How do you get rid of coarse pores during menopause?

Coarse pores during menopause: what heat and hot flashes do to your skin (and what you can do about it)

I myself noticed that my always fine pores suddenly became coarse. Those wide ones... I was balking. And I saw it around me. When it happened to me, at first I felt overwhelmed, as if faced with a fait accompli. Suddenly it was there. But the way I'm put together... I am going to find out how it is then. And in the meantime, with my story, I can help other women reduce the coarsening of their pores as well.

After all, many women notice it around age 50: suddenly the pores on their face are noticeably visible. Not only do they appear wider and coarser, they also disrupt your even skin appearance. And especially around your nose, cheeks and chin, large pores can make your skin look older, duller and less cared for. And it's precisely in those areas that sebum production gets a little higher, causing pores to fill up with sebum that gets blackened by air pollution and makeup. So then your pores are already wide, they also get filled with black. They are not actually blackheads, they are polluted blackened pores. They are particularly around and on your nose and give an unkempt appearance along with the other coarser pores.

But did you know that your menopausal hot flashes play a major role in the appearance of coarser pores? I also list below the solutions that have helped me the most.

What is the link between hot flashes and coarse pores?

During a hot flash, your body temperature rises abruptly. Your sweat glands and sebaceous glands come on full blast to get rid of heat, and your pores - literally the outlets of those glands - open up to release that heat. A natural process actually by which your body regulates itself. And at that point, your pores act as regulating valves: they help your body cool down.

But: if this happens often, your pores can lose their elasticity over time. Think of a rubber band being stretched over and over again: eventually, it stays stretched. The result? Coarse pores that remain visible even when you don't have a hot flash.

Reduce coarse pores: from the inside out and with targeted skin care

If you want to tackle coarse pores, there are two smart routes. The first is focused on your daily skin care. The second on preventing hot flashes through insights from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Both I have employed, also because I am an Oriental medicine practitioner and tend to look for real causes and ditto very practical solutions. Understanding what is happening is important, though. I explain below.

Via skin care: shrink your pores with targeted skincare

Reducing coarse pores starts with balance in your skin. Especially for women 50+, it's important to work gently but effectively on skin renewal and sebum regulation. Beautiful herbal extracts such as yarrow can help the transitional skin help to contract pores and inhibit inflammation and reduce sebum. So what helps?

1. Exfoliate regularly

A mild, natural nourishing exfoliant helps to remove dead skin cells that accumulate around your pores. Also, such an exfoliant keeps your pores from being black or clogged. And in addition, you actually refresh the sebum with lipids that inhibit inflammation. This prevents clogging, cleans them ánd makes the pores less visible. Note: choose an exfoliant with nourishing oils and butters such as Shea and Mango - very gentle, nourishing and deep cleansing and most importantly not drying and skin barrier restoring.

2. Balance your sebum production

During menopause your hormone balance changes, which affects your sebum production. Your skin can become both drier and oilier. Therefore, use a serum or elixir with ingredients such as

• Shea Butter (cleans pores and reduces sebum production)

• Niacinamide (refines pores)

• Symphytum Officinale (regulates sebum and inhibits inflammation)

• Calendula & Chamomile (soothes and balances)

• Aloe Vera (soothing, cleansing and moisturizing)
• Vitamin C (smoothes and brightens skin)

3. Use a balancing mist

A hydrating mist such as Step X MIST - facial toner with lovely floral extracts such as chamomile, rose, palma rosa, helicryse, basil and yarrow works cooling during hot flashes and helps to refine and tighten pores. Spray the mist lightly over your face throughout the day, especially during hot spells. The pure extracts make your skin calm, calm and balanced and the best part is that the MIST from step X reduces your pores with longer use.

Through your diet: prevent hot flashes with nutrition according to TCM

Hot flashes are no accident. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hot flashes are seen as a sign of inner imbalance, often in the kidney and liver energy, which becomes unbalanced during menopause. By adjusting your diet, you can temper this internal heat - with the added benefit of keeping your pores quieter and closed. What you need to know is that heat attacks (hot flashes) are seen in TCM as a lack of fluid, a lack of Yin. Imagine you have a pan of water on the stove and the pan boils almost dry. It is the same way in your body. All your "water" has evaporated and is found as condensation on the outside.

But the good news is: you can easily restore that imbalance! Be it that you may be strict in the beginning to get it under control. Here's my list of things you should and shouldn't eat to temper your hot flashes and thus shrink your pores again over time.

1. Avoid "heat-boosting" foods

According to TCM, these are foods that generate internal heat

• Coffee (dries out further)

• Black tea (dries out further)

• Green tea (makes cold and cools down your digestion)

• Alcohol (dehydrates you further)

• Spicy food (further dehydrates you)

• Roasted or fried foods (further dehydrates you and further unbalances your hormones)

• Garlic (dehydrates you and makes you unable to sleep and hot flashes get worse, pores bigger)

• Tomato (dries you out further and causes insomnia and hot flashes)

• Crackers and all dry foods, such as bread

• All cold drinks and cold foods (ice cream, ice cubes, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, soy, citrus fruits, vegetable and fruit smoothies, raw vegetables). Leave it and replace it with hot foods, soups with vegetables, stews, little chicken, fish, steamed root vegetables and leafy greens. Cold drinks and food that makes cold increases your shortage of body fluids and makes your hot flashes worse (and your pores even bigger, you have to get out of bed at night to pee more than 1 x, you can't sleep and your menopause drama gets even bigger).

2. Feed yourself with "yin-strengthening" foods

Yin stands for coolness and moisture. Women in transition often have a yin deficiency or yin deficiency, aka too short of body fluids that can cool you down. To solve this deficiency, the most important thing you can do is: COOK! Cook your meals, eat hot and use foods that remedy this yin deficiency and support you. Consider:

• >Pure broth (is warming and replenishes your body fluids and is good absorbable collagen for beautiful skin)

• Black sesame seeds, black beans (nourishing and contains copper which keeps your pigmentation normal)

• Fish such as salmon (highly nourishing)

• Chicken soup and chicken (nourishing)

• Eggs (nourishing)

• Legumes (nutritious)

• Meat and especially liver (blood nourishing)

• Steamed/stewed beet (blood nourishing)

• Drinking hot Red and Blueberry juice with ginger (blood nourishing)

• All green steamed/stewed/grilled vegetables (blood nourishing)

• Red cabbage cooked (blood nourishing)

• Lotus root

• Seaweed

3. Drink hot water or lukewarm, not cold

Drinking cold seems logical for hot flashes, but it actually triggers a shock reaction in your digestive system and it cools down, making it less effective. Lukewarm herbal teas, such as sage tea (helps sweat-inhibiting), work much better. Drink two cups of sage tea every day for a week and your hot flashes are gone, you sleep better and your pores can recover through the MIST of Step X.

Also read the little blog by Juta Koehler, expert in nutrition to regulate your yin deficiency. Or this little blog to stop being a victim of your hormones.

In TCM, you are not a victim of menopause, you can make targeted adjustments and completely avoid your hot flashes, coarse pores, nocturnal potty visits, insomnia due to dietary adjustments and self-cooking and you don't have to go on hormones.

Coarse pores transition: a skin problem you can reverse

If you suffer from coarse pores during menopause, know this: you are not powerless. By consciously treating your skin as well as supporting your body from within, you can significantly reduce the appearance of pores. Combine modern skin knowledge with ancient TCM insights and give yourself and your skin what you really need.

What can you do today?

• Exfoliate 2-3 times a week with a mild, natural exfoliant

• Use balancing serums with niacinamide and antioxidants

• Mist your skin regularly to trap heat

• Adjust your diet: less coffee, more yin-nourishing foods and cook yourself

• Discover the power of TCM: soothe from within.

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