While there are not many things that I regret in life, if there were two things I would tell my former high school/college student self to do it would be to:

A. Stop working so much! (For some reason I felt the need to start working at age 16)

B. Maintain your freaking pores!!

Like most of you have emailed me in frustration, big pores are annoying and unsightly and they don't seem to go away. It makes the "no make-up, makeup look" hard to pull off and this I know because I have enlarged pores around my nose and some even in my cheek area. You're not alone if you've wondered, "If only there was a way to shrink them back..."

Well. Here's the bad news.

Pores become enlarged because of sebum production in your follicle, causing blackheads and even breakouts. If you don't maintain your pores, aka clean out the debris in the follicle, your pores will become permanently enlarged. It makes sense because once they get stretched and stuck in that state for some time, they're not going to go back to its original form. You heard me - enlarged pores will never completely go away. woooompz. :(

Blackheads and large pores are typically found in normal, oily and combination skin types because the combo of sebum production in your follicles and dead skin cells causes your pores to become blocked and then enlarged.

(If you have dry skin, I'm envious because you probably have zero to very little pores. Your skincare goal will likely be to continuously hydrate your skin because you're more prone to fine lines and wrinkles.)

Now here's the good news. You can reduce blackheads and maintain your pore size by keeping up with a solid skincare routine. And if you're lucky enough to read this before getting enlarged pores, listen up. Here's how it's done.

Step 1: Use an oil cleanser!

Are you pore-y like me? I would love to hear your pore concerns and questions. Ask me anything in the comment section below!