Last Updated on June 3, 2025 by Giorgia Guazzarotti
If I had a penny for every time I heard someone say you have to finish cleansing your face with a splash of icy cold water to close your pores, I’d be stinking rich. As it is, I’m just stinking frustrated. The “cold water can close your pores” is one of those beauty myths that need to die ASAP. Let’s put it to rest now:
- Can Cold Water Really Close Your Pores?
- Can Cold Water Shrink Pores?
- Is Washing Your Face With Cold Water Useless?
- Should I Wash My Face With Cold Water After The Gym?
- Can Cold Water Help With Puffy Eyes?
- Morning Or Night: When Should I Use Cold Water?
- Can I Use Cold Water Before My Skincare?
- The Bottom Line
Can Cold Water Really Close Your Pores?
Pores aren’t doors. They can’t close (or open, for that matter) because they have no muscular attachment. And what does “close the pores” mean anyway? It’s not like you want to completely seal them. That’d just clog them like crazy.
Your skin has pores for a reason. Sebum, your skin’s natural moisturiser, delivers sebum to your skin through your pores. If you were to close them, this natural moisturiser won’t be able to reach your skin and make it softer. Instead, it’d stay stuck inside, giving you all kinds of acne. Heave a sigh of relief with me, “thank goodness pores don’t close!”
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Can Cold Water Shrink Pores?
When it comes to pores, closing is usually synonymous with shrinking. You freeze your face with ice cold water hoping those large pores will get smaller. But, it doesn’t work that way. You see, the size of your pores is genetically determined. Nothing you can do can ever change it.
But here’s a cool thing: cold water can give the illusion of smaller pores temporarily. When you splash cold water on your face, the blood vessels in your skin constrict. Result = your skin look a bit tighter and less red, so your pores might seem smaller for a hot second. And I mean, a hot second. It’s an illusion.
Instead, pores can get larger. When too much gunk, (think excess sebum and dead skin cells), accumulates inside the pores, their walls stretch, making them look larger.
If you want to fix this, you have two choices:
- Use exfoliants or moisturizers with salicylic acid to unclog the pores. It’ll make them go back to their original size.
- Use serums or moisturizers with retinoids to speed up cellular turnover and stimulate collagen production. This tightens skin. And tight skin = smaller pores.
Oh, and don’t forget to pile on the sunscreen. UV rays deplete collagen and elastin, and without those, pores stretch and sag. That makes them look bigger too.
Best Picks:
- Paula’s Choice Resist 10% Niacinamide Booster ($42.00): It shrinks your pores, hydrates your skin, and brightens the complexion. Plus, it’s full of antioxidants (including Vitamin C) to help you keep those pesky premature wrinkles at bay, too. Available at Cult Beauty, Dermstore, Paula’s Choice, Sephora, and SpaceNK
- Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid ($29.00): The cult exfoliant from the brand, it unlclogs pores and treats blackheads and acne. The texture’s a little sticky, but if you can take that, this is one of the best salicylic acid exfoliants out there. Available at Cult Beauty, Net-A-Porter, Paula’s Choice, Sephora, and SpaceNK.
- Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM ($65.00): A micro encapsulated 1.5% retinol serum in an oily, moisturising base to fight wrinkles and fade away dark spots. Available at Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, and Peter Thomas Roth.
- The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion ($12.10): This simple formula contains both retinol and granactive retinoid, a new form of retinoid that’s great at treating acne. Available at Beauty Bay, Boots, Cult Beauty, Sephora, The Ordinary, and Ulta
Related: How To Shrink Large Pores: 3 Treatments That Really Work
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Is Washing Your Face With Cold Water Useless?
Not really. Cold water can help prevent the production of excess oil. Something to do with regulating the temperature of the skin. When it’s too hot, those pesky sebaceous glands tend to go into overdrive and produce way too much sebum than usual. That always leads to breakouts. But if your skin isn’t prone to breakouts and you’d rather slap your face than wash with cold water (is that just me? Brrr!), don’t bother. Just use lukewarm water. It’s gentle and does the job well.
Should I Wash My Face With Cold Water After The Gym?
It depends. After sweating it out, a splash of cold water feels so damn good – and it can help tone down the redness too. Don’t expect it to shrink your pores or anything though. It’s just a quick freshen-up.
Can Cold Water Help With Puffy Eyes?
Oh, absolutely. Cold water’s like a quick chill pill for your eyes. The coldness itself helps bring the puff down and makes you look more awake. Not a miracle worker, but hey, it beats looking half-asleep.
Related: Puffy Eyes Causes & Cures
Morning Or Night: When Should I Use Cold Water?
Whenever, honestly. Morning’s great for that wake-up splash, but at night it can feel super nice too, especially if your face feels hot or tired. Either way, it’s more about the refreshing feel than actually doing anything to your pores.
Can I Use Cold Water Before My Skincare?
Yeah, totally. Cold water’s awesome for calming down your skin, especially if it’s feeling a little red or angry. It won’t make your products work better, but it sets the stage for your routine. Like a quick “chill out” moment for your face before you get all fancy with serums and stuff.
The Bottom Line
So, there you have it. To reduce the size of your pores, use exfoliants, retinoids and sunscreen. Cold water just won’t work, no matter how much you splash on your face. But it may wake you up in the morning or after a hot gym session.
I just exfoliate with salicylic acid.
Ana, that’s my favourite exfoliant too.
Oh to think this myth is still considered as true, I cringe everytime I see it. To help maintain my skin’s texture I use Avène Eluage. The retinaldehyde helps a lot and it’s milder than Rx retinoids.
Icaria, it’s incredible how many people still believe in it, isn’t it? And I like retinaldehyde. It’s a great alternative to retinol, especially for those with sensitive skin.
This is so interesting! I totally thought this beauty myth was true, although I do use sunscreen everyday and exfoliate twice a week. I will continue washing my face with cold water every morning though because it’s the fastest way to wake myself up haha!
Makeup Morsels, I do that too lol. It wakes you up straight away. Too bad it doesn’t have any other benefit.
I used to think pores could close because every beauty video I watched would always recommend steaming the face to open pores and then wash and rinse with cold water to close them and wow I am so glad I decided to do my own research after those methods doing nothing for my skin!
Janessa, unfortunately, this is a very popular myth. I used to believe it too when I was younger as magazines shared those same tips too. Luckily, we know better now!
Sticking to the regular routine (cleansing, moisturizing, always removing makeup, etc.), but about 2 months ago my dermatologist suggested adding a 10% vitamin C serum which seems to be working great. She also convinced me of wearing spf 50 sunscreen every day even though I´m inside, and this has really improved the texture of my skin in general.
BONUS, a night out with lots of alcohol and no sleep is a guaranteed huge pore fest on the next day, so avoid this.
Monica, that’s great advice your dermatologist gave you. Sunscreen and vitamin C do make a huge difference, don’t they? Thanks for sharing your experience.
I have heard about this cold water splash as well but didn’t paid much attention to it…I did it a few times but not any more.
Thelma, no point in it, is there?