Open and enlarged pores treatment in Marylebone, London. UltraClear resurfacing, Morpheus8, SkinPen microneedling and HydraFacial, matched to the cause.
Dr Joney De Souza Clinic hears about pores almost daily, usually from people who have tried every primer and strip on the shelf. Here is the useful truth first: pores do not physically open and close, and they cannot be removed. What changes is how visible they are, and that is driven by the skin around them: how much oil it produces, how firm its collagen scaffolding is, and how evenly light reflects off its surface.
Pores look larger for a handful of reasons that often stack. Oil and debris stretch the opening from within, most obviously on the nose and T zone. Collagen decline with age and sun exposure softens the wall around each pore, so it slackens and catches shadow. Old acne can leave the texture around pores uneven, and genetics deal some faces a naturally more visible set. Which of those is doing the work on your skin decides which treatment makes sense.
That is why our clinic reads your skin before recommending anything. The aim is honest refinement: tighter looking pores, smoother texture and clearer skin, held in place by a routine that protects the collagen you rebuild. Think of it as a longevity minded approach to skin quality rather than a hunt for a delete button.
Four patterns cover almost every set of pores we see at our Marylebone clinic, and each responds to a different hand. Genetics deal some faces a naturally more visible set, and part of an honest consultation is saying what is normal. Find the pattern that sounds like your skin, then follow it through.
The congested T zone
Oil and debris sitting inside the pore stretch it and darken it, which is why congested pores read as bigger than they are. A deep, gentle clear out makes them look smaller immediately, and a regular rhythm keeps the congestion from rebuilding.
Arrived as firmness left
As collagen declines, the wall around each pore slackens and the opening catches shadow, usually across the cheeks. Radiofrequency microneedling rebuilds firmness in exactly that supporting layer, so pores tighten as the skin around them does.
Pores plus dullness and lines
Where sun and time have roughened the surface as a whole, pores are just the most visible detail of a wider texture story. Laser resurfacing renews the surface layer and stimulates collagen beneath it, so pores, texture and tone improve together.
Uneven ground around each pore
Acne can leave the skin around pores uneven, so every opening reads larger than it is. Microneedling triggers collagen renewal through thousands of fine channels, smoothing that surrounding texture over a course. Our acne scarring page covers the deeper marks.
Real results from our Marylebone clinic, photographed under consistent lighting. Texture and pore visibility improve at different speeds depending on the cause, so treat these as an honest illustration of what is achievable rather than a promise of your own outcome.
Ultraclear Laser
6 weeks post 1 treatment
Morpheus8
SkinPen microneedling
HydraFacial
| Compare | UltraClear LaserResurfacing and overall texture | Morpheus8RF microneedling, firmness | SkinPenMicroneedling, collagen renewal | HydraFacialCongestion and instant freshness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  | |
| Best for | UltraClear Laser Rough, sun weathered texture with visible pores | Morpheus8 Pores arriving with laxity and softening contours | SkinPen Post acne texture and gradual collagen renewal | HydraFacial Oily, congested pores and blackheads |
| Typical course | UltraClear Laser 1 to 3 sessions | Morpheus8 1 to 3 sessions | SkinPen A course of 3 | HydraFacial Monthly, or ahead of occasions |
| Downtime | UltraClear Laser Several days of redness and flaking | Morpheus8 A few days of redness and mild swelling | SkinPen A day or two of redness | HydraFacial None, skin looks fresh straight away |
| Skin tones | UltraClear Laser Most tones, assessed individually | Morpheus8 All tones, assessed individually | SkinPen All tones | HydraFacial All tones |
| Price from | UltraClear Laser £850 face | Morpheus8 £850 face | SkinPen £450 face, eye area from £250 | HydraFacial £150 Signature |
| View UltraClear | View Morpheus8 | View SkinPen | View HydraFacial |
Short clips from the treatment room at our Marylebone clinic, from UltraClear and Morpheus8 to SkinPen and HydraFacial.
Four routes to tighter looking pores, chosen by cause rather than fashion. Around them sit the supporting players: CO2 laser resurfacing where texture calls for the deepest reset, Enerpeel chemical peels for oil and surface refinement, and ZO Skin Health skincare to manage oil day to day. Where overall skin quality needs attention, Dr Joney also performs injectable skin boosters.
Laser resurfacing
Renews the surface layer and stimulates collagen beneath it, so pores, roughness and dullness improve together rather than pore by pore.
One to three sessions, with several days of redness and flaking in return.
RF microneedling
Pairs microneedling with radiofrequency energy to rebuild firmness in the layer that holds each pore taut. The choice where pores arrive alongside early laxity.
One to three sessions, a few days of redness.
Collagen induction
Thousands of fine channels trigger the skin’s own collagen renewal, smoothing the texture around each pore over a course. The steady, reliable route for post acne texture.
A course of three is standard.
Deep cleanse and hydrate
Clears oil and debris out of congested pores and floods the skin with hydration, so pores look smaller and cleaner straight away with no downtime.
Monthly keeps congestion from rebuilding.
Every plan at Dr Joney De Souza Clinic opens with working out why your pores are visible, because oil, slackening collagen and texture each ask for a different tool and treating the wrong one wastes your money. Your practitioner looks at oil balance, firmness, texture and the pattern of where pores show, assesses your skin tone on the Fitzpatrick scale, and takes a history covering skincare, acne and any previous treatment.
You will also get an honest conversation about what is achievable, because pores are refined rather than erased, and we would rather set a real expectation than sell a perfect one.
“My ‘less is more’ approach has become the mainstay of my practice and clients appreciate that they will have natural looking results.”
Dr Joney De Souza, speaking to The Sybarite
Here is what happens before, during and after treatment at our Marylebone clinic.
Your consultation identifies the cause behind your pore visibility and matches it to a treatment and a realistic number of sessions. For laser and energy based treatments we may adjust your skincare in the run up, and you will be asked to avoid sun exposure and self tan for two weeks beforehand.
Sessions run from a relaxed forty five minute HydraFacial to around an hour for Morpheus8 or UltraClear with numbing time included. Microneedling and RF treatments use topical anaesthetic, so discomfort stays very manageable, and your practitioner talks you through each stage.
HydraFacial skin is presentable immediately. Microneedling brings a day or two of redness, Morpheus8 and UltraClear a few days more with some flaking as the surface renews. Collagen results build over two to three months, and daily SPF protects the firmness you have paid to rebuild. You leave with written aftercare and a review booked in.
Meaningfully, yes, at the oil and congestion end of the problem. A retinoid builds collagen slowly and keeps pores clearer, salicylic based exfoliation dissolves the debris that stretches them, and daily broad spectrum SPF protects the collagen that keeps pore walls firm. That is the routine our team builds properly with ZO Skin Health prescription skincare, tuned to your oil balance rather than guessed from a shelf.
Where home care runs out of road is with structure. No cream rebuilds the collagen around a slackened pore or resurfaces sun weathered texture, which is why the in clinic treatments exist. The best results pair one with the other: treatment for the structure, routine for the maintenance.
What treatment will not do. We would rather say this plainly. Pores cannot be closed permanently or removed, and anyone promising poreless skin is selling a filter. Treatment refines how pores look and can do so convincingly, results vary between people, and oil prone skin will always need its maintenance routine.
You may also want to read about related concerns we see alongside open pores, including acne scarring and dull skin.
The questions our Marylebone team hears most often about pores, from what makes them visible to what treatment involves and costs. If yours is not here, message us on WhatsApp and a practitioner will answer properly.
It depends on the cause. Congested, oily pores respond fastest to a deep clean with HydraFacial. Pores that have grown with age and laxity suit Morpheus8, post acne texture suits SkinPen microneedling, and rough, sun damaged skin with visible pores does best under UltraClear resurfacing.
No, and it is worth being direct about that. Pores are a working part of the skin and they cannot be closed or removed. What treatment genuinely changes is how visible they are, by clearing what stretches them and firming the skin that frames them, and that refinement can be convincing and lasting with maintenance.
Yes, and it is the strongest option where pores sit within generally rough or sun damaged skin. Fractional laser resurfacing renews the surface and stimulates collagen in the layer that supports each pore, so texture smooths and pores tighten together. Expect several days of redness and flaking, then improvement building over weeks.
A stack of things: oil production stretching the opening from within, collagen decline letting the pore wall slacken, sun damage roughening the surrounding texture, old acne leaving uneven texture, and genetics setting your baseline. Most visible pores have two or three of these going on at once, which is what the consultation untangles.
They can look it. Pores do not grow, but as collagen declines the skin around each one softens, so the opening slackens and catches more shadow. Sun exposure accelerates that. Protecting collagen with daily SPF and rebuilding it with treatment keeps pores looking finer for longer.
At the oil and congestion end, genuinely yes: a retinoid, salicylic exfoliation and daily SPF make a visible difference over months. What skincare cannot do is rebuild structure, so slackened, age related pores and rough texture usually need an in clinic treatment doing the heavy lifting while the routine maintains it.
HydraFacial shows its effect immediately and works best monthly. SkinPen runs as a course of three. Morpheus8 and UltraClear typically take one to three sessions depending on how much texture there is to work through. You will get an honest number at consultation rather than a guess over the phone.
None for HydraFacial. A day or two of redness after SkinPen. A few days of redness and mild swelling after Morpheus8, and several days of redness and flaking after UltraClear as the surface renews. Collagen keeps building quietly for two to three months after the visible recovery ends.
Yes, with the right choice. Microneedling and radiofrequency do not target pigment, so SkinPen and Morpheus8 suit all tones, as does HydraFacial. Laser resurfacing on deeper tones is assessed individually and a patch test comes first, which is standard practice at our clinic rather than an exception.
Yes, it is the quickest win for congested pores. The treatment dissolves and vacuums out oil and debris, then floods the skin with hydration, so pores look cleaner and smaller straight away. Congestion does rebuild with time, which is why a monthly rhythm suits oil prone skin.
It depends on the route. A HydraFacial starts from £150, SkinPen microneedling from £450 for the face, and Morpheus8 and UltraClear resurfacing from £850. Course rates bring per session costs down, and our full price list has the detail.
Verified Google reviews from patients treated for texture, congestion and skin quality at Dr Joney De Souza Clinic in Marylebone.
I have been getting the Picosure laser facial and it has completely changed my skin! My acne scars have faded, texture is gone and my skin is glowing! Roma performs the treatment and she is so knowledgeable and kind, I highly recommend this clinic!
I recently had a HydraFacial with Roma and the results have been nothing short of amazing. Roma was professional and knowledgeable. She took the time to understand my skincare concerns and explained the treatment thoroughly.
Had CO2 facial done about a month ago, my skin continues to look healthier, younger and less textured. The laser faded and continues to fade more stubborn acne scars.
