"I had the laser, but as time passed my pores widened again."
"Everyone recommends a different treatment, and I have no idea what's right for my pores."
These are things people worrying about pores confide all the time.
This is Director Kwon Si-jin of DA Clinic Myeongdong.
We're getting ready to open our doors in Myeongdong soon, and since so many people have been feeling frustrated about pores ahead of our opening, we wanted to put together this overview for your information first.
If pores you'd tightened have widened again, there's a reason.Chances are the treatments stacked up didn't match the cause. I'll tell you straight, without holding back.
With pores, knowing 'why they widened' comes before 'which treatment you have.' Wherever you have it done, let's go through the standards worth keeping.
Pores Don't Widen for a 'Single Reason'
The causes of widening pores fall broadly into three.Because a lot of sebum comes out, because elasticity drops with age, and because pores stretch out after going through acne.
When the cause is different, the effective treatment is different too.
If you only stack elasticity treatments on pores widened by sebum, they'll improve for a while and then easily open up again.
It's easier to understand if you picture a run in a stocking. You have to see where it started unraveling to know where to tighten ㅎㅎ
So DA Clinic Myeongdong isn't fixing the treatment name in advance — we're preparing in a way that diagnoses the pore type and the main cause first, then combines the treatment to match.
First, 'Sebum-Type' Pores Mean Managing the Oil Glands
Areas where a lot of sebum comes out, like the nose and cheeks, are often cases where oil pushes the pore out from inside and the opening widens.
Here, treatments that only lift the elasticity have limits.You have to work on the sebum production itself, which is the cause.
NeoBeam targets the sebaceous glands themselves, a way of approaching the cause stage of pores where sebum had been over-producing.
We sometimes also pair it with a skin booster type that places toxin shallowly in the upper dermis to refine sebum and texture together.
Even within the same 'pore treatment', when sebum is the cause the direction changes like this.
Second, 'Elasticity-Type' Pores Mean Refilling the Collagen
With age, the collagen that had been supporting the pores' rim decreases, and the pores start to change into a droplet shape, sagging downward.
This isn't an oil problem but a problem of the 'supporting force' weakening.
Potenza (Potenza) is a microneedle RF device that inserts fine needles deep into the dermis and then runs radiofrequency from their tips to stimulate collagen regeneration.
Potenza is on the side of building the collagen back up, while NeoBeam is on the side of acting on the sebaceous glands, so the two treatments target different causes.
So for pores caused by a drop in elasticity, a regeneration type like Potenza is often the better fit.(There is, of course, individual variation)
Third, 'Scar-Type' Pores Mean Looking at the Depth Together
After a severe bout of acne, it's not simply that the pores widened — scars that pit in and look like pores can be left behind.
Shallowly pitted scars can be refined in texture with a fractional laser or microneedle RF.
That said, deeply pitted scars honestly have limits with the laser alone.The non-ablative fractional laser reaches a depth of roughly 1.5–2.5mm, so for scars deeper than that, it can't reach the bottom.
So deep scars sometimes need a combined approach — first releasing the fibrous tissue underneath with subcision, then filling the empty space with a regeneration material like Juvelook.
The scar type is hard to pin down as 'a few rounds of laser', and we think it's right to explain this together while diagnosing.
Honestly, You Can't Completely 'Get Rid Of' Pores
Let me say this honestly first.Pores are the passage through which skin breathes and releases oil, so there's no treatment that makes them disappear completely.
It's similar to how you can't return a once-stretched stocking run to like-new.Tightening it as snugly as possible to tidy it up is the realistic goal.
On top of that, pores don't finish in a single round. It's usually a way of building up around 3–5 sessions split at intervals of 4–6 weeks, adjusting at each session while watching the response.
So we guide pores not as 'something to get rid of in one go' but as 'a concept of steady, ongoing management'.Starting out knowing this will put your mind more at ease.
Why pores open again
This is what I hear most after pore treatments: "it got better, then went back."
The answer differs by cause.
- If oil was the causethey open again when oil production returns. This is the side that needs ongoing care
- If firmness was the causeageing continues, so they widen again over time
- If scarring was the causeit's structural, so fully reversing it is difficult and the approach is to soften it
So "they opened again" isn't the same as failure. But there are also cases of repeating a treatment that didn't match the cause, so revisiting the cause before adding sessions is the right order.
The device families used here
Pores, scars and post-acne marks often overlap, so one device rarely solves all of it. The depth and method they target differ.
- Potenzadelivers radiofrequency through fine needles at different dermal depths. The tip combination lets the depth be divided, so it comes up where pores, scars and firmness are considered together
- CO2 fractional (Hestia)divides the surface finely to prompt repair. There's downtime, but the range of texture improvement is spoken of as large
- NeoBeamdescribed as an acne device targeting the sebaceous glands
- LDM-MED and Sonoelthe recovery and aftercare side, settling sites that have taken stimulation
The reason we have these families together at our Myeongdong clinic is simple: you can only say "this device can't do that" if there are alternatives. With one device, whatever skin walks in converges on that one device.
And whether a calming stage follows the stimulation changes the condition you arrive in for the next session.That's why the recovery devices sit separately too.
What to attend to during recovery
With this family, the aftercare shapes the result as much as the treatment, because a stimulated site is going through healing.
- Sun protectionrecovering skin makes pigment easily. Miss this and a red mark can stay as a brown one
- Moisturisingbetter to lean on hydration rather than irritating active ingredients
- Don't touch the flakingforcing it off makes a mark likely
- Avoid heatsafer to postpone saunas and hard exercise for a few days
If redness runs severe beyond three days, if blisters form, if there's weeping, or if pain steadily worsens, don't wait — contact where you had the treatment.
- Before any treatment, why they widened comes first
- The oil type and the laxity type need different approaches
- It is about steady management rather than removal
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do pores disappear completely?
A. There's no treatment that can make pores disappear completely. Because they're the passage through which skin releases oil and breathes, the realistic goal is to tighten and tidy the stretched opening as snugly as possible, rather than getting rid of it.It's similar to how it's hard to return a once-stretched stocking run to like-new, but you can pull the unraveled part back and tidy up the shape.So rather than a treatment that finishes in one go, think of it as closer to management — building up sessions to match the cause and refining the texture along the way.Do keep in mind that the degree of improvement differs from person to person.
Q. What's the difference between Potenza and NeoBeam?
A. These two pore-treatment devices target different causes.Potenza inserts fine needles deep into the dermis and delivers radiofrequency to stimulate collagen regeneration, so it's mainly used for pores that have stretched and sagged from a drop in elasticity, or for acne scars. NeoBeam targets the sebaceous glands themselves, on the side of approaching the cause of sebum-type pores that opened because too much oil was coming out. So rather than which is better, the device that suits is divided according to why your pores widened. Confirming the main cause first through diagnosis, then choosing, is the order.
Q. Can I go back to daily life right after the treatment?
A. With pore treatments, daily life is mostly possible from the day of the treatment or the next day.RF treatments that use fine needles, like Potenza, may show small pinpoint bleeding or redness right after, but it usually settles within 1–3 days, after which you can cover it with makeup.That said, during the few days of recovery, doing UV protection thoroughly and keeping your base routine moisture-focused rather than with irritating active ingredients helps the result.Activities that apply a lot of heat, like saunas or intense exercise, are safer to postpone for a few days.
Closer to managing than erasing
Shrink today's talk to one sentence and it reads like this.
With pores, 'why they widened' comes before 'which treatment', and it's a concept of steady, ongoing management rather than getting rid of them.
This is my answer to the question you came in with.
DA Clinic Myeongdong is set to open soon.We'll share news of our opening and treatment information first on our blog and Instagram ^^
Thank you for reading to the end.This was Director Kwon Si-jin at DA Clinic Myeongdong.
This column is an informational article intended to provide general medical information; the effects and side effects of treatments may vary by individual. DA Clinic Myeongdong is set to open soon. (Medical Service Act Art. 56)