Can you tell me if zince stearate, magnesium stearate or iron oxides cause pores to enlarge. I read on another area of your site that zinc oxides cause pore enlargement. Just investigating the general ingredients in mineral makeups that are on the market means that these ingredients, one, both or all, in addition with other ingredients, are always present. Then does this mean that all facial foundation makeups will cause enlarged pores? Any makeups on the market that does not have these ingredients? I understand that it is the oxides that give the products their color. Thanks for a wonderful site.

Women have told me that after using sunblocks with zinc oxide, their pores enlarged. This could be because the skin acids released ionic zinc from the zinc oxide. Too much ionic zinc can block the actions of copper peptides since these metals compete for the same binding groups on proteins and peptides.

So the sunblocks with Magnesium and Iron may work better.

Basically, the ionic copper is needed because the CPs do just about everything on the late stages of tissue repair. Finding the best way to use them is still the problem.

Data on CPs from www.skinbiology.com/copperpeptideregeneration.html.

Biological Actions of Copper Peptides

Whole Body Effects
Improves aged skin (tightens skin and rebuilds skin barrier, improves elasticity and firmness, reduces fine lines, wrinkles, photodamage, and hyperpigmentation), stimulates wound healing in numerous animal models and in humans, improves human hair growth and hair transplant success, protects and repairs gastric and intestinal lining, accelerates bone repair, increases infection resistance.

Cellular Actions
Increases the proliferation of repair cells: fibroblasts, keratinocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts; increases nerve outgrowth, blood vessel angiogenesis, density of subcutaneous fat cells, and hair follicle size.

Biochemical Actions
Attracts healing cells (capillary cells, macrophages, mast cells), increases synthesis of collagen, elastin, metalloproteinases, anti-proteases, vascular endothelial growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 2, nerve growth factor, neutrotropins 3 and 4, erythropoietin; lowers blood pressure by inducing vasodilation of blood vessels.

Anti-inflammatory Actions
Increases anti-inflammatory proteins (superoxide dismutase, decorin), blocks the damaging release of oxidizing iron from ferritin, suppresses inflammatory cytokines (transforming growth factor beta-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1), blocks cellular damage by oxygen free radicals and reactive carbonyl species, reduces protein glycation, improves fibroblast recovery after X-ray treatments, blocks ultraviolet damage to skin keratinocytes, increases and reduces thromboxane formation, protects hepatic tissue from tetrachloromethane poisoning, inhibits protein glycation.