebum is being produced or worse, if they’re too big, they leave our canvases looking rough under makeup.

Whether you’re a proud member of the large pore club or you hail from the itty-bitty-need-a-magnifying-glass to see your pores crew – the great equalizer is a facial cleanser. We all need a facial cleanser that  removes dirt from our pores to minimize chances of an acne episode.

At a product event held by the #1 direct skin care company in Japan – DHC Skincare this Summer, I came across their Pore Cleansing Oil ($31, dhcskincare.com) which launches January 1st and thought, “can this stuff really work on all types of skin, especially on oily skin without leaving an oily residue which could stay lodged in the pores?” Marketed to remove dirt, excess oil, makeup, waterproof mascara and any other pore-clogger you can think of, I put my healthy skepticism to the test one Fall day. Recently I let Cleansing Oil proves its worth to me by removing industrial-strength makeup I had applied for a photo shoot earlier in the day, and to my surprise, this Olive Oil-based product left not one stitch of makeup or left one drop of oil on my face. I also noticed how supple my face felt afterwards all thanks to the help of Vitamin E.

Not in a big spending mood, but you still want good cleansing results? Then try the economically-priced Freeman Facial Clay Mask Mint & Lemon for $3.99 at ulta.com. It contains the dream ingredient Kaolin which deep cleans, absorbs excess oil and controls oil production. Note: Beware that the ‘controlling oil production’ piece of the product description is a temporary fix – just want you to be armed with the facts before you shop ’til you drop! Gotta love a brand that provides effective solutions for a multitude of skin sins at bargain basement prices.

And just when you thought your pores were safe from the wandering eyes of the research and development teams, The Body Shop created a God-send of a product – Tea Tree Pore Minimiser by The Body Shop ($18, thebodyshop-usa.com). This wonder pill does four things to improve the appearance of your large pores: smoothes, primes, mattefies & minimizes the appearance of your pores. Use this as a great base for makeup. Apply after moisturizer and before foundation. Stolen from the Book of Wendy Williams, “I love you for being one hell of a product.”