Can washing your face with alternating hot and cold water shrink pores?

Not really

Although in theory, washing your face with cold water can temporarily tighten the skin surface, and washing your face with hot water can help clean it, these effects are short-lived, or even just psychological suggestion effects, and will not fundamentally affect the size of your pores.

The reason for this is that the size of pores is mainly determined by factors such as genetics, skin structure and sebum secretion, and cannot be changed by simply washing your face with alternating hot and cold water.

In addition, if the water temperature for washing your face is too high, it may irritate the skin, increase sebum secretion or damage the skin barrier, causing dry skin and other problems. It can be seen that washing your face with alternating hot and cold water is not an effective way to control the size of pores.

The problem of large pores should be improved through long-term skin care rather than relying on a single face washing method. Keeping the skin clean, properly controlling oil secretion, and regularly using mild exfoliating products (including facial cleansers) are all effective ways to help reduce pore blockage.

For those who are more troubled, the use of medical cosmetic methods (such as fractional laser therapy and radio frequency microneedle therapy) under the guidance of a doctor can also help improve the problem of enlarged pores.

In general, washing your face with alternating hot and cold water cannot effectively shrink pores. Healthy skin care habits and scientific skin care methods are the key to improving pore problems.

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, MD, attending physician of dermatology

Review | Feng Jun, deputy chief physician of the Dermatology Department of Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital