Collection: Milia

FAQ’s

What causes milia?
Most commonly, milia occur due to dead skin building up and getting trapped in the pores just under the skin’s surface. If the build-up doesn’t get expelled naturally, it can become a small cyst. This is known as primary milia.

Milia often appear on the cheeks, chin and eyelids, but are particularly prominent around the eye area, because unlike the skin on the rest of our face, the eye area has limited blood circulation to filter excess oil. As a result, skincare for milia needs to be carefully selected, eye creams need to be very lightweight and easily absorbed.

The other type of milia, known as secondary milia, looks similar to primary milia but develops when something clogs the sweat ducts. This is usually caused by some kind of skin trauma (from eg. the sun), infection (such as laser treatments, chemical peels or even cold sores), or contributing lifestyle factors, including lack of sleep, smoking, poor personal hygiene, using oil-based beauty products in excess, and long-term steroid use.

Milia can also be genetic so if you have other family members with milia, you could be prone too.

Before considering the right treatment for milia, it’s worth noting that milia canoccasionally disappear on their own. Depending how deep the milia lay; they can naturally come to the surface of the skin after a few weeks or months.

How do you prevent milia?

As ever with skincare, prevention is better than cure so try these suggestions if milia are a recurring concern for you.

1. Cleanse skin thoroughly every morning and night to remove both excess oil, dirt, grime and makeup. Try double cleansing in the evenings, particularly if you wear heavy make-up and/or live in a polluted area. The first cleanse removes your make-up, SPF and sebum while the second cleanse should remove any further impurities as well as treat the skin.

2. Exfoliate skin at least two to three times a week with gentle exfoliant as this works wonders at preventing reoccurring milia. The best exfoliators for milia are acid exfoliators formulated with salicylic and glycolic acids.

3. Use a retinol cream at night. Retinol is also very helpful for both fighting and preventing milia. This form of vitamin A assists skin cell turn over, allowing the milia to surface and preventing the build-up of dead cells leading to the cysts in the first place.

4. Chose the correct eye care. Skin under the eyes can be prone to puffiness if fluid builds up there, especially with aesthetic interventions which limit muscle movements (such as Botox) and lymph circulation. This, coupled with rich products loaded onto the thin skin with limited blood circulation is a recipe for clogging. Therefore, it’s vital to use lightweight eye creams such as Vie Collection Chrono Eyes Puffiness Dark Circles Wrinkle Cream which will penetrate the delicate skin around the eye area affectively.

5. Avoid heavy makeup products and instead opt for mineral makeup formulations as they will not clog pores but instead allow skin to breath freely.

6. Sun damage can be a contributing factor of secondary milia, so it’s important to wear sunscreen daily but be sure to remove it at the end of every day.

What is the best treatment for milia?

Like with any skin blemishes, you need to treat milia with care. Squeezing milia will only irritate and cause damage to the skin without being able to remove the problem.

Milia can be removed by professional procedure usually requiring an incision by a lancing tool or needle.

For at-home milia treatments Beauty Collective have you covered. You’ll find the best skincare products for Milia in Australia right here and when you shop at Beauty Collective you’ll enjoy free express delivery for orders over $125 as well as free samples and travel size skincare. If you have any questions about milia or your skincare in general contact our friendly team who will be only too happy to help and discuss all Beauty Collective brands from Pevonia, Phytomer and more.

Shop our range of milia skincare and enjoy the best results today.