What Are Pores?

Pores, mostly located on the nose and cheeks, are tiny openings to hair follicles. These hair follicles are attached to the sebaceous glands, which produce sebum (or oil) to help naturally moisturize your skin.

What Causes Enlarged Pores?

Pores can appear larger because of either an excess of sebum, generally found in oily skin types, decreased elasticity around pores from age, or increased hair follicle volume.

Can You Get Rid Of Pores?

While it’s impossible to completely get rid of pores, detoxifying skin and keeping the skin’s surface clear of dirt and oil is an effective way to help minimize their appearance over time.

Rare Earth Collection

Kiehl’s Rare Earth Collection is uniquely formulated to help purify skin, remove impurities, and help minimize the appearance of pores over time. These efficacious products include the powerful skincare ingredient, Amazonian White Clay. The mineral-rich Amazonian White Clay has been used for centuries as a detoxifying therapy and is known to help absorb excess oil, bacteria, toxins, and dead cells that can linger on skin’s surface.

From a daily deep pore facial cleanser to a dual-phase minimizing toner, to a pore minimizing moisturizer, to an Amazonian White Clay mask, we’ve got the solution for minimizing pores! Discover our Rare Earth Collection below and learn more about our effective formulas designed for those with visibly enlarged pores.

STEP 1: Cleanse With A Deep Pore Cleanser

Pores can appear more pronounced when they are clogged, so cleansing skin twice a day can help. Choose a gentle exfoliating pore cleanser that helps detoxify skin like our deep pore facial cleanser. Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser is a non-stripping foaming cleanser, formulated for normal to oily skin types that gently removes surface debris, toxins, and oils which can enlarge the appearance of pores.

Apply a generous amount to damp skin and with clean fingertips, gently massage into face and neck in an upward and outward circular motion. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and dry with a soft, clean towel. Use morning and night to help refresh and purify skin while minimizing the appearance of pores.

KIEHL’S TIP: For an effective cleanser for men, try our Oil Eliminator Deep Cleansing Exfoliating Face Wash to help reduce the appearance of shine and pores. Formulated with crushed Apricot Seeds to slough off dead skin cells and leave skin feeling smooth and shine-free.

STEP 2: Rebalance With A Pore Refining Toner

Facial toners help give you a deeper clean by removing excess oil, impurities, and makeup that may not have come off skin’s surface during cleansing. Plus, toners help restore skin’s pH balance without over-drying. To help minimize the appearance of large pores, we recommend a dual-phase pore minimizing toner infused with Amazonian White Clay. Rare Earth Pore Refining Tonic for normal to oily skin types is formulated to help eliminate surface toxins from the skin. Amazonian White Clay helps control excess surface oil and leaves skin appearing matte, with re-balanced moisture levels. After cleansing, pour a generous amount of toner into palms and lightly pat over face or apply formula with a cotton pad.

STEP 3: Moisturize With A Pore Minimizing Lotion

You may not think using a moisturizer is beneficial for visibly minimizing pores, but there are effective formulas that help absorb excess sebum and refine the look of them. We recommend our oil-free pore minimizing treatment formulated with Amazonian White Clay. Rare Earth Pore Minimizing Lotion, for normal to oily skin types, is a lightweight, mineral-rich pore minimizing lotion that helps address the appearance of enlarged pores. Apply to clean, toned skin.

KIEHL’S TIP: For men with oily skin, try our Oil Eliminator 24-Hour Anti-Shine Moisturizer for Men formulated with "space age" Aerolite Technology and Totara Wood Extract to help visibly reduce the appearance of pores. With continued use, skin looks less shiny, and pores appear smaller.

STEP 4: Purify With A Deep Pore Cleansing Mask

Did you know that using a clay face mask several times a week can help reduce oil and address the appearance of pores? Help detoxify normal to oily skin with an efficacious Amazonian White Clay mask. Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask with Amazonian White Clay helps purify to minimize pores and eliminate debris and dead surface skin cell accumulation. Our unique mineral-rich formula leaves skin feeling soft, more refined, and with visibly minimized pores. After cleansing, apply a thin layer to damp skin, avoiding the immediate eye area. Allow to dry for ten minutes, then gently remove using a warm, wet towel and pat dry.

KIEHL’S TIP: Use Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask as a spot treatment for blemishes.