A dilated pore of Winer is a single, enlarged pore that fills with a plug of dead skin cells, creating what looks like an oversized blackhead. Named after the dermatologist Louis H. Winer, who first described it in 1954, the lesion is benign and painless. It most commonly appears on the face, head, or neck of adults over 40, and it tends to grow slowly over months or years.
What It Looks Like
From the surface, a dilated pore of Winer resembles a large, dark-colored dot on the skin. The dark appearance comes from the same process that gives regular blackheads their color: dead skin cells (keratin) oxidize when exposed to air. The key difference is size. While a typical blackhead is a millimeter or two across, a dilated pore of Winer can reach several millimeters to over a centimeter in diameter. It usually appears as a single lesion rather than in clusters.
The pore itself sits slightly depressed into the skin, sometimes with a raised rim around it. It’s firm to the touch. Most people notice it on the face, especially the cheeks, forehead, or nose, though it can also show up on the trunk. It doesn’t hurt, itch, or become inflamed on its own, which is why many people live with one for years before having it checked.
What’s Happening Under the Skin
Under a microscope, the structure is straightforward. The upper portion of a hair follicle, called the infundibulum, has stretched wide open and filled with compacted keratin. The skin lining this widened pore is thicker than normal, with small fingerlike projections radiating outward from the base and sides. Think of it as a regular pore that got stuck in an open position and kept accumulating dead skin material instead of shedding it naturally.
Unlike a cyst, which is a closed sac buried deeper in the skin, a dilated pore of Winer remains open at the surface. That open connection to the outside is what gives it the classic blackhead appearance and also what makes it accessible for removal.
Who Gets Them
Dilated pores of Winer are most common in middle-aged and older adults. Sun-damaged skin appears to play a role, which helps explain why these lesions favor the face and other sun-exposed areas. They’re slightly more common in men, though anyone can develop one. There’s no clear genetic link, and having one doesn’t mean you’ll develop more.
Conditions That Look Similar
Because a dilated pore of Winer is essentially a large, solitary blackhead, it can be mistaken for several other skin conditions. Epidermoid cysts and pilar cysts are firm bumps under the skin, but they’re closed off from the surface rather than open. Favre-Racouchot syndrome produces clusters of large blackheads and small cysts on severely sun-damaged skin, typically around the eyes. Trichoepithelioma is a benign hair follicle tumor that can look like a small, skin-colored bump in similar locations.
In rare cases, a type of basal cell carcinoma has been found within a dilated pore, particularly on the nose. This is uncommon, but it’s one reason a dermatologist may want to examine or biopsy the tissue rather than simply extracting the plug at home.
How It’s Removed
A dilated pore of Winer doesn’t require treatment for health reasons. Most people seek removal because it’s cosmetically bothersome. The approach depends on the size of the lesion.
For smaller pores, a dermatologist can often clear the contents using a comedone extractor, which is a small metal tool that applies even pressure around the pore to push out the keratin plug. This is a quick, in-office procedure with minimal discomfort.
Larger pores typically need a minor surgical procedure. After numbing the area with a local anesthetic, the provider makes a small incision to remove the contents and, ideally, the thickened lining of the pore itself. The opening is then stitched closed. The procedure takes minutes and heals like any small skin excision, usually within one to two weeks.
Why They Come Back
The single most important factor in preventing recurrence is removing all the contents and the thickened pore lining. If any of that lining remains, it continues producing keratin, and the pore gradually refills. Simple extraction with a comedone tool clears the plug but often leaves the stretched lining intact, which is why the pore is likely to return after that approach. Surgical excision that removes the entire pore wall has a much lower recurrence rate because there’s no remaining structure to regenerate the plug.
If you’ve had one extracted and it comes back, a more complete excision is the usual next step. Multiple recurrences after thorough surgical removal are uncommon.