You know the daylight that shows every pore through your foundation. Microneedling rebuilds the collagen around each pore, so your skin looks smoother and finer across a course.
The lights on the Banbury Road turn red, you flip down the sun visor mirror, and midday light falls straight across your nose and cheeks. Every pore shows through the foundation you applied so carefully that morning. Microneedling for pores at Cannelle Skin Clinic in Summertown, Oxford works on exactly what that mirror reveals, from the skin beneath the surface.
| Performed by | Appointment | Course | Result lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our clinicians, with the SkinPen device | 30 to 75 minutes | Three to six sessions, a few weeks apart | Several months |
Daylight shows far more than a bathroom bulb ever does. It skims across the face and finds every small opening and rough patch, especially on the cheeks either side of the nose. Most people try to fix that with a stronger cleanser or a pore strip. Those help with what sits inside a pore, and they leave its outline unchanged.
Here is the twist. An enlarged pore is often less about blockage than about the skin around it losing its firmness. Collagen is part of what holds each pore neat and small, and as it thins, the opening relaxes and looks wider. That is why a treatment that rebuilds collagen can change how pores look in daylight.
A clear review in Dermatologic Surgery set out three major causes of enlarged facial pores: high oil production, reduced elasticity around the pore, and a larger hair follicle. Hormones, past breakouts and skincare habits all play a part too. Each cause asks for a slightly different answer, so working out which is at play comes first.
Someone with oily skin in their twenties usually has the first kind, pores stretched by oil and congestion. Someone in their forties, whose skin has started to lose its bounce, more often has the second kind. The pores have not grown. The skin around them has softened, and the edges catch the light.
Most faces carry a mix of both. The nose may be congested while the cheeks show the gentle widening that comes with time. That is why the clinic looks at your pores closely before anything is planned, and why the answer for your nose may differ from the answer for your cheeks.
Men notice this as much as anyone. Someone who shaves every morning may see the pores along the nose and upper cheeks far more clearly under the bright light of an office washroom than at home. Microneedling works the same way on every face, and a refined surface reads just as well beside stubble as it does under make-up.
The SkinPen glides across the skin and makes thousands of fine channels at a depth chosen for your concern. The skin repairs each one with fresh collagen and elastin. Around a relaxed pore, that new support firms the edges, so the opening looks smaller and the surface between pores looks smoother.
The effect is gradual and rather lovely. Over a course, rough patches soften, the cheek takes on a finer grain, and light travels across the skin instead of catching in each pore. Make-up glides on and stays put through the afternoon rather than settling into the openings by lunchtime.
The evidence is encouraging. A review of clinical trials of treatments for facial pores found many approaches that reduce pore count and size, from skincare to lasers. In one comparative trial, microneedling gave better improvement in open pores than a fractional radiofrequency treatment, with patients rating the outcome good to excellent.
Over a course, rough patches soften, the cheek takes on a finer grain, and light travels across the skin instead of catching in each pore.
Because the SkinPen is mechanical rather than light-based, it suits all skin tones. Someone with deeper skin and open pores across the cheeks can begin a course with the same confidence as anyone else, the depth matched to their skin from the first session. The SkinPen microneedling page describes each step.
Pores packed with oil and debris need clearing before they can be refined. If blackheads and congestion are the main story, a HydraFacial or a peel often comes first, and our article on clearing clogged pores covers that side in detail. Microneedling then works on the structure once the pores are clean.
The two approaches sit beautifully together. A HydraFacial lifts out what is inside the pore and leaves the skin glowing on the day. Microneedling firms the skin around it over weeks. Someone with an oily T-zone and softening cheeks can use both across the year, each doing the job it does best.
Many people alternate microneedling with a chemical peel too. A peel brightens the surface and evens tone, while microneedling rebuilds collagen beneath it for texture. The two are spaced so each has time to work, and the plan keeps your skin comfortable throughout.
The first change shows within a week or two. After a day or two of pinkness, much like mild sunburn, the skin looks fresher and brighter. Pores around the nose and cheeks start to look neater. Your foundation sits more evenly, and the sun visor mirror becomes a little kinder.
The bigger change builds across a course of three to six sessions, spaced a few weeks apart. Collagen forms in the weeks after each one, so the skin around each pore firms gradually. By the end of a course, the cheek has a smoother, more even surface that holds light softly rather than scattering it.
Results from a course last three to six months, with occasional maintenance sessions keeping the texture refined. Our page on textured skin and open pores shows how microneedling sits alongside the clinic’s other options for a smoother surface.
Your first visit begins with your pores in good light. One of our senior therapists looks at where they sit, how oily the skin is and how firm it feels, and the plan grows from there. For a few days before each session you pause retinol and strong exfoliants and keep out of direct sun.
On the day, numbing cream goes on around thirty minutes before the SkinPen, and most people describe a light scratching sensation. Sessions run from thirty to seventy-five minutes. Most people are back to normal the next day, with gentle skincare and sun protection while the skin renews.
Microneedling is carried out by our trained senior therapists, under the medical oversight of Dr Mattia Parducci (GMC 7635663), Lead Aesthetic Doctor, who sets the clinical standard for every skin treatment at Cannelle. The team talks you through aftercare before you leave and is on hand for questions.
A full-face session is from £260, and a course of three from £665. Face and neck starts from £340. Most people choose three to six sessions, and your consultation gives the real number for you. The full price list sits on the microneedling treatment page.
Patients drive in from Bicester and cycle over from Headington and Jericho, because Summertown is an easy stop on the way to work, and people visit from right across Oxfordshire. If the sun visor mirror has been unkind lately, get in touch and let us show you what a smoother surface looks like.
Book your first SkinPen visit at our Summertown clinic and leave with a texture plan built around your pores, under the medical oversight of Dr Mattia Parducci. Call 01865 537885 or message us on WhatsApp today.
Pores raise a particular set of questions, mostly about what works on oily skin and how microneedling sits beside a facial. These are the ones the team hears most often.
Microneedling refines how pores look by rebuilding collagen around them. As the skin around each pore firms, the opening looks smaller and the surface between pores looks smoother. The change builds across a course of three to six sessions, and most people find their make-up sits more evenly within a week or two of the first.
They do different jobs, and many people use both. HydraFacial clears what sits inside the pore and leaves the skin glowing on the day. Microneedling works on the structure around the pore, firming it over weeks. If congestion is the main issue, clearing comes first. If the pores look relaxed and wide, microneedling is the natural choice.
Yes, rough texture is one of the concerns microneedling suits best. As new collagen forms, the cheek takes on a finer, smoother grain, and light travels across it more evenly. Most people notice fresher skin within a week or two, with the texture continuing to refine across a course of sessions spaced a few weeks apart.
It does. Oily skin often has wider pores across the nose and cheeks, and microneedling firms the skin around them. If blackheads and congestion are heavy, a HydraFacial or a peel may come first to clear the pores, with microneedling following. The team plans the order around your skin when you come in.
Skin often looks fresher and brighter within a week or two of the first session, and pores around the nose start to look neater. The fuller refinement depends on collagen, which builds over the following weeks and months. That is why a course gives a clearer, longer-lasting change than a single session does.
Yes. Microneedling is mechanical rather than light-based, so it suits all skin tones, which makes it a lovely option for deeper skin with open pores or uneven texture. The needle depth and the plan are matched to your skin from the first appointment, and each area of the face is treated at the depth it needs.
Yes, and many people alternate the two. A chemical peel brightens the surface and evens tone, while microneedling rebuilds collagen beneath it for texture and pores. They are usually spaced into separate sessions so each has time to work. The chemical peels page covers the peel side of that plan.
Our trained senior therapists carry out every session, setting the SkinPen depth area by area, because the right depth on the nose differs from the cheek. They work under the medical oversight of Dr Mattia Parducci, Lead Aesthetic Doctor, who sets the clinical standard across the clinic. You meet the team at your first visit.
Our clinic is located in Summertown, Oxford, just north of the city centre in one of Oxford’s most sought-after neighbourhoods. Discreet and easy to reach, we offer a premium setting for bespoke skin, aesthetic and wellness care.
We welcome patients from across Oxford city and Oxfordshire, including Summertown, Headington, Kidlington, Abingdon, Bicester, Witney and the surrounding towns and villages. Whether you’re coming for routine skin-health treatments or specialist aesthetic consultations, our location is well connected and simple to access.
Our clinic, Cannelle Skin Clinic, is just minutes from Oxford city centre and easily reached by car, bus or rail. Oxford’s mainline stations Oxford Station and Oxford Parkway are a short taxi or bus ride away, and regular services link to London, Reading, Didcot, Banbury and beyond.
By car, we’re conveniently accessed via key local routes with nearby parking options; by public transport, frequent bus routes along Banbury Road drop you within a short stroll of the clinic.
Whether you’re travelling from within Oxfordshire, further afield in the UK or internationally, our clinic offers a calm, personalised and professional environment for your visit.
