How to Get Rid of Enlarged Pores: What Home Care Can't Do, and Clinic Options by Pore Type

I'm Dr. Hyunji Kim, director of Delphic Clinic in Gangnam, one minute from Sinnonhyeon Station. I trained through Korea University Medical Center and I'm a member of the Korean Society for Laser Dermatology & Hair and the Korean Academy of Aesthetic Surgery & Laser Medicine. Laser and anti-aging care are a large part of my day, and how to get rid of enlarged pores comes up in almost every skin consultation I do.

I hear some version of this question several times a week, usually from patients in their twenties and thirties who have spent years on pore strips, clay masks and new serums before searching how to get rid of enlarged pores. The honest answer has two parts: what home care can and cannot do, and which clinic option fits the reason your pores look big. This post is about matching the option to the cause.

Which enlarged pores do you have? A three-type check

Wash your face, wait an hour without products, and look in a mirror in daylight. Then answer the questions in the table below. Most people have one dominant type, and many have a mix across the nose and cheeks. If you have already read my Korean microneedling menu guide, this check is the step that tells you whether microneedling is even the right family of tools for you.

What home care can honestly do, and where it stops

Good home care matters. Daily sunscreen protects the collagen that holds pores tight, gentle cleansing keeps them clear, and ingredients such as salicylic acid or a retinoid can help when used consistently and with professional advice. Pores tend to look smaller when they are clean and the surrounding skin is healthy.

Where home care stops is the deeper skin. A pore that has stretched because the dermis around it has lost firmness, or one shaped by an old scar, does not change much with products alone. Pore strips and harsh scrubs can also make things look worse by irritating the skin, so I usually ask patients to stop them.

• Home care can: keep pores clearer, reduce shine for the day, protect collagen from sun damage.
• Home care cannot: remodel the dermis around a stretched pore, reduce sebaceous gland activity in a lasting way, or lift a scar edge.

Oily, stretched or scar-edged: clinic options by pore type

Oily pores: reduce the oil at its source

When excess sebum keeps pores open and congested, I look at Accu (Sebum) Laser. It is a high-output 1450nm laser with high absorption in the water and oil of the skin, aimed at the sebaceous glands to reduce sebum secretion. It can also stimulate the dermis, which helps refine pores and texture. If breakouts are part of the picture, I compared acne laser options in what works for acne laser treatment in Seoul.

Stretched pores: rebuild the support around them

When pores look oval or droop on the cheeks, the issue is usually the skin around them losing firmness. Potenza, a microneedle radiofrequency treatment, delivers RF energy into the dermis to encourage collagen and refine pores. Of the three options here, this is the one most of my pore patients end up on, and it is the RF microneedling option I trust most for pores.

Scar-edged pores: treat the scar, not just the pore

Pores that sit next to old acne pits often look bigger because the scar pulls the edge open. Potenza can address both pores and scars, and in some cases I add Rejuran to support repair of the skin. This takes a longer series and a careful plan.

I never treat a pore by its size. I treat it by the reason it got that size.— Dr. Hyunji Kim, Delphic Clinic

When I would tell you to skip clinic pore treatment

• Your pores look normal for your skin type in daylight, and the worry comes from magnifying mirrors or filtered photos.
• You have active inflammation or irritation from harsh products: we calm the skin first.
• You want a dramatic change before an event in the next few days.
• You are not able to keep up daily sunscreen afterwards, which protects what treatment builds.

Pricing the two pore tools on our menu

Potenza Laser full face with the N25 tip is 180,000 KRW at the regular price, with a 109,000 KRW first-visit trial and a 129,000 KRW event price while those offers run. Potenza Pumping with the CP25 tip is 200,000 KRW. Accu (Sebum) Laser, 2 modes, is 99,000 KRW per session.

If you want to understand why a Potenza quote has different lines for tips and sessions, I explained it in reading a Potenza quote line by line.

A realistic pore timeline for visitors

1. 1

   Consultation day

   I check your pore pattern in proper lighting and suggest one tool or a combination. Treatment can usually be done the same day.

2. 2

   The first few days

   Potenza and Accu Laser are generally same-day recovery, though mild redness can appear. Keep up gentle care and sunscreen.

3. 3

   The following months

   Texture often improves before pores do. I judge pore change over a series and over weeks to months.

For a closer look at what changes and when after Potenza specifically, see my Potenza before-and-after timeline.

If you are tired of guessing how to get rid of enlarged pores, a free one-to-one consultation is the quickest way to find out which type you have and which tool fits. I will also tell you honestly if home care is enough for now. English and Chinese interpreters are on site, prices are the same for locals and foreigners, and we are one minute from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 3.